Save on Ocean Shipping Costs With Freight Consolidation and Order Management.
Freight consolidation can help you save on costs while still getting everything delivered where needed and efficiently.
The shipping industry is tough, but it’s important for any company that ships products to understand available cost-saving opportunities.
There are many different options out there and if you’re not sure which ones will work best with your needs, then learning about them can help save money in the long run and keep things moving smoothly!
One great cost-saving method is freight consolidation. Also known as cargo consolidation, assembly service, or consolidation service for smaller shipments that typically do not fill a full container.
Consolidation can help you save on costs while still getting everything delivered where needed and efficiently.
Read on to learn more about how freight consolidation works, and how to take advantage of this shipping method to help streamline your logistics.
What is Freight Consolidation?
Freight consolidation is when multiple smaller shipments from a region are combined into a single larger shipment transported by a single carrier to a destination.
Loads of this type are often arranged for ocean freight that goes into a full container load (FCL).
Consolidating shipments, especially during times when market conditions are challenging, helps reduce freight and associated logistics costs and simplifies your supply chain.
It gives your company the flexibility it needs to place smaller orders without unduly escalating landed costs.
And even if your company doesn’t have enough volume to fill a container with its smaller orders, consolidating LCL shipments into the same container by a freight forwarder can still offer incremental savings on the destination, delivery, and Customs clearance costs.
Consolidation Benefits and Options
When smaller shipments can’t fill up a container on their own, less-than-container load (LCL) consolidation is an option.
Even if your company doesn’t have enough volume to fill a container, your freight forwarder can group your LCL shipments with its other customers’ cargo, moving your freight as a single lot, and avoiding minimums on freight, destination, and delivery costs.
LCL consolidation enables you to ship LCL freight like FCL freight by sharing costs with the other companies whose goods are in the container.
The combined LCL shipments can also be cleared through Customs on a single entry, saving on Customs clearance expenses.
The advantage of working through your freight forwarder is that they likely have dozens of consolidation options, all delivered through a single relationship.
The second option is Buyer’s Consolidation. Your freight forwarder acts as your advocate and communicates directly with your overseas suppliers to combine smaller orders from multiple suppliers into a single container (FCL).
These options offer lots of benefits including lower freight costs, faster transit and delivery times, and the lowering or even elimination of destination handling charges.
Six Tips to Leverage Freight Consolidation and Save Money.
Get started with six simple steps:
- Leverage an ocean consolidation program to save big on freight costs. Ocean consolidation mitigates costs, lowering freight, destination, delivery, and Customs clearance costs for every unit you ship.
- Speed up and simplify the delivery of your goods. Consolidation can move more quickly, allowing you to fill orders as soon as they arrive.
- Drive efficiency. Consolidation saves on staff hours because your company is tracking fewer transactions for the same number of orders. Your freight forwarder helps with coordination, providing visibility into what they learn through an automated portal.
- Digitize your shipping onto a single platform. The average shipper sends and receives 24 emails and spends 12-48 hours moving a shipment, costing time and money. Share Purchase Order data with your freight forwarder to coordinate shipping with your overseas suppliers, and offer control tower order status visibility, and the landed cost of the product at the item level.
- Reduce touch and risk. Buyer’s Consolidations reduce the handling of your goods. Less handling mitigates the risk of loss or damage.
- Help to support green initiatives. Consolidating freight reduces your company’s environmental footprint by contributing less waste and fewer emissions.
How to Find a Forwarder to Work With
Consolidation can be complex and difficult to implement, but here are some important considerations.
Choose a freight forwarder with a local presence and strong supply chain automation options that drive efficiencies.
They need to have a robust network of ocean transportation and destination fulfillment options in your markets while having expert knowledge of supply chain and compliance regulations.
Working with a freight forwarding partner like BGI is a smart operational move.
We have dozens of consolidation options at key points overseas and a best-in-class order management system that will connect you to the world.
By marrying your Purchase Order data with feedback from our overseas partners, we lower your shipping costs and get your goods to your customer more quickly.
You tell us when and where your goods are coming from and where you want them to be delivered, and we’ll leverage our resources to make it happen.
We’ll provide accurate updates on the status of your goods and alert you if there are delays.
Let BGI give you peace of mind. We’ll have the right experts managing your supply chain. Let us worry about the journey while you make the right decisions for your business.
BGI Can Help
Our expert team can help ensure you are making steady progress and will assist you in laying out a practical approach to leverage freight consolidation.
Start now!
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Call us if you have questions or want to find out more about BGI
800-987-4244