Companies that do business globally have a number of decisions to make when it comes to logistics. How they ship their goods to overseas clients is very much at the top of the list. The main choices are usually air freight UK ocean freight. Both are very viable effective options, but it’s usually one or the other that proves to be a perfect for each individual business. Let’s take a look at some of the factors that come into play when making a decision:

Cost – Every business has an operating budget that has to be strictly adhered to. You might naturally assume that shipping by ocean would be cheaper than air, but that is not always necessarily always how it goes. Before making any sort of shipping decision, you need to be aware of how carrier charges work. Air freight is usually billed using chargeable weight, which is calculated using a combination of weight and size. Ocean freight is usually charged by the size of the shipment, which generally ends up in shipping containers. While it’s usually cheaper to ship larger, heavier items by sea, the difference in costs starts to get closer with smaller shipments.

Speed – Price is not necessarily everything when you ship overseas. If you need y our shipment to get where it needs to be quickly, it is definitely worth spending more to get the speed delivered by air freight UK. Businesses who are not bound by strict time constraints can save some money by taking their shipments to the seas. It also helps that speed of delivery is constantly being improved thanks to new technology and new shipping routes. It’s not uncommon to have a large shipment go across the world in just over a week.

Reliability – No matter which shipping option you choose, you want to be sure that it gets there within the time frame you have promised your customers. Both air freight UK and ocean freight have their difficulties in terms of reliability, but air freight tends to be a little better in this regard. Yes, air carriers often have delays, many of which are unavoidable, but that time can often be made up in the air. At most, late delivery is usually no more than a couple of hours. The same cannot be said for ocean freight, since schedules are generally on a weekly basis. When an ocean carrier gets delays, you can be looking at days instead of hours.

Eco-Friendliness – While companies are always concerned about the bottom line in terms of budget, more and more are making an effort to go green when it comes to doing business overseas. It can certainly be argued that air freight UK shipping leaves a bigger carbon footprint, but both have their issues. That said, there is definitely a push being made on all sides to ensure that getting goods from Point A to Point B can be done without hurting the environment.

All 4 of these factors need to be looked at before a shipping decision can be made. It’s always best to do what’s best for both you and your customers.