Cargo transport - an integral part of many modern business areas.
Delivery of goods, raw materials, parts and intermediate products for subsequent production is done using different types of transport. Large companies that constantly need goods transport use the services of large transport companies. Such companies regularly forward oversized cargoes using road, air and rail transport for these purposes. But what should private contractors and small businesses do, which only occasionally need to forward cargo? The best solution for them is consolidation of group cargo.
The notion of consolidation?
The transport of small and light goods is quite disadvantageous, especially if long distance transport is required. Therefore, each respected transport company offers a cargo consolidation service. Consolidation involves the collection of cargoes from different customers in a single batch. Thus, customers leave their cargo in specially equipped consolidation warehouses, and when a sufficient quantity of goods is accumulated, they are transported according to the unique standards, taking into account all the legislative requirements. Unique documentation is issued for all cargoes. Before transport, the cargoes are sorted by size, impact resistance, weight, etc.
Requirements for consolidation warehauses
If a transport company offers a service such as cargo consolidation, it should have a specially equipped warehouse. The room must be equipped with cells for the storage of small cargoes, as well as equipment for the installation of general containers. The cargoes that arrive to the consolidation warehouse are packed in accordance with the uniform requirements and are preparing for further transport. The warehouse must fully comply with the security requirements, namely:
- să fie curat și complet închis;
- toate materialele trebuie să îndeplinească cerințele de securitate la incendiu;
- umiditatea și murdăria în depozit sunt excluse.
How is cargo consolidation happening?
After taking over the cargo to the warehouse, the specialists of the transport company perform the following tasks:
• checks the number of boxes to match the number of boxes
noted in the accompanying documentation;
• inspect the cargo in detail and check all documentation;
• perform an act of acceptance of the cargo from the sender.
The cargo is stored at the warehouse until the company has enough cargo to fill the car or other vehicle used for transportation. The maximum waiting time for forwarding is one week. If the delivery needs to be completed sooner, the company offers to forward the cargo with small vehicles.
What is the benefit of consolidation?
The convenient service of consolidation of cargoes from various clients is becoming more and more popular among small companies and private contractors. This is due to the following advantages:
• significant savings, since transport in semi-empty transports will be quite costly for entrepreneurs;
• ease of document preparation, which is professionally performed by the transport company during which time the cargo is ready;
• •safety of cargo storage in a consolidation warehouse equipped with special mechanisms for loading / unloading small and medium goods;
• minimum delivery terms due to the coordinated activity of the employees of the transport company.
The service, such as consolidation of group cargoes practically has no disadvantages. The only thing that can be noticed is the probability of delaying the forwarding for a maximum of one week, which sometimes does not fit into the work schedules of small companies and private contractors.
