Hassle-Free Holiday Shipping Tips from Unishippers

With the end of the year and the holidays upon us, the last thing anyone wants to deal with are the typical shipping inconveniences that accompany a heavy shipping season. The following information and tips provided by Unishippers Global Logistics, LLC, the nation’s first and one of the largest small package and freight shipping resellers, will help your business eliminate these issues.
For Heavy Freight Shippers:

Be Smart about Pallets

• Pallets, when not packed and wrapped with care, can become a shipping nightmare. Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid pallet headaches with a few simple steps. Many shippers try to save a few dollars by skimping on shrink-wrap. All too often, boxes fall off of poorly wrapped pallets and are damaged or lost. A good rule of thumb is to use two to three complete wraps around the pallet to ensure a secure load. 
• If every box on your pallet is not going to be labeled individually, it’s a smart idea to at least mark each box 1 of 10, 2 of 10, etc. By doing so, you can minimize the risk of any boxes being missed if they should fall off the pallet. In addition, it is recommended that you mark somewhere on the pallet how many total boxes are in the shipment.

Deal Carefully with Damages

If the worst happens and one of your shipments shows up damaged, don’t panic. Calmly and carefully observing the following tips may help resolve the situation in your favor.

• The most important thing you can do when there are damages to a shipment is to completely fill out the claims form. While this seems like such a common sense recommendation, many customers neglect to take the time to understand and properly complete claims forms, which can often lead to rejection of the claim. Call the carrier if you’re not sure how to fill out a form, because it is ultimately up to the customer to prove that the carrier caused the damage. In addition, take pictures, if possible. Having photographic evidence of the damage will go a long way in justifying your claim. 
• Make sure that you mark on the delivery receipt that there are damages and have it signed by the driver to be submitted with the claim. Be sure to include details such as the quantity of boxes damaged, descriptions of the damage, etc. Again, make sure the driver has dated and signed the delivery receipt before he or she leaves.
• If you discover damage after the driver has already left, stop unpacking the shipment and retain all the packaging. Contact the carrier immediately and request that an inspector be sent to review the damage. Refrain from using any of the products from the damaged shipment, and if you must use some of the non-damaged goods, get approval in writing from the carrier’s terminal manager.

Check Carrier Holiday Schedules to Avoid Surprises

• During the holiday season, freight carriers will be closed or will be running a limited operation on certain days. Make sure to check the specific carrier website for details.

For UPS Shippers
UPS Daily Stop Customers, please take special note 

• If you are a customer who normally has a UPS Daily Stop, on December 24 and 31 your pickup will need to be prearranged by contacting UPS On-Call Pickup service (1-800-PICK-UPS). Daily Stops will not happen automatically. Please make sure you have made these arrangements by December 23 or 30 respectively. Please also note that UPS will only pick up air and international shipments on those days, not ground. Unishippers customers that already have a daily stop arranged with UPS will not be charged a pickup fee for December 24 or 31.
  Keep Track of Your Shipments with Popular Search Engines
• Tracking your UPS shipments is now quicker and easier than ever before. Search engines Bing and Google both now have the ability to track packages directly in their browser windows—all you need is your shipments’ tracking number.  To quickly track your shipment from anywhere with an internet connection, simply pull up Google or Bing’s home page on your computer or mobile device. In the search box, enter your UPS shipment’s tracking number exactly as it appears. The search engine will then give you a link that will take you directly to a UPS tracking page, revealing the shipment’s status, current location and expected arrival time. Staying up-to-date on your shipping status has never been easier or faster.

Other Important Tips
Drivers are just like everyone else and like to take time off around the holidays. This can result in carriers having a shortage of drivers and can potentially lead to delays. It is recommended to move up your scheduled pickup time(s) by at least an hour during the holidays to mitigate any potential problems.

If your shipment has some value to it, check your carrier’s liability limits. When in doubt, put insurance on your shipment. The peace of mind and protection that it provides will justify the extra expense.
Avoid having your shipment audited by the carrier (and the cost potentially increased) by properly classifying your shipment. Your risk of an audit rises dramatically when an incorrect National Motor Freight Carrier (NMFC) code is used, either deliberately or by accident.

With more than 285 Franchise locations, Unishippers provides small business owners a complete line of shipping options, including express, ground, freight, and international, all from one company. Partnering with more than thirty regional and national shipping carriers, including, UPS®, YRC™, Estes, and Saia, Unishippers can offer small and mid-sized business owners complete shipping options, attractive pricing, and local customer service that its customers can’t receive anywhere else.

About Unishippers
Founded in 1987, Unishippers has grown to be one of the largest resellers of complete shipping services in the nation with more than 285 franchise locations. Headquartered in Salt Lake City, UT, the Unishippers concept is simple – work with major carriers including UPS®, Saia, Estes and YRC™ to handle the pickup, transport and delivery of customers’ shipments. All the while, local franchisees work to provide customers with service and support. By leveraging the combined shipping volume of all its customers, Unishippers gets deeply discounted rates from its carriers, resulting in lower shipping costs. Unishippers serves more than 50,000 small to mid-sized businesses annually, and has been recognized as a top franchise in 2009-2011 by Entrepreneur, Franchise Times and franchise business Review.

Request Franchise Information From Unishippers
	Unishippers Unishippers franchise ownership really is different. As a shipping franchise owner you will work reasonable hours, earn residual on every shipment, and benefit from relatively low start-up costs and minimal overhead.   Snapshot Home Based: Yes Training: Yes Support: Yes VetFran Member: Yes Inquire about incentives that Unishippers offers to Veterans!

Request Information

---

*First Name:
*Last Name:
*Email Address:
*Mailing Address:
*City:
*State/Province:	Other - Not USA or CanadaAL - AlabamaAK - AlaskaAZ - ArizonaAR - ArkansasCA - CaliforniaCO - ColoradoCT - ConnecticutDE - DelawareFL - FloridaGA - GeorgiaHI - HawaiiID - IdahoIL - IllinoisIN - IndianaIA - IowaKS - KansasKY - KentuckyLA - LouisianaME - MaineMD - MarylandMA - MassachusettsMI - MichiganMN - MinnesotaMS - MississippiMO - MissouriMT - MontanaNE - NebraskaNV - NevadaNH - New HampshireNJ - New JerseyNM - New MexicoNY - New YorkNC - North CarolinaND - North DakotaOH - OhioOK - OklahomaOR - OregonPA - PennsylvaniaRI - Rhode IslandSC - South CarolinaSD - South DakotaTN - TennesseeTX - TexasUT - UtahVT - VermontVA - VirginiaWA - WashingtonDC - Washington D.C.WV - West VirginiaWI - WisconsinWY - WyomingAB - AlbertaBC - British ColumbiaMB - ManitobaNB - New BrunswickNL - NewfoundlandNT - Northwest TerritoriesNS - Nova ScotiaNU - NunavutON - OntarioPE - Prince Edward IslandQC - QuebecSK - SaskatchewanYT - Yukon
*Zip:
*Country:	United StatesCanadaAfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAndorraAngolaAntigua & BarbudaAntillesArgentinaArmeniaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanAzoresBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBermudaBhutanBoliviaBosnia & HercegovinaBotswanaBrazilBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameronCape VerdeCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColumbiaCongoCosta RicaCroatiaCubaCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjibkutiDominican RepublicEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEritreaEstoniaEthiopiaFaukland IslandsFiji IslandsFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGreenlandGrenadaGuadaloupeGuamGuatemalaGuineaGuinea-BissauGuyanaHaitiHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsraelItalyIvory CoastJamaicaJapanJordanKazakhstanKenyaKoreaKorea (North)Korea (South)KuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMelaysiaMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmar (Burma)NamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNorth KoreaNorthern IrelandNorwayOmanPakistanPanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRio MuniRomaniaRussiaRwandaSamoa (USA)San MarinoSaudi ArabiaSenegalSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSlovak RepublicSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSpainSri LankaSt. Kitts and NevisSt. LuciaSt. Vincent & GrenadinesSudanSurinarneSwazilandSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTahitiTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaTashkenThailandTogoTongaTrinidad & TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican CityVenezuelaVietnamVirgin Islands (UK)Virgin Islands (US)Western SaharaWestern SomoaWindward IslandsYemenYugoslaviaZaireZambiaZimbabwe
*Main Phone Number:		(555-555-5555)
Best Time to Call:	MorningEvening
*Net Worth:	Please ChooseOver $1,000,000$750,000 - 999,999$500,000 - 749,999$400,000 - 499,999$300,000 - 399,999$200,000 - 299,999$150,000 - 199,999$125,000 - 149,999$100,000 - 124,999$90,000 - 99,999$80,000 - 89,999$70,000 - 79,999$60,000 - 69,999$50,000 - 59,999$40,000 - 49,999$30,000 - 39,999$25,000 - 30,000$20,000 - 24,999$15,000 - 19,999$10,000 - 14,999less than $10K
*Liquid Capital:	Please ChooseOver $1,000,000$750,000 - 999,999$500,000 - 749,999$400,000 - 499,999$300,000 - 399,999$200,000 - 299,999$150,000 - 199,999$125,000 - 149,999$100,000 - 124,999$90,000 - 99,999$80,000 - 89,999$70,000 - 79,999	Min $70,000 required Note: Cash + Savings + Stocks + relevant convertible assets are considered liquid.
Investment Time Frame:	1-3 months3-6 months6-12 months
Where do you expect to locate your business?
	Your request is being processed. Please Wait...