Ship FTL in the GCC with Elite Co.

For shipping commercial goods throughout the GCC, from factory to distribution center, from DC to regional warehouses, or straight into your customers’ stores, full truckload freight (FTL) is the most cost-effective solution you can choose. Nevertheless, results can vary—depending on your GCC logistics provider of choice.

At Elite, we’re a GCC enterprise through and through, with an in-house truck fleet, fielding a team that knows the logistical challenges of the region—and excels in overcoming them.

What is FTL Logistics?

FTL logistics is a mode of shipping whereby a truck is loaded with one dedicated shipment only. As an FTL shipper, you pay for the use of the truck, which is then exclusively yours for the duration of the shipment.

You don’t have to fill the entire load space of the vehicle, but of course, it pays to do so. However, even if you don’t fill the truck, you can be confident that your goods will not be sharing a ride with those of other shippers.

4 Good Reasons to Choose FTL Shipping

Better freight rates:

FTL shipping rates (per unit shipped) are often lower—and simpler to understand— than those applied to other modes of shipping, since the logistics are not very complicated. Typically, you pay the price for use of a vehicle, regardless of how much load-space your freight occupies. Obviously, it makes sense to fill the truck if you can, though. Otherwise you’re paying to transport air.

No weight/size restrictions:

No weight/size restrictions: If your shipment comprises heavy or large goods, or you are a bulk shipper, FTL is often the best option. If your freight fits into one of our trucks, we’ll carry it for you, regardless of its weight or size.

Faster transit times:

FTL is widely acknowledged as being the fastest way to move larger freight. Our truck will go directly from your departure point to the destination with no stops along the way.

Minimal risk of damage:

Every time goods are handled while in transit, they are exposed to the risk of loss or damage. FTL shipping minimizes this risk because your goods are loaded at the departure point and unloaded at the destination, with no other handling in between.

FTL Freight Shipping in the GCC

However, supply chain solutions in the region must overcome specific challenges. For example, The GCC is not, in itself, a free trade zone, and shippers’ freight must undergo customs clearance when crossing any border separating the region’s states.

This can even include transit clearance requirements for road journeys crossing multiple borders in the GCC, such as freight transiting from the UAE to Kuwait via Saudi Arabia. The alternative would be to take advantage of bonded carriage out of one of the region’s free zones, such as Jebel Ali in Dubai.

Other regional challenges facing shippers and carriers include:

Low-density road networks, prone to delays and other issues that increase transport costs
Port congestion and inadequate infrastructure
Inadequate driver training and education

FTL Freight: We Take It… Seriously!

As your go-to GCC logistics provider, Elite tackles FTL challenges in the following ways:

We educate our drivers thoroughly using our professionally developed in-house training program.

We operate digitized and automated warehousing facilities, for maximum speed and efficiency in picking and packing processes.

We’ve digitized our entire regional trucking network, enabling pinpoint, real-time accuracy in freight tracking. You’ll have direct online access to our quotation, booking, tracking, document management, and billing facilities, all via an intuitive customer portal.

We engage specialists to guide consignments through the complexities of customs at the various GCC borders.

FTL Freight in the GCC: Documentation Requirements

Cross-border shipments must pass through customs at the entry point of the destination country.

Depending on the country, and the type of goods shipped, you’ll need to ensure that some or all of the following documents accompany your FTL shipment:

Invoices to verify the value and country of origin of the goods
A packing list
A delivery advice
A conformity certificate
Permissions and approvals

Why Choose Elite?

These are some of the features and benefits placing Elite easily among the best-in-class FTL trucking providers in the GCC:

Get online freight quotes, book and track your shipments, manage your documentation, and pay for your freight online, quickly and effortlessly.

You can be confident that your FTL freight is in the hands of people who genuinely know the geography and characteristics of GCC road freight transportation, because our team provides an on-the-ground presence in the following countries:

Oman

Bahrain

Qatar

United Arab Emirates

Offices in KSA and Kuwait will open soon.

We own and operate bonded and unbonded warehouses in Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE, so we can offer a fully combined warehousing and trucking service across the region.

We handle all types of FTL freight, including temperature-controlled products and hazardous goods, so you can trust us as your full-service FTL carrier, knowing that we’ll tailor and customize a solution to meet the needs of your business.

Our truck fleet is owned by our company, and our drivers are employed by us, so unlike our competitors who outsource their trucking, we offer total flexibility and control over your freight transport solution.

For larger corporate customers, we can provide dedicated trucks and drivers with branding.

Our FTL Shipment Management and Tracking Technology

Our standard APIs enable data exchange between our IT systems and your ERP platform.

We can also create customized interfaces to work with EDI and FTP data transfer protocols and can work with your company’s APIs if you prefer to have control of system integration.

If requested, we can provide you with advice and guidance relating to solutions and technology for FTL shipping.

If yours is a smaller business, or otherwise lacks an ERP or other enterprise management solution, our online customer portal lets you manage all aspects of your shipping, intuitively and easily, via the Internet.

Multiple Customs Clearance Options

We have customs clearance licenses in Oman and the UAE and work with trusted customs clearance partners in the other GCC states, so we can provide you with a multitude of options for customs clearance, whichever border your freight will cross.

Example Customs Clearance Scenario: From UAE to Oman: From Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone, we’ll truck your shipment via Hatta to the Oman border town of Wajajah. We clear it through customs and carry it directly to your customer.

The GCC Trade Lanes we Serve

We operate daily FTL trucking services along the following GCC cross-border trade lanes:

UAE to Oman
UAE to Saudi Arabia
UAE to Bahrain
UAE to Kuwait
UAE to Qatar

Oman to UAE
Saudi Arabia to UAE
Bahrain to UAE
Kuwait to UAE
Qatar to UAE

Of course, full truckloads aren’t the answer for every GCC road freight scenario, so as a full-service logistics provider we offer a range of other trucking solutions, including LTL freight and last-mile delivery.

In case you need more than just transportation for your goods, we also can help you with...

On our main services page, you’ll find a summary of all our GCC freight and logistics solutions, along with onboarding details and other useful information about our supply chain services.