It needn't be an all-or-nothing decision, he notes. Consolidators can best be used to get products to certain parts of the country. Say your distribution center is on the East Coast. Utilizing a consolidator for your East Coast deliveries may save you money. But it would be better to use a parcel carrier such as UPS for your West Coast shipments, because using a consolidator for that means your West Coast delivery times could be up to seven days — which may be unacceptable to your customers. "There's always a cost savings when using a consolidator, but not a time savings," Kline explains.
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It needn't be an all-or-nothing decision, he notes. Consolidators can best be used to get products to certain parts of the country. Say your distribution center is on the East Coast. Utilizing a consolidator for your East Coast deliveries may save you money. But it would be better to use a parcel carrier such as UPS for your West Coast shipments, because using a consolidator for that means your West Coast delivery times could be up to seven days — which may be unacceptable to your customers. "There's always a cost savings when using a consolidator, but not a time savings," Kline explains.