For some business owners, shipping via barge is logical, whether it is because of costs or distance the inventory has to travel. If you frequently use a barge to haul or transport merchandise, you will spend a fair amount of time looking at barge unloading services. Contracting a third-party barge unloading service is the most common way to get barge-shipped items unloaded at dockside, and there are many different services to choose from. However, not every barge unloading service is the same, so how do you pick the best one? Here are a few features you should be looking for in a third-party barge unloading service. 

The company uses up-to-date unloading equipment. 

One of the first attributes to look at when considering a barge unloading service is what kind of equipment they use for the process. Some of the older companies may do a lot of the jobs manually, and while this does work, it is more efficient if the company has more up-to-date equipment for the job. A few pieces of equipment you should expect a good barge unloading company to have include things like a conveyor system, long-armed cranes, and hoists. These pieces of equipment will ensure the unloading process will be as time-efficient as possible. 

The company is located near shipping and receiving ports you use. 

It will not do a whole lot of good to contract a third-party barge unloading service that is not in close proximity to the shipping docks you typically use. Sure, they can travel and get the job done, but you will end up spending a lot of extra money on costs because you will be billed higher when the service has to travel longer distances. Track down the closest barge unloading companies to the shipping and receiving docks you typically use for the best options. 

The company is capable of handling the size of your inventory. 

Just like any other service industry, there are large and small barge unloading services and each one of them has their own level of operational capacity. If you go with a smaller service and you have greater merchandise-handling needs, you may not get the most efficient outcome for your money. Likewise, different unloading services are skilled with different types of merchandise. For example, some unloading service providers are more equipped with handling cargo housed in shipping containers, while others will be more equipped to handle material barrels.

For more information, you can contact companies like Sundbeck Inc.