Consolidated services, or consolidated shipping, simply refers to consolidating items to ship in order to optimize efficiency, reduce cost and make the most of shipping space. Consolidated shipping is essentially the process of combining multiple LTL shipments from various suppliers. By doing so, you will only pay for the space your freight takes up within the load.
Choosing consolidated services is all about efficiency, whether you’re shipping medical supplies to a large hospital chain or products to retailers. Keeping inventories low and working with others in your supply chain can reduce costs, eliminate waste and ensure your shipments arrive on time. Fewer touchpoints and therefore reduced interactions with your freight, along with a well packed truck, can also reduce the risk of damage as your freight is transported.
Rather than choosing inefficient LTL shipments and making time and space on your dock for multiple small pick-ups, choosing consolidated services keeps pick-up and delivery simple. With consolidated services, your products will be transported to a consolidation center. Your delivery and other deliveries can be easily combined here to ensure an efficient path, and reduce waste and unnecessary expense.
Consolidated services can work particularly well in terms of retail. Retail consolidation can make shipping to retailers more efficient, especially if you’re currently underutilizing the freight space you have or often choose LTL shipments, which can be wasteful and expensive. By combining shipments from multiple suppliers, products can reach retailers more efficiently. This particular consolidated service is known as retail consolidation.
Considering the benefits of consolidated services can help you determine whether choosing consolidated services is right for you. Here is a simple breakdown of some of the key benefits to choosing consolidated services.
Choosing to work with a trusted 3PL to move away from LTL deliveries and towards consolidated shipping could be the right move for your business. Choose a 3PL with vast transportation experience, and a network across the US and the world, dependent on your shipping needs.
For more information on how Belmann Integrated Logistics can help with consolidated services and other transportation solutions to optimize efficiency and reduce cost, contact Beltmann Integrated Logistics today.