Best Multimodal Freight Forwarding Cargo Logistics

The transportation industry is truly vast. Given the variations in terms of geographies, transportation modes, service types, and the kind of shipping service providers involved, it is imperative to get your choice of transportation right as a business entity.

In this blog, we will look at multimodal transportation, its advantages, challenges and solutions so that you can make a prudent decision regarding shipments. Let's get the ball rolling.

If a shipment operation involves more than one mode of transportation, it is known as multimodal transportation.

If you ship your package from Coimbatore to Chennai via train, Chennai to the US via Ship, then manage the last mile delivery to the US through the truck, it is a classic case of multimodal transportation.

In the case of multimodal transportation, the entire shipment process, despite involving multiple modes of transportation, is governed by a single contract with a single entity, the multi modal transport operator or multi modal service provider.

It is different from intermodal transportation in one key way. Inter-modal transportation involves multiple carriers and multiple contracts.

Benefits of Multimodal Transportation:

Besides making the entire process a breeze in terms of the contract, multimodal transportation has several key advantages.

Coordination:

The most important aspect of any logistics system is coordination. Coordinating with one logistics service provider is enough to complicate your process – think of coordinating with 3. When you coordinate with multiple carriers, there is a lot of finger-point going on in terms of documentation, delays in loading, etc. Making sure that a single contract governs your shipment means that you have control over your shipment, and there aren't any coordination delays in delivering your shipment.