Transport logistics is not “we ordered a truck and drove off.” It’s a system where money and deadlines most often leak through small things: a poorly chosen route, weak packaging, downtime during loading, a forgotten document, “the driver will figure it out.” The outcome is predictable: delays, extra invoices, disputed damages, missed deliveries, and conflict between the warehouse, sales, and the carrier.
The main beginner mistake is thinking delivery is linear: warehouse → truck → customer. In reality, it’s a chain of decisions: which shipping format to choose, where to build in a buffer, how to allocate responsibility, which risks to cover with documents and which with process. Below we’ll break down the basic concepts, typical approaches, and a practical order of actions—no magic and no “secret schemes.”
What it is: the time from when the cargo is ready to ship to when the customer actually receives it.
How it’s measured: in hours/days—ideally by stages: “ready at warehouse,” “vehicle arrives,” “loading,” “in transit,” “unloading,” “receiving/acceptance.”
Why it matters: lead time determines how much inventory you need to hold and where to place buffers. A common mistake is counting only “time in transit,” ignoring waiting and paperwork.
What it is: “On Time In Full.” If you delivered on time but are short 2 packages out of 40, that’s not OTIF.
How it’s measured: % of orders completed with no deviation in both time and quantity.
Why it matters: OTIF reflects the quality of the whole chain, not just the carrier. Sometimes the warehouse is at fault (cargo not ready), sometimes the customer (didn’t accept on time), sometimes planning.
What it is: not just the freight rate. It’s all costs tied to delivery: packaging, palletizing, insurance, loading/unloading, downtime, returns, mis-sorts, damage, urgent “top-up” shipments, and sometimes penalties.
How it’s measured: RUB/kg, RUB/pallet, RUB/order, or % of product value—depends on the business.
Why it matters: a “cheap trip” often turns out expensive if you then spend two weeks arguing and ship again.
What it is: agreed service rules: dispatch lead times, delivery windows, unloading time limits, notification procedure, and confirmation formats.
How it’s measured: a set of commitments + metrics (for example, notifying about a delay no later than 2 hours after the event).
Why it matters: an SLA is an “instruction manual for working together.” Without it, people start guessing—and guessing logistics is an expensive hobby.
What it is: how sensitive the cargo is to impacts, moisture, temperature, deadlines, and “human factors” (counting packages, labeling, theft).
How it’s measured: a checklist of risk factors and their probability/impact.
Why it matters: the same rate is not equally beneficial for glassware and for bags of bulk materials.
| Criterion | What to control | Typical “red flag” |
|---|---|---|
| Lead time | Stages + buffers | Only time in transit is counted |
| OTIF | Time + completeness | No single definition of “on time” |
| Total landed cost | All extra costs | Downtime/damage are not included |
| SLA | Windows, notifications, confirmations | “We’ll call when it happens” |
When it fits: volume is close to a full load; deadlines matter; cargo is uniform; route is stable; the customer can receive within a clear time window.
Pros: fewer re-handlings (less damage); simpler control; more predictable timing; easier to define responsibility.
Limits: if the cargo is small, you pay for “air”; harder to optimize frequent small shipments.
Risks: customer downtime; dependence on one trip (if it fails, it hurts); lack of accurate weight/volume data leads to choosing the wrong vehicle.
When it fits: regular small batches; many customers in different locations; price matters; timelines allow a small corridor.
Pros: cheaper for small volumes; easy to scale; you can build a regular shipping schedule.
Limits: more re-handlings and sorting; tracking is harder; higher requirements for labeling and packaging.
Risks: mis-sorts; terminal delays; disputed damages (harder to prove where it happened).
You need real input data, not “rough estimates.” Otherwise logistics turns into fortune-telling on a pallet.
Scenario 1 (FTL): starting point—regular pallet shipments to one large customer, strict 2-hour receiving window. Actions—fixed an SLA, added a buffer for vehicle arrival, introduced pallet photo evidence and loading/unloading time control. Result—less downtime and fewer disputed damage cases; timing became more predictable.
Scenario 2 (LTL): starting point—many small shipments to different addresses, constant “missing packages.” Actions—standardized labeling (order number + package X/total), introduced a packing list and photos of each package before handoff, agreed receiving rules with the terminal. Result—fewer discrepancies and faster dispute resolution. We’ve worked in this field for over 13 years—and yes, 80% of problems are solved not by heroics, but by process discipline.
1) What matters more: price or time?
It depends on the cost of failure. If a missed delivery breaks sales or production—time matters more. If you have stock and the customer tolerates a range—you can optimize cost. A good practice is to define shipment classes in advance: urgent, standard, economy.
2) Can you do without an SLA?
Formally—yes. Practically—you’ll still live by some rules, they just won’t be agreed and everyone will interpret them differently. You need at least a simple set of agreements: windows, downtime, notifications, confirmations.
3) Why do “packages go missing” in LTL shipments?
Most often because of labeling and mis-sorts at the terminal. If a package doesn’t have a unique identifier (order/package/total packages) and completeness isn’t confirmed with documents and photos, the dispute turns into philosophy. And philosophy doesn’t move freight.