Are you trying to decide if working with a freight carrier is worth it? Let's take a look at some different things that may or may not occur when shipping bulk items.

An order you send to any food ingredient supplier is, at the very least, a gentleman's agreement on both sides. To be able to get just what you're looking for you will need to make sure that you include all the necessary details.

When was the last time you were able to order a shirt on, say, Amazon and you didn't have to specify the size you wanted, color, or your shipping address? You are probably thinking to yourself, never.

Let's begin to look at the different details you need to make sure you are giving your supplier on your PO. In the industrial industry, a purchase order is important, to begin with - it's basically your contract. With any contract, you will want to make sure that you specify in writing the details you have agreed on. You will also want to make sure you've covered everything that could affect your order.


Sometimes the details can be a wide range and you may not naturally include certain information because it doesn't directly affect you. That's why we have created a list of all the information that you should make sure you include when you're putting your orders together. This applies to any industrial food supplier you work with.

Are you trying to decide if working with a freight carrier is worth it? Let's take a look at some different things that may or may not occur when shipping bulk items like bulk olive oil or bulk non-GMO canola oil.

For bulk shipments packed on pallets, your order will deliver on a freight truck. If you’re not used to working with a freight carrier it will take some some time to get familiar with the process.

Below we have listed a few things we feel you should know.

Have you ever wondered how companies that sell in bulk handle their shipping charges? Depending on how your supplier provides their pricing, shipping may or may not be included in the price automatically.

A price for bulk oil will often be quoted 'FOB' or 'Delivered'.  Do you know what these terms mean? Having a clear understanding of these terms is very important to allow you to do an accurate cost comparison.

Are you looking at bulk oils for the very first time from a bulk supplier? If your answer is yes, there are a few basics you will need to know. For example, you’ll need to know how much oil you are getting in one shipment, determine the weight of the different packaging options, and understand how much oil you are getting on one pallet.

When looking to purchase bulk oil — olive oil, or any other oils for that matter — it is important to understand that each different supplier is going to have a minimum order. Distributors, for example may have a smaller minimum order like a few cases or a $200 minimum. Large manufacturers, on the other hand, will have a larger minimum order.

This “minimum order” information is good to know as you are doing your supplier analysis; it will tell you how much capitol you’ll be required to invest in inventory at one time and help you weigh out if it’s too much inventory for you to hold and use over time.

Do you have totes, drums, or 35 lb. containers you are wondering what to do with after you are done with them? Surprisingly, there are lots of different ways to either get rid of them or to use them for other purposes.

Learn how to spend less on shipping

1. Always ship a full pallet at a time. Freight shipping is more efficient when the pallet is packed to the max, because a pallet will cost the same (or close to the same price) no matter how much or little you put on that pallet. By shipping a full pallet, you will get the lowest shipping cost per pound.

Shipping is a big factor when you’re determining your delivered bulk oil price.

Typically, your supplier will initially give you an FOB cost, which is the price sitting at their facility.  Then your shipping will be a special cost to your address that will be added on to that. Those two factors will give you your delivered oil price, which really the important factor to focus on because it’s the actual money that will be coming out of your pocket.

So how do you figure out your delivered prices, including the cost of shipping? We’ll explain.

Shipping has a big impact on the total delivered cost of your bulk oil ingredients--or any ingredients for that matter. The amount that it costs to have products shipped from your suppliers door to your own gets added to the FOB cost that you were originally quoted. Together, these two factors (FOB cost + shipping cost) make up the total price that you pay.

That being said, it’s very important to understand what makes your freight cost what it is, because it can make or break how competitive your delivered prices are. There’s lots of complex ins and out of the transportation business, but we’re going to focus on the basics. There’s two common different ways that freight costs are calculated: weight based rates or flat pallet rates.

Have you ever tried to buy something, only to realize when you’re 

about to pay that there’s a whole bunch of extra fees that you didn’t know about before?

Like when you join a new gym only to find out that there’s a $50 new member fee.

Or when you buy concert tickets online and there is a $5 “convenience fee” shown at the end of check out.

Or when you sign up for a new cell phone plan, and there’s a list of a bunch fees you’ve never even heard of, listed in small print at the of your contract. To top it off, most of the time you can’t even figure out what you’re supposed to be paying extra for!

These kinds of extra fees and hidden charges still happen all the time, in all different industries. And the customer response is almost always the same: disgruntled compliance.

Most often, we there’s no way around these fees. And it’s not that we don’t want to pay them. We just want to know what they are, outright and in full, before we pull out our credit card to pay. We want to know the final cost that’s going to be charged. Total price, delivered cost, all-in. Common sellers, just be straightforward!

In other words, we all just want to be informed buyers.

As a manufacturer, you may debate whether it’s better to receive your ingredients in LTL (Less Than Truckload) shipments, or if it’s better to order a full truckload at a time. This is an important question, because it will affect the total delivered cost of your ingredients.

This discussion will help you compare each option and come to a good conclusion about which you should choose for your business.