Gateway Optimum Transportation

The end of the year signifies a time to evaluate the year past and look for improved solutions to issues encountered. For some people its merely financial, we spent x amount on freight this year so lets get that number down to y next year and we will make more money. For others, its logistics solutions like- we experienced far too many claims or customer service complaints last year, lets improve our service standards next year. Each of these situations point to one thing: Change. Making a change is tough. Changing from a company that provided you with crates all year to a new one is a tough decision, but is sometimes what is needed to drive down cost or improve services for your customers. Gateway Crate and Freight takes our slow time at the end of the year to evaluate our performance. Admit it, you're thinking about egg nog, candy canes, presents, ham and turkey, not your shipping crates right now. So between now and the New Year we know you don't need us...but next ...

The holidays are just around the corner and I am excited about the yearly events that I have come to love over the years. The Nutcracker, Mannheim Steamroller and The annual Warren Miller ski film are events I attend yearly that only come around during the holidays.  But there are other things not as welcomed this time of year that come around whether you want them or not, like bad winter weather, traffic and long lines everywhere. The "rush" of the holidays seem to bog things down not just with people but with freight as well. Tis the season to give gifts and when you live in Arizona but want to give a gift to your little nephew in New Jersey the gift has to get there somehow. The UPS Store, FedEx Office and the USPS neighborhood locations are inundated with people and boxes with gifts traveling all around the world. Long lines are standard during this time of year. These package service companies will see the majority of their damages and claims happen over the...

Gateway Crate and Freight is required to use proper Wood Packing Materials (WPM) when we build crates or pallets or use dunnage in a container to package and protect items we ship out of the United States.  The International Standards For Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 (ISPM 15) is an International Phytosanitary Measure developed by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) that directly addresses the need to treat wood materials of a thickness greater than 6mm, used to ship products between countries. Its main purpose is to prevent the international transport and spread of disease and insects that could negatively affect plants or ecosystems in other places around the world. Certain insects for example may be indigenous to one region and kept in check by local predators may thrive and devour entire wood species in other countries in which their predators don't exist.  ISPM 15 affects all wood packaging material (Pallets, crates, dunnages, etc.) requ...

Everyone knows that business runs in cycles. up then down, too much work than not enough work, from the phones have been ringing off the hook to I don't think this phone has rang all week! July and August are traditionally slow months in logistics, the calm before the storm of the logistics capacity crunch for retailers gearing up for the holidays. During our slow time I decided to shop our packing and shipping services on UShip, an online marketplace for shippers and carriers where carriers bid to ship items for less. You might have seen their show on TV called "Shipping Wars". I posted a number of bids on providing packaging and shipping services from the Phoenix Metro area to all parts of the country and internationally. We won two bids fairly quickly and have already started working on the packaging and shipping for a bookcase and for the other customer we are packing and shipping a desk. My observation so far is that most people who post on UShip have im...

As a logistics company we have to coordinate packing, warehousing, transportation and delivery for our customers. We rely on our partners around the world to service our customers in the same manner we would. In some situations this is not the case. We recently had a white glove delivery needed and we contracted with a company for the first time to make a delivery to a home in the upper mid-west. We performed our due diligence ensuring the company was financially sound, had been in business for over 20 years and had good references in the industry. The company assured us they could perform this service and "specialize in customer satisfaction". Gateway Crate and Freight then contracted with this company to deliver a heavy piece of furniture up a flight of stairs in the home. When the company arrived with the furniture, the purchaser asked for them to place it in the room up the stairs. The two delivery men stated they were too old and not strong enough to take it up the s...

I once had a C.E.O of an online retailer tell me that the most important person in his company was the packing and shipping clerk because the last thing he or she does is the first thing the customer sees. The saying you only get one chance to make a first impression is so true especially in today's e-marketplace. The last thing a customer wants to see when she first opens the box that you shipped her is the item she has been waiting for broken. In the transportation systems of today, there are many transitions through trucks, containers, conveyor belts and hands that your package will have to travel. There is only one thing that can increase your chances of having your package delivered with no issues - Proper Professional Packaging. Sometimes even the best packaging is no match for the treatment some packages take during transit. (Click the back button after viewing these videos to return to this blog and continue)  FedEx    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D...

Intermodal Rail Freight has evolved in North America to the point where it has become a reliable, cost effective alternative to long haul trucking. There are many reasons for this; including the railroads investment in technology, increased production and deployment of domestic containers, and the shortage of Long Haul drivers. The shortage of long haul truck drivers has had the most significant impact on the price for this service. Long Haul drivers (driving over 750 miles) are hard to find these days, the law of supply and demand allow those drivers who want a long haul load to increase their prices. There are many factors that play into this driver shortage, the one we contend with the most is that younger drivers prefer a "home" to a "home on the road" In fact most younger CDL truck drivers would rather take a local pickup and delivery job (within 100 miles of home) for less money than make more money driving long haul. This driver trend...

The tragedy in Boston affected many people. Living in Phoenix about 2700 miles away, I still felt a direct connection to those who suffered a loss, or were injured. How could this happen? More importantly, Why? Some questions may never be sufficiently answered by those who need them most. One question, was answered though, how would the residents of Boston react to such a catastrophe? With bravery, courage and commitment. The photo above shows the empty streets of Boston as authorities searched for the bombers. What normally would have been a very busy day on these streets turned into emptyness and silence. In fact We here at Gateway had a delivery due in the town of Boston that day but our shipment did not deliver. We pride ourselves on ensuring timely deliveries for our clients but not that day. On that day the people of Boston and people all around the world were more concerned about a pickup than a dropoff. From a business standpoint I cant help but think abo...

In my years of being in distribution, transportation and logistics I have had to work with many sales guys. I understand the importance of the sales team to the business because they ring the cash registers and bring the money in the door, but have you ever known a sales guy where you thought they hurt the business more than they helped? I have. Now this blog isnt a slam on sales guys and girls, because when Im out selling my company I'm a "sales guy". The freight guys who have helped me over the years solve some of my logistics issues are "sales guys". Even my brother +Ken Adams  sells cool Native American art work and jewelry over at +Alltribes Indian Art LLC  is a "sales guy" so I'm not really putting this group down, but instead I want to talk about the few individuals who have "sold out" their company rather than "sell for" their company. I was actually reminded of this today when I had an admin clerk at a company tell ...

Welcome to the Gateway Crate and Freight blog. My name is Steven and I have created this blog to share with you the experiences of our company. I was watching Shipping Wars the other day and found the show to be 'entertaining'. I have spent the last 28 years in the Transportation, Distribution and Logistics field and have never found late shipments, damaged deliveries and bad customer service to be funny, but it is when its not happening to you!!! My partner  +Roy Meyer   and I started Gateway Crate and Freight as a serious business, we pretty much know that if something we package and ship for a customer gets damaged, our customer is not going to be laughing. We take our time, analyze our packing and transportation options and offer our customer the right combination of logistics services to fill their needs. Proper packaging, safe transportation methods, and economical solutions are keys to being successful in this business. In this business people insure against dama...