Boston Pack and Ship has IT

Boston Pack and Ship has IT… Questions every IT professional should ask before shipping any hardware

DATELINE: BRAINTREE, MA… For all the time IT professionals can put into a server project—weeks, months, even years—it’s surprising how little thought goes into shipping that piece of hardware. Particularly when you consider the expense of the project, the value or information that piece holds and why you’re shipping the server to begin with—e.g. a presentation for the board of directors, a big trade show, to replace an existing server, etc.

As small load specialists for the past two decades, Boston Pack and Ship has packed and shipped countless pieces of delicate and valuable—both in dollars and information—IT equipment and hardware. According to Boston Pack and Ship, ensuring the safe delivery of your IT equipment has everything to do with making the shipping of your IT project part of your planning process.

“Insurance is all well and good but it doesn’t buy you back the big presentation on your $50,000 server that you were making in Chicago for executives who flew in from all over the country. Or return the petabytes of data on your company’s backup server, lost forever because it was damaged when you shipped it in the original packaging,” said Bill Yankee, co-owner of Boston Pack and Ship. “As packing and shipping experts, some of the questions we ask our customers are the same ones IT professionals should be thinking about long before their project is due to ship.”

Where is your server or piece of computer equipment going to and when does it have to be there? – Ideally, you want to leave a one-week buffer. That’s not always possible but you should make it a standing rule to always give yourself a minimum of two days.

How will your shipment get to the shipping company? – Many times damage can be done to your package on the way to the shipping company. Some shippers, like Boston Pack and Ship, will pick up the item for shipping so they can safely transport it back to the warehouse to prepare the shipment.

In what container will you be shipping your hardware? – If it’s the original box, you may want to rethink that. Most likely the server or other piece of hardware was shipped as a part of a group, shrink-wrapped on a pallet. Who knows how the packaging will hold up when shipped individually in its second use.

Who will be receiving the shipment on the other end? So your shipment makes it safely to the loading dock, but who’s going to take it to its final, intended destination? And how far away is that from the loading dock. That can make a huge difference, particularly if the loading dock is in another building.

Boston Pack and Ship specializes in shipments of less than 1,000 pounds—parameters that pretty much cover most computer hardware and servers. In addition to customize packages and crates, they employ foam-in-place technology to secure more expensive and valuable IT equipment. In addition, the Braintree-based company has an on-site workshop for it to build customized wood crates. Tailoring these containers exactly to the dimensions of the shipment dramatically reduces the possibility of damage during shipping.

“You can get the proper amount of insurance monetarily but the best insurance is the packing. The same guys at Boston Pack and Ship who pick up your hardware at your place of business are the same ones creating the customized package for your shipment, so they understand the delicate nature of your shipment. That’s not often the case with other shippers,” said Yankee.

Boston Pack and Ship offers multiple U.S. shipping options including ground and air delivery to a terminal for pickup or inside delivery. International options include air or ocean with door-to-door or door-to-port delivery. Full declared value is available on both domestic and international shipments. Pick-up of items to be packed and shipped for delivery is made by appointment.

For more information on the breadth of Boston Pack and Ship’s services, you can visit the company Web site at www.bostonpackandship.com. For a free quote on an out-of-state or international move or shipment, please call (800) 400-7204.