Choosing a transport partner is easy to get wrong because every company will tell you the same three things: they are reliable, they are affordable and they care about your goods. None of that is checkable. These seven questions are.
1. Do you own the vehicles, or are you brokering the job?
This is the most useful question on the list. A broker takes your booking and passes it to whoever is available, which means the person you built a relationship with is not the person carrying your goods, and accountability disappears when something goes wrong.
Brokers are not automatically bad, but you should know which you are dealing with.
2. Who is my point of contact, and will it be the same person next time?
Most transport problems are communication problems. If you re-explain your consignment to a different person every time you call, mistakes are only a matter of time. For contract work, ask whether you get a consistent driver as well as a consistent contact.
3. What is your collection window, and will the driver call ahead?
“Sometime Tuesday” is not a plan you can staff around. A serious operator gives you a window and a call before arrival. If they cannot commit to that on a quote, they will not commit to it in month six.
4. What will you not carry?
A straight answer here is a good sign. Companies that say yes to everything are the ones who improvise on the day. Hazardous goods, anything needing refrigeration, and anything requiring a permit they do not hold should all produce a clear no rather than a vague maybe.
5. What happens if the consignee is not there?
Ask before it happens, not after. Does the driver wait? For how long? Who is contacted? What does a redelivery cost? Getting this agreed in advance prevents the most common invoice dispute in the industry.
6. How do I know it was delivered?
Some form of confirmation should be standard. For a one-off delivery a signature and a message is usually enough. For regular distribution, agree a reporting format that fits how you actually work rather than accepting whatever they happen to produce.
7. What does this cost as a contract rather than per trip?
If you are moving goods most weeks, per-trip booking is usually the more expensive and less reliable option. A contract arrangement gives you a fixed schedule, a consistent driver who learns your sites, and a single monthly invoice. It also lets the operator resource your route properly instead of squeezing you in.
Warning signs
- A quote given instantly without asking what the load is, where it is going or when
- Reluctance to say what they cannot carry
- No named contact, just a general number
- Vague collection times
- Pressure to pay fully in advance on a first job
Good signs
- They ask more questions than you expected before quoting
- They decline something and tell you why
- They give a collection window and stick to it on the first job
- The driver calls ahead without being asked
- They suggest a contract only once your volume actually justifies it
Start with a small job
Whatever the answers, test a new transport partner on something that matters a little rather than something that matters a lot. How a company handles a routine delivery tells you how it will handle an urgent one.
Talk to us
We use our own vehicles and drivers, give confirmed collection windows and will tell you plainly if your load is not a job for us. See our transport and logistics service.
