How to Transport Specialty Products Such as Urgent, Dangerous, or Fragile Items

By: | February 17th, 2016

TNT

E-commerce is booming. More and more people are becoming tech-savvy enough to purchase goods online and, for younger shoppers, the idea of shopping on the high street seems old fashioned. To meet this new demand, shipping companies now have to be able to deliver in volumes higher than any other point in history.

Fed Ex and UPS alone deliver nearly 6.5 billion packages a year. That’s around 25 million parcels every single day. While overdue birthday cards and innocuous Amazon orders might make up the bulk of these orders, that doesn’t mean high-pressure speciality goods aren’t also included. Here’s how to transport those one-of-a-kind products.

Transporting Dangerous Goods

Dangerous goods that could cause serious hazards, such as fires, explosions, or environmental damage, must be transported under specific conditions by a trained professional. Materials are assigned to different classes depending on their predominant hazard. The Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) is the UK certification authority in this area. Before you order any packaging, you must ensure that the supplier sends you a copy of the certificate, information on how to package appropriately, and any relevant test reports. The driver should also be accompanied by a dangerous goods safety advisor, providing the delivery does not relate to these exceptional circumstances.

Dealing with Fragile Items

Similarly, when dealing with fragile items, it’s important that you choose a specialist service. This does not only relate to valuable antiques that can’t be easily replaced either. Delivering perishable goods like foods or plants is also big business. In these instances, the goods often have to be delivered on a strict deadline and under controlled conditions. For instance, items that need to be refrigerated are often shipped with dry ice. However, because this releases carbon dioxide gas, it’s also classed as a dangerous good which means shipments must be packed by employees trained in dangerous goods regulations

Delivering Urgent Documents

Finally, in a world where instant messaging and email dominate, it’s hard to imagine that certain kinds of documents are still required by law to be sent on paper and physically signed. While the future may look differently, this is still the norm for companies conducting business with other professional services, though, particularly in the public sector. Many third-party courier services like TNT now offer special services, including next-day or even same-day deliveries to meet this kind of demand. In this scenario, however, it’s crucial that you choose a reliable service that has a history of providing reliable and on-time transactions. After all, this is one area where you don’t want to cut costs.

Luke S

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