If you do not purchase something in a retailer or from a private seller in person, then most likely, you just ordered an item that will be delivered to you. How will it get there? Based on the distances involved, geographical terrain, and desired arrival time, a variety of vehicles might be used. Short term deliveries are made by truck or car, such as postal vehicles delivering small packages from the post office to a residence. Larger packages may arrive in a more specialized truck. But what about longer distances? Most often, airplanes and ships may be used for same day delivery services, and cargo companies are ready to make those deliveries at any time. American air cargo may fly from Florida to the Bahamas or Haiti, for example, and make an overnight trip of desired. Air and ocean cargo is delivered to and from the Caribbean islands regularly, and many customers may ask for same day delivery service. They may get it when airplanes are involved, and trucks and crews at multiple airports will be ready to make that same day delivery service possible. And all this may be handled with a purchasing agent.
On Cargo Deliveries
Many goods in the United States are delivered by semi truck, but those trucks cannot go everywhere. The numbers show that plenty of cargo is delivered every year via planes and ships, and these vehicles are specialists in delivering to islands. Often, such planes can make both domestic and international flights, and many of these planes carry cargo exclusively (though passenger jets can also deliver cargo). Around 30% of the world’s cargo, by value, is delivered by plane, and this industry makes many billions of dollars every year.
Suppose a package in the continental U.S. needs to arrive in the Dominican Republic within 24 hours. How to do that? A truck delivers the cargo (and similar goods) to a jet, and crews will load it. That jet takes off and flies right to another airport in the Dominican Republic, and at that airport, crews unload the items and deliver them more locally by truck or other vehicles. Such services typically cost extra fees, but buyers will know the exact numbers before they commit to a purchase. In general, the shorter the delivery time, the higher the fee, and many customers are quite willing to pay extra. Some cargo may be time sensitive for one reason or another, or the buyer simply enjoys the convenience of fast deliveries. A same day delivery service like that is possible when jets are ready to fly at any time of day or night, to and from any airport. In other cases, heavier (or greater quantities) of cargo can be delivered by ship, and arrive at the dock of an island for unloading.
A Purchasing Agent
Some buyers don’t even place the orders themselves, but instead, hire purchasing agents to handle all this. A purchasing agent does more than oversee financial transactions for their client, though. A purchasing agent will have many factors to juggle, such as knowing what sort of items the client wants to buy, and when and in what quantity. Once the purchasing agent knows what must be sought out, they will review a variety of sellers and distributors, and find the one that can offer the best price on both the item and shipping fees (and fastest delivery times). Then, the purchasing agent places the order and handles the financial transaction, and that agent may receive tracking information from the carrier. This may include estimates on when a plane will land at an airport, or tracking a semi truck with GPS systems on board.
A purchasing agent may also keep careful track of their client’s inventory to know when orders must be placed, and that agent may keep track of which particular shippers and carriers have proven the most efficient and price-friendly (to make use of them again in the future). A purchasing agent may juggle multiple relationships with various shippers and clients over the course of their work.
