As a certified purchasing agent, getting supplies from point A to point B in a timely and costly manner is paramount. Your company and your customers rely on you to keep costs down, but safely and quickly get freight goods to warehouses all over the world while working through air and ocean logistics. Sea freight takes longer; is at the mercy of the weather; is not reliably on time; and is limited to the ports that it can reach, so shipments can and will miss their schedules by up to a week.

Air freight truly has become the new last word in cargo and freight shipping. Air cargo was responsible for the shipment of over $6 trillion of commodities in 2012 alone, and the industry is growing. Some airlines are starting to devote themselves only to cargo, and in 2013 the industry collected over $75 billion in revenue for themselves.

So the question really is: why should you, a certified purchasing agent, choose air freight over other cargo shipping methods?

1. Short Transportation and Delivery Time. One of the benefits of air freight is that shipments go from point of production to point of delivery quickly, with fewer stops. Sea cargo needs to sail, put into port, and potentially change to another method of transport: train freight, truck freight, or maybe even air freight. Air cargo transportation allows the shipment to get to its destination quickly and efficiently, essentially door to door delivery, which is a necessary requirement for time-sensitive or perishable products.
2. Lower Costs. While sea freight might have lower costs for heavier shipments, air freight becomes cheaper on several counts. Air cargo has much lower insurances premiums when it comes to shipping, unlike sea freight shipping. Additionally, the security and safety of the cargo is significantly higher with air freight, as security measures are tighter and cargo more safely secured, ensuring that your product is not stolen en route or does not arrive damaged, costing your company more money.
3. Eco-Friendly. Air freight is much more eco-friendly than one might originally think. As a certified purchasing agent, choosing to ship your product in paper than in other, non-biodegradable materials will help with your company’s carbon footprint. Point-to-point transportation is a benefit of air freight, not just in terms of overall travel time, but also in terms of fuel efficiency and consumption, as fewer stops and connection points mean less fuel is being consumed and fewer toxins being released into the atmosphere.