Transportation is important to a firm's supply chain operations because much of the cost of the supply chain is involved in the transportation portion of operations. Many variables go into the decisions that need to be made when choosing how to handle the transportation of goods: What kind of materials are being transported, what is the location and destination of the raw items or materials, how quickly do the items need to be received, and what sort of storage or warehousing is required? Liquid items are generally moved by pipeline, bulk and heavy materials can be moved by rail, fragile items and items that need to be moved quickly can be transported through air cargo, and many types of both raw and finished materials can be moved by truck, usually over small to mid-range distances. Cost efficiencies need to be weighed based on both the needs of the company and the customer. This is why, when some customers order an item online, they can choose standard shipping (low-cost or free), expedited shipping (usually 1-3 days) for a nominal fee, and overnight shipping for a much higher fee. An additional benefit is the safety of the product because it is handled