Taiping Carpet Generally, Companies That Ship Products

Taiping Carpet

Generally, companies that ship products to other companies and/or individuals have contracts with at least one shipping company (Bannock, 1997; Ziegler & Aguilar, 2003). Other companies have many shipping options and allow the person to whom the item is being shipped to choose which shipper that person wants. Does it make sense for a company to nominate a particular shipping company for all of its shipping needs?

There are advantages and disadvantages of doing that, and any company must consider those advantages and disadvantages carefully before deciding on which company will be used for routine shipping. The company must also decide if there are to be exceptions to the rule when it comes to shipping special orders or something out of the ordinary. If the company is using a shipping company that is not appropriate for all of its needs, then the company may want to reconsider which shipper it uses and whether it should change shippers so it can have all of its shipping needs met by one company (Perry, et al., 1997; Shanker & Astrachan, 1996; Stopford, 1997).

To do that, however, the company has to find the right shipper. Not all shippers charge the same rates, and not all shippers deliver to the same places on the same kind of schedule. Each shipper is different, and a company that is serious about shipping has to understand that and plan for it so that the shipping that is done can be the right price and quality and reliability for the company and the person to whom the item is being shipped.

In the case of Taiping Carpet, it would appear that having one designated shipper would be the best idea. That way the shipping costs are always known and the company can develop a relationship with a shipper that can help them get rush deliveries out and handle other issues. Here, it is important to explore how having a designated shipper contributes to the overall production flow of a company that markets goods to others.

Literature Review

Production Flow

The production flow of a company is the way in which the company takes raw materials, turns them into the products it sells, and then sends those products out to the consumers who purchase them (Bannock, 1997; Birch, 1979; Birch, 1987). With that in mind, it is very important that the production flow operates smoothly so that the company can be successful in its endeavors and so the customers can get what they ordered quickly and efficiently (Birch, 1979; Birch, 1987; Chopra & Meindl, 2007).

With a large item like carpet, shipping can be costly and there is always the risk of damage. In order to mitigate those problems, a company must consider finding a trusted shipper that will charge reasonable rates and that will provide careful handling of the product and insurance in case there is any kind of damage done to the product (Benett, 1986; Cooper, et al., 1998; Ziegler & Aguilar, 2003). Nominating a particular shipping company and using only that company can also impact the production flow if that company is unable to fulfill its shipping obligations for some reason such as faulty equipment or a driver or vehicle shortage (Bannock, 1997; Bardi, et al., 2006).

In that case, another company may be able to be used on short notice, or the company that needs to ship the product may have to delay shipping its product to the customer until the shipping company it normally uses is operating properly. Anytime a shipment to a customer is delayed it can lead to hard feelings between the shipper and the customer, which could mean that the customer would not purchase from the company again (Cooper, et al., 1998; Edmiston, 2010; Lay, 1992).

Word of mouth advertising could also mean that the customer would tell others that he or she had a bad experience with the company, and that could mean that the company would lose out on business that it would have otherwise been offered (Wallenburg, et al., 2011; Ziegler & Aguilar, 2003). In order to avoid that kind of problem - and other problems that may crop up in the future with shipping considerations - it is very important to address the issue of what shipper should be used, what shipper is the best for the company, and which shipping company is more reliable (Stopford, 1997).

One of the ways to be sure that one has the correct shipping company for the business' needs is to use the process of continuous production. That way the production flow is the same nearly all the time and every department knows what should be expected of it (Milchen, n.d., Milgate, 1987; Mitchell, 2003). Without that basic understanding of what is expected, it can be very difficult for a company to focus on any kind of adequate production of its goods, which will cause its customers to fall away and can even mean bankruptcy for the company (Bannock, 1997; Bardi, et al., 2006; Ziegler & Aguilar, 2003).

To avoid that, it is best to understand the ideas behind continuous production in order to see how they relate to shipping. The practice of continuous production is also considered flow production, and it is used in order to process, manufacture, or produce goods in a way that is uninterrupted (Bannock, 1997; Ziegler & Aguilar, 2003). It is generally termed a continuous flow process or just a continuous process (Ziegler & Aguilar, 2003). The reason these terms are used is because the materials that are being used to create the finished product are constantly in motion. The manufacturing plant or other area where the finished goods are created may operate 24 hours a day.

Depending on the needs for carpet and how many people are ordering carpet, a continuous flow of production may not be the most realistic way to handle a shipping issue. If there is a designated shipping carrier and that carrier does not always have work from the company or is not always needed, the company can end up spending extra money for an 'on call" carrier that is not always used (Wallenburg, et al., 2011). The terms of the agreement with the shipping carrier are very important, and they have to be clearly spelled out and addressed or they will not benefit the company or the customers.

Not all customers care about the company that ships their items (Bannock, 1997; Perry, et al., 1997). As long as they get the items in a timely manner and undamaged, what difference does it make what carrier ships them? However, the same cannot be said for the company that is sending the items to the customer. That company needs good, reliable shipping (Bannock, 1997). There are two ways to get that in the long-term. The company can have its own shipping department, where the shipping is actually done by the company itself, or the company can enter into a contract with a shipping company, whereby that company will do all the shipping (Mitchell, 2003; Ziegler & Aguilar, 2003).

Company Shipping

A company with its own shipping department has some distinct advantages, because there are no outside carriers about which the company has to worry (Ziegler & Aguilar, 2003). There are issues to consider, of course, when it comes to company shipping, but that does not mean it is not an area that should be explored by companies that do a lot of business and pay a lot of money in shipping costs. When a company is able to have its own shipping and does not need to use another company for that purpose, there is more that can be handled more quickly - and that often means happier customers (Bannock, 1997; Edmiston, 2010).

It can also mean a lower cost for the company, which can be passed on to the customers through lower prices or taken from the bottom line in the form of higher profits. Either way, the company sees a benefit. Of course, there are some concerns to be had, as well, because not every company is able to just create a shipping division. Some companies have to deal with much more than just how much the shipping department might cost to operate on a daily basis, because there are start-up costs, training, hiring, equipment gathering, and much more that will need to be done if a company is going to have an internal shipping department as opposed to letting another company handle shipping (Bannock, 1997).

The costs that a company would have to undertake if it is going to have its own shipping department are the first thing that the company should look at, aside from determining if there is an actual need for shipping in that manner (Cooper, et al., 1998). In other words, it may be much more feasible for the company to hire out its shipping, but in some cases it may not - and that has to be determined first and foremost. Once a decision has been made, the company can begin to see whether it should consider developing a shipping department. If it should create its own department to ship its goods to customers, the pricing of that can move forward and the company can collect all it needs to get started.

A company with a good shipping department that is internal has an advantage in that it offers customers shipping that does not rely on an external carrier (Shanker & Astrachan, 1996). When a company uses its own shipping, the scheduling is not affected by what else that carrier may need to ship for other companies (Cooper, et al., 1998). There are no delays for these kinds of shipping options, because the company has complete control over what gets shipped and when that shipping takes place. Scheduling is less of a problem this way (Bannock, 1997; Bardi, et al., 2006).

Still, it is possible for a company to grow too large and not be able to provide everything that is needed in the way of shipping in a timely manner. If that takes place, the company can lose out because it has spent so much money for its own shipping fleet only to find that the fleet is not sufficient or that the company is not charging enough for shipping in order for the fleet to be successful in making money for the company when compared with other shipping options (Ziegler & Aguilar, 2003). As a company works on ways in which it can improve its production flow and deal with costs, shipping is naturally a concern. However, it should not be taken lightly and having a shipping department or fleet should not be considered as an automatic answer for companies that are struggling with shipping options.

Contracting with Another Company

Having a contract with a company for shipping is another way that companies move their goods from their warehouses and production facilities to their customers (Chopra & Meindl, 2007; Cooper, et al., 1998). By doing things that way, they pass the shipping issues and concerns (and costs) off to someone else and they do not need to have a fleet of their own. That can save them a lot of aggravation and time, but does it save them money? In most cases it does, or the big shipping companies would not remain in business and continue to grow (Bannock, 1997; Wallenburg, et al., 2011).

By changing the shipping costs to the customer and then allowing another company to actually ship the products, the company that made the products has less with which to concern itself. That is good news in the sense that there are other things about which to worry, and the company can concentrate on quality and other matters (Wallenburg, et al., 2011; Ziegler & Aguilar, 2003). However, there is also a concern in that the company may have trouble with the shipping if the company it chooses does a poor job of making sure the goods arrive at the customers' home or business properly, on time, and without any damage done to them (Mitchell, 2003; Perry, et al., 1997).

The other issue with choosing a company for shipping is that the company may not want to bind itself to one shipper (Wallenburg, et al., 2011). It may want to give the customer some options - which would most certainly affect the price of the shipping - or it may want to choose its own options and determine which would get the product to the customer the fastest and for the least amount of money. Either way, the company will have to decide which is best for it and for its customers when it chooses a shipper.

If a company decides that just one shipper is the best choice for it, how that company goes about choosing the right shipper will be an issue for that company, and potentially for the customers, for some time, so it is very important that the company chooses wisely (Bannock, 1997; Mitchell, 2003). Companies that use outside shippers have to consider more than just the cost. If the company gets into a long-term contract with a shipper and then is not pleased with the results, it may be expensive for that company to get out of the contract. There could be penalties or other issues that have to be considered.

For that reason, it may not be a good choice for a company that has to ship a lot of goods to customers to choose only one shipper for that duty. However, if the company finds that it is doing most of its shipping with one company with no problems, it may be beneficial for the company to negotiate some kind of contract (Perry, et al., 1997). By doing that, the company could get a discount or other benefits that it would otherwise not see. Keeping that in mind can really help a company determine what it needs to do where shipping is concerned. The value to the company and the customer must both be considered.

Analysis

Any company that is going to choose a long-term shipper and enter into any type of contract for exclusivity has to consider all of the angles. The same is true for those who are going to create a shipping department and/or fleet at their company and use that to get their goods to their customers. Cost matters, but the value is really in whether a company is keeping its customers happy by getting them their items quickly and without any kind of damage done. If a company cannot do that well and consistently, it will often go out of business. This, naturally, is a serious consideration for any company.

With Taiping Carpet, the main concern is which shipper to use. The company is not really set up for having its own fleet of shipping vehicles, and the company is so focused on the carpet industry that it could take a lot of time and effort to create a shipping department. That effort (and time) could be better spent on the quality control for the goods it creates. Additionally, it is a serious concern for Taiping Carpet because the cost of shipping is more than just how much the customer has to pay each time he or she buys something. How fast something arrives and the care that is taken are also factors.