Gateway OT/Crate and Freight/DeliveXy

Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States and is just as easy to ship to as pretty much anywhere else in the Untied States. In fact all the major parcel companies and many of the major LTL companies service Puerto Rico as a truck shipment even though the shipment spends a few days on the water. However one thing that is often overlooked by shippers is the necessary US Census Bureaus reporting requirements. Although shipping to Puerto Rico is pretty easy, companies that do business in Puerto Rico or anyone making a sale to a resident of Puerto Rico and shipping the product there is required to report those items to the US Census Bureau because they record it as an export out of the United States. Gateway O.T is an AES Direct certified company. This allows us to file export data electronically with the US Census bureau on behalf of the U.S.P.P.I the U.S Principal Party in Interest. Companies or as in the case of a person selling an item on eBay to someone in Pue...

Back in August I wrote in this blog about U Ship - The Ship anything, anytime, anywhere online web portal whose main marketing tool is the A&E TV show "Shipping Wars". As a U Ship transportation service provider I am a big supporter of the online tool that links shippers with shipping providers as well as a fan of the show. In fact, the people posting things on U Ship, over sized, odd shaped, fragile and valuable are exactly the kind of customers we are looking for. Its a great tool for a company like us. Gateway Crate and Freight currently has a 5 star rating (Out of 5) for the shipments we have done so far on U Ship. The items have ranged from an entire 1 bedroom apartment to an expensive piece of Artwork. Most of the customers have been appreciative of our packing and shipping services. In my old blog I listed some of the frustrating issues in dealing with customers and brokers on the site. The biggest issue is communication. U Ship policy dictates that quotes be...

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...