What is cargo consolidation in warehouses. Cargo consolidation - European logistics company ELC

Quite often, when transporting small consignments of goods, the optimal size of the consignment does not allow full loading of the container, truck or other means of transportation. Since renting a half-empty cargo compartment or increasing the consignment itself is inappropriate in terms of financial costs (especially for small companies and individuals), small-sized cargo can be sent as part of a consolidated cargo.

What is cargo consolidation? This is the combination of several consignments of goods or other material assets to move along an identical or similar route. This method of transportation allows you to consolidate not only goods from different suppliers, but also goods with different characteristics (if they are suitable for the conditions of a particular transportation).

The benefits of cargo consolidation are as follows:

• All shipments are sent under one transport document.
• Provides significant savings on the delivery of small-sized cargo.
• The customer can expand the range of goods for commercial activities while ensuring its minimum cost.
• When consolidating shipments of goods, customs risks are reduced.

The cargo consolidation scheme is as follows: after the cargo arrives at the consolidation warehouse, it is processed and stored until it is combined with the rest of the cargo and sent. When all the goods are collected, they are sent along the standard route. Like all large companies, UNOtrans Logistics has a well-established consolidation scheme and regularly sends road, sea, air and consolidated cargoes. Therefore, our customers do not have to wait a long time for the next opportunity to send goods.

Requirements for companies for consolidated transportation

Efficient logistics for consolidated transportation is possible only if the company providing this type of service has a sufficient technical park and an extensive network of receiving points (and pick-up points). It must provide the required number of regular flights in all directions and have a high turnover in them. In addition, an important point in the organization of this type of transportation is the availability of modern and highly reliable cargo for storage in different regions - not only within the country, but also abroad. All these requirements are fully met by UNOtrans Logistics.

As part of the consolidated delivery, the carrier is responsible for the goods until the moment of its issuance at a specialized point or at the Customer's facility. In addition, our company takes care of all the concerns related to packaging, labeling, temporary storage of goods. These services are performed additionally and are not included in the total price of cargo consolidation.

As a rule, the number and frequency of shipments performed at consolidation warehouses are strictly limited (for example, at least 1 shipment per week). This allows the company to adhere to the existing transportation schedule and not delay cargo in warehouses.

During the consolidation of cargo in the warehouse, the necessary storage conditions (including temperature) are provided, taking into account the specifics of a particular product.

The terms of execution of each order depend on the distance of cargo transportation, the workload of a particular direction, the complexity of the route and the selected vehicle. However, regardless of these conditions, UNOtrans Logistics always strives to fulfill any order as quickly as possible: both within the framework of domestic transportation and in the process of ensuring international delivery. Thanks to this, our Customers know for sure that cargo consolidation is convenient, fast and inexpensive.

For 16 years, our company has been helping clients: to carry out transportation at the best cost, to minimize risks by controlling transportation; third party liability insurance; membership in the Association of Forwarders of Russia and the Association of International Road Carriers.

Cargo Consolidation

Cargo Consolidation is a process or service typically handled by transport and logistics companies.

Consolidation of goods includes the consolidation of goods of several senders and recipients with further transportation in one vehicle, for example, in a truck or container.

The advantage of groupage cargo transportation is significant savings for each of the participants in the consolidated delivery.

Consolidated cargoes are often small in volume and are collected in consolidated or prefabricated warehouses, from where they are then transported to the country of destination. Consolidated cargo is also called consolidated cargo.

The transportation of groupage cargo is distinguished by the ability of specialists (logistics) to calculate and organize the space of a vehicle (truck or container), so that all goods with different characteristics fit there and are delivered safe and sound.

There are loads on which nothing can be loaded from above, there are dangerous goods that require special transportation, there are perishable goods that require special temperature conditions for transportation, there are goods that need to be secured with seat belts, there are especially fragile goods, there are urgent goods, there are especially valuable cargo, etc.

All these points must be taken into account when forming the order of loading (truck or container) and the route.

Consolidated car for international transportation- this is usually a truck with a volume of 82m3 to 120m3, in which cargoes of various senders and recipients are collected. Very often these are small volume loads. For each cargo in a combined vehicle, all the necessary documentation for customs clearance is drawn up. When transporting groupage cargoes, the conditions of storage and transportation for each cargo are taken into account.

Typically, logistics companies that are engaged in the transportation of groupage cargoes have consolidation warehouses where small groupage cargoes are brought.

The optimal route followed by the car is usually compiled in such a way that there are no more than 10 loading places, taking into account the consolidation warehouse. First, large-volume cargoes are taken from factories, then the car goes to the consolidation warehouse and is loaded with cargoes that are waiting for loading in the warehouse. In the EU, there are customs services at consolidation warehouses where you can open export declarations for goods, issue TIR and other necessary documents.

Consolidated container is often a 20 or 40 foot (40 HQ) container.

Consolidation of goods is the collection and storage of small consignments from several senders for their subsequent transportation under one transport document.

The concept and principle of cargo consolidation

Consolidation of goods is the stage of their accumulation and sorting in the warehouse of the carrier company and the direct formation of batches of disparate goods that will be sent on one vehicle in one direction.

Thus, the speed of shipment of cargo, its safety, and savings for the client and the carrier depend on the competent and prompt consolidation.

In general, the consolidation stage includes the following steps:

1. Collection of goods from the customer. Such an additional service is in great demand among the clients of transport companies, as it allows them not to waste time on independent delivery of goods to the company's consolidated warehouse. If the shipper wants to save money and considers it unnecessary to spend money on paying for additional services, he can deliver the goods on his own to the warehouse of the carrier in his city or region. It should be noted that large transport companies open consolidated warehouses in all regional and regional centers, acquiring or renting warehouse space. Thus, cargo carriers create an extensive network of consolidated warehouses, expanding their scope of activities and attracting new customers from various regions and regions of the country.
2. Cargo packing. Usually, customers bring or transfer goods already packed through representatives of a transport company. However, ignorance of the rules and requirements for packaging can lead to damage to the cargo on the road. In this regard, specialists involved in the consolidation of cargo in the warehouse of the enterprise often offer customers an additional service - additional packaging of cargo, which ensures its reliable and careful delivery.
3. Taring, that is, determining the exact weight of the cargo. Since the cost of transportation mainly depends on the weight, size of the cargo and the distance of delivery, this stage is important for all participants in the process and allows you to accurately determine how much the customer will pay for the delivery of his property as part of the combined consignment. Weighing is carried out using special precision equipment, dimensions are also measured - height, width, volume of one package, and then final calculations are made and an invoice is issued. It is worth clarifying that both the sender and the recipient can pay for the delivery of groupage cargo.
4. Groupage sorting. The key point of consolidation, since sorting allows not only to optimally place all the goods in one vehicle and form batches of homogeneous goods, for example, equipment for equipment, etc., but also to divide the goods depending on the direction of delivery. That is, first of all, the employees of the consolidated warehouse select the goods that will be sent, for example, to Arkhangelsk or Krasnodar, and then all the selected lots are sorted by type to ensure the safety of the cargo and prevent mixing household chemicals with products, and so on. The efficiency of the formation of consolidated consignments of goods is provided by logistics specialists who compose and analyze the route. For example, groupage cargoes sent in one direction do not necessarily have to have one final delivery point. On the way, the car calls at other consolidated warehouses in settlements located along the route and can deliver goods addressed to recipients in these cities. For example, on the way from Moscow to Arkhangelsk, a truck also crosses Sergeev Posad, Yaroslavl, Vologda and other cities, so a consignment of groupage cargo may include goods and property sent to these settlements.

It is the consolidation of cargo that allows you to form batches of groupage cargo and ensures the promptness of their delivery. At the same time, the more a transport company has its own or leased consolidated warehouses, the more reliable its network, the faster the cargo will become part of a large consignment and go to its destination.

The professionalism of the employees involved in tare, packaging and sorting of goods also plays an important role, since each stage of consolidation is important for prompt and careful delivery, and inaccuracies in this process are simply unacceptable.

Consolidation scheme: after the cargo arrives at the consolidated warehouse, it is processed and stored until it is combined with other cargo. When the cargo is fully formed, it is sent by road to its destination.

Consolidation of goods can significantly reduce financial costs and simplify the procedure for processing documents in the case of transportation of small-sized cargo or transportation of small permanent consignments of goods.

A well-established scheme of work and constant monitoring allows us to eliminate the possibility of errors when combining cargo from different senders. Warehouse complexes of the Haarmann group of companies are located in Germany, Lithuania and Poland, and are used both for the consolidation of small consignments of goods and for the transshipment of complete cargoes. The location of the Haarmann representative office in Vilnius (Lithuania) allows us to quickly solve the most complex logistics problems.

The Haarmann Group provides a full range of cargo consolidation services, including

• packaging and repacking in accordance with export conditions, wrapping with stretch film, strengthening existing packaging;
• labeling (including goods subject to mandatory labeling in accordance with legal requirements);
• palletizing and sorting goods;
• loading and unloading operations;
• photography and measurement of cargo items;
• warehouse accounting of movement;
• registration of necessary documents, including export declarations for the export of goods from the EU countries;
• customs clearance and cargo insurance;
• responsible storage in a warehouse of category A.

Warehouse complexes Haarmann correspond to world standards and are equipped with modern equipment for loading and unloading operations.

With Haarmann, you can be sure that each batch of consolidated cargo will be delivered on time using the “door to door” principle. Our regular customers have already appreciated all the advantages of cargo consolidation with Haarmann. Join their number and make sure that working with us is truly profitable!

See also:

List of Haarmann services

• from Europe to Russia and the CIS;
• delivery of goods from and countries of the European Union
• cargo transportation "from door to door";
• development of the optimal route and delivery scheme, taking into account the wishes of the client;
• import and export (customs broker AMG-TRANS);
• delivery ;
• , transportation and ;
• , delivery of project cargoes;
• using several modes of transport;
• for individuals;
• documentary support on a turnkey basis;
• (the customer does not need to be a participant in foreign economic activity - we ourselves purchase, bring, clean and sell goods in Russia);
• monitoring the location and condition of the cargo online;
• : transportation of goods under the economic sanctions of the EU-RF.

We are trusted by world-class companies such as

The service of transportation of goods is now a demanded industry. Consolidation of goods in logistics has a connection with prefabricated structures. The terms involve the collection and storage of goods from several senders, after which they are transported under a single transport document.

The concept of "groupage cargo"

If you need to order goods in another country or city, then you can follow 2 options. According to the first, you need to contact a transport company to rent a car or a container. Then you have to pay for the entire container, no matter how full it is.

You can choose 2 option - groupage cargo. Then it will be with other goods placed in the same container. As a result, the shipping cost is shared with other people. Consolidated cargo can go from any country. Goods from the USA, Europe, China go in one container, along a single route. They also have the same documentation. It takes time to collect such a cargo, and for the period of completion it is placed in a warehouse. This procedure is called consolidation.

Definition of cargo consolidation

Consolidation of goods - collection of goods in one place and their storage until the departure of the container. When it is completely filled, it follows a pre-set route. It turns out that the consolidation of goods is the formation of a groupage cargo.

The procedure has an important function - the assembly of prefabricated goods. During this stage, the goods are weighed, inspected, distributed according to various parameters, and they are also processed. This work is carried out as the products arrive, which reduces the preparation time before shipment.

How is consolidation carried out?

Consolidation of shipments of goods is carried out according to a special scheme. We need a warehouse to store goods. It can be located both in the city of the sender, and not far from a major transport hub. Goods that need to be delivered to the warehouse:

• to wrap up;
• weigh and issue;
• sort;
• be placed in a dedicated section of the premises.

During sorting, the cargo is sent to that section of the warehouse where there are similar products. Then it is placed in a container with other goods, then everything is sent to its destination. Cargo consolidation is necessary to simplify and speed up the creation of groupage cargo. Thanks to this procedure, the transportation of goods from the USA, China takes a little time, as well as financial costs.

Company selection

Delivery of consolidated cargoes in Russia and other countries is carried out by specialized companies. There are no universal firms, since by law it is possible to obtain a license for only one type of storage and transportation of goods. For example, a document is provided for the transportation of perishable goods. It turns out that the company can store and deliver goods of the same category. It should only be taken into account that the carrier and the warehouse owner are a single legal entity.

If the owner of the premises has many bilateral agreements concluded with transport companies, then he can be a consolidating party. He has the right to work with various goods, with the exception of explosives, chemical waste, medical preparations. There is a single license for these products. They are stored in separate rooms and packed in a special container. A company like this should have security.

How to choose the right company? You need to focus on the following criteria:

• you need to choose companies that have extensive experience in their field;
• the company should be able to deliver goods from the starting point to the warehouse;
• when consolidating small goods, they must be packed with high quality and according to generally accepted standards.

When the goods are transferred to the transport company, the customer is not responsible for the delivery and damage to the goods. This is taken over by the company.

Features of consolidation

Each consolidated cargo is considered as a groupage. You should not choose this transportation option if you plan to transport valuable works of art. The responsibilities of the carrier and warehouse workers include the safety of the cargo.

When products are calibrated, the customer must be present at this procedure. At this time, weighing, packaging and labeling of products takes place. Please note that there are no specific delivery times for products. In international law, there are only agreements that indicate that "reasonable time" must be observed.

Advantages

When ordering a service from a transport company, the customer receives the following benefits:

• need to pay for the service based on the distance, the weight of the cargo and the number of customers;
• the transport company is responsible for the safety of the cargo and the collection of documentation.

The client only needs to order the service, control the shipment of goods. And delivery to the destination occurs without his participation.

In the field of logistics, the term consolidation is understood as the combination of goods from different senders into one, in order to simplify and reduce the cost of their further transportation (groupage transportation). That is, it is the process of collecting and temporarily storing goods that are transported in one direction. In other words, consolidation is a complete set of cargo.

Such a system in many cases allows to reduce the cost of transportation for each customer. This is due to the elimination of the need to rent a whole car or container, which is irrelevant for small parties. The total cost of groupage transportation remains unchanged, but it is divided by several senders.

The process of forming a groupage cargo, the amount of which will be enough to fill a container or car, takes some time. The duration of the consolidation depends on the demand for the direction of transportation and other factors. Such a transportation system, although not the most efficient, remains profitable and relevant throughout the world.

The main stages of cargo consolidation

The speed of cargo delivery, as well as its safety, largely depends on how well the consolidation process itself is organized. After all, the more destinations the carrier serves, the more difficult this process becomes. In general, it can be divided into 4 stages:

• acceptance of cargo from the sender;
• package;
• weighing;
• sorting.

The first point implies not only paperwork, but also the delivery of goods to the warehouse of the transport company. It can be carried out either by the carrier or by the customer on their own, depending on the situation.

Packaging is most often done by the sender himself by default. However, you should be careful here and take all precautions to prevent damage to the cargo on the road. Therefore, additional packaging is often required.

The results of accurate weighing, or taring, directly affect the cost of transportation. It may also depend on the dimensions, if the product is very light, but takes up a large volume. Accordingly, at this stage, the exact cost of transporting a particular cargo is determined. The key point is sorting, that is, the direct picking of groupage cargo.

The company "VITALSPECSERVICE" provides the opportunity to send consignments of goods as part of consolidated cargo. We provide safe delivery in the shortest time and at the lowest cost.