Shipper vs Carrier, Is there a difference?
Many people use these two words interchangeably, but they have different meanings in the world of logistics. What are they, and how do they differ?
What Is a Shipper?
A shipper is also referred to as a consignor. This individual or company arranges to have goods shipped between locations. Most often the shipper supplies or owns the product.
The shipper has to pay for the cost of transporting goods, and this cost is often passed along to the consumer.
What Is a Carrier?
An individual or a company that carries, transports, or moves goods between two locations is a carrier. The carrier has legal permission to transport items by land, water, or air.
Goods can be delivered via two main methods:
· Common Carrier: A transport provider allowed to offer services to anyone.
· Contract or Private Carrier: A transport services provider working under contract for a specific shipper.
The Main Differences Between the Two
Essentially, then, the shipper makes all the arrangements for transporting goods. A shipper is in charge of scheduling and paying for transportation services. Shippers can be, for example, sellers, exporters, distributors, or employees working in an organization’s shipping and receiving department.
The carrier is the entity that does the actual transporting of the goods. A carrier is in charge of physically moving goods from one point to another and holding it temporarily when necessary. Carriers can be service providers offering transportation via trains, trucks, ships, planes, and other means.
Both shippers and carriers play crucial roles in distributing goods, and both can benefit from using yard management software like Gatego.
How Gatego Fits In
As a simplified yard management solution, Gatego helps carriers and shippers manage their trailer yards efficiently. Gatego replaces clipboards and Excel sheets, streamlining the process of tracking yard logistics, including who went in, who went out, and how many trailers are inside.
Gatego enables you to exercise more control over your yards and warehouses. You’ll know which trailers are empty and ready for use and which have been sitting in your yard for a while and require unloading.
Being able to track trailers lets you locate them quickly. Gatego allows your personnel to maintain better control at the gate and report any damages to trailers right away. Schedule a quick demo to see how Gatego can streamline your operations and modernize your workflow.