Say NO to Freight Brokers

    The proliferation of Freight Brokers (aka 3PL or Third Party Logistic companies) more interested in making a quick buck than providing quality service caused Dogwood Ceramic Supply to develop a simple freight policy for all inbound and outbound shipments.  In simple terms:

    Freight Companies with local terminals are defined as those companies with a physical terminal appropriately staffed within the Zip Prefix or Area Code of the applicable shipping points.  For Dogwood Ceramic Supply's location this means the freight company must have a terminal within the 395 Zip Code Prefix or 228 Area Code.

    Daily service means Monday thru Friday pickup and delivery service within the local service area.

    Direct service means only the applicable freight company processes the freight without the use of “interline” or subsidiary units to 99% of the markets with a local population greater than 10,000 people.

    Guaranteed Services means exactly that.  A Guarantee.  If the freight company can not deliver on time, then the consignee will receive a full refund of the freight charges paid (accessorial charges may still apply).

    Proper classification of goods through the NMFC insures the goods are properly insured against damages.

    Freight Charges billed directly to the shipper, consignee or seller to insure parties responsible for the payment of the goods actually receive the full discounts and incentives from the freight company.

 Clean, Simple, Fair.

    Oh, and one last key point:  Only ONE freight company will be used by Dogwood Ceramic Supply per business day.  The administrative and dock operation costs of handling multiple freight companies is highly disruptive for any small business, the last thing we need is 6 different freight companies pulling up to the dock to be loaded when a single freight company could have handled every shipment.

Service Not Price

    If you notice, the primary issues for Dogwood Ceramic Supply are service related rather than price.  We realize this is something a Freight Broker trying to scam customers for a quick buck can not quite understand, but for the rest of the world a few dollars savings are not always worth the hassles and most importantly the risk.

    Take our loading dock operations.  Between prepping crates and pallets for shipment, our staff is performing any number of customer service and support tasks.  Having a seemingly endless train of trailers pulling up to the dock is very disruptive as each trailer must be serviced.  Having a single trailer pull into the loading bay is a single event.  The total amount of time to load the outbound goods may be nearly the same, but the choice of 1 daily disruption versus 6 daily disruptions is a no brainer for any business.

     If that single trailer and driver is from a local terminal then there are additional service options.  If Dogwood Ceramic Supply is especially busy servicing OUR customers, the local driver can shift stops and return at a later time.  Legally.  A freight company with a terminal one, two or even three hours from Gulfport Mississippi can not afford the luxury of returning to meet the needs of the customer.  The out of market driver, per DOT man-hour regulations, may be restricted from doing so.

    What happens on our dock also happens on the dock of OUR customers.  The last thing we need as a business is for our freight supplier to be unable to accommodate the reasonable needs of OUR customers. whether they are receiving 3 tons of moist clay or the smallest Paragon kiln.

    As noted, the issues that affect Dogwood Ceramic Supply with regards to inbound or outbound freight shipments also affects our customers.  Utilizing a freight company without a local terminal will always generate the highest rate of damaged goods simply because the freight company can not afford the time to make a second trip through a neighborhood and will often stuff a couple extra pallets on the truck trying to eliminate the return trips.  The local guy has the luxury to better plan his loads.  4 truck loads of goods per day is 4 truck loads of goods.  Shifting something from one truck to another doesn't change the number of trips or delivery stops but such shifts can make the driver's job easier and eliminate driver related freight damage.  Of course the local guy can also better accommodate the needs of the 7AM-Noon customer versus the 10AM-5PM customer because, again, he has the luxury of better planning his loads... something the out-of-towner can not possibly accomplish.

    Dogwood Ceramic Supply made the decision to use ONE freight company.  Just ONE.  Better dock operations for us is a huge no-brainer.  Local terminal means more accommodation of the the needs of the customer and far fewer damage issues.  Of course the freight service is guaranteed and the price is FAIR.  Oh, and if we need one of those dreaded last minute rush shipping jobs, the local guy can easily accommodate our request.

    Can some fly-by-night or scraping-the-bottom-of-the-barrel freight company do the same job for a couple pennies less?  The Freight Brokers say yes and will always promote the risky and the underperformers because their commissions and kickbacks are higher.  We disagree, the risks are just not worth saving the few pennies.

Remember, Good Service is Important to Everybody

Say NO to Freight Brokers

    PS:    Just one last thought.  LOCAL drivers = more sales.  Most store front businesses started with a local customer base.  Sure, sure some of us have grown to serve a more diverse, national customer base, but deep down in our guts we still remain a LOCAL business.  The local drivers (or their wives, girlfriends, children, cousins, next door neighbors etc) are ultimately the customers of the business.  Turning your back on the local drivers to save a few pennies is essentially turning your back on your local customer base.  Remember that fact when you bemoan the lack of local business.

12590 Dedeaux Road
Gulfport Mississippi, 39503
Telephone (228) 831-4848        Fax (228) 831-3111

Showroom Business Hours:

Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday 10AM to 5PM
Thursday 1PM to 6PM

Closed Wednesday and Sunday

The proliferation of Freight Brokers (aka 3PL or Third Party Logistic companies) more interested in making a quick buck than providing quality service caused Dogwood Ceramic Supply to develop a simple freight policy for all inbound and outbound shipments.