Combining multiple less than load shipments and turning them into a single truck shipment is called a consolidated shipment. It allows the shippers to get extra income, and it gives them the capability to earn using their preferred rates. It is also beneficial to the logistics of the supply chain by reducing the cost of the shipment and saving more time. Consolidated shipment is the ideal form of freight transport especially for those who are sending small packages that would only fit in small containers. These small packages would come from different places, and to avoid paying higher rates by transporting them one after another, these packages will be collected into a single shipment. Consolidated shipment is very important in the industry of freight transportation, and learning how to use them in the right place and time would save the shippers a lot of money.
One of the benefits of consolidated shipping is that it is cost effective. Shippers see the cost effectiveness of consolidated shipment as its most important benefit. Cheap moving boxes is what most of the people would prefer, because they would only have to pay a small amount in order to ship their packages. Normally, when there are small packages coming into a shipping facility that will be delivered in a single location, the shipper would consolidate them into a single trailer. Delivering them single handedly would cost more, because even if the package occupies a small space inside the trailer, the whole thing must be paid out. However, if all of the small packages will be fitted inside the trailer, more money would be saved.
Another benefit of consolidated shipment is that it will reduce the damage to the package. No matter how advanced the industry is today, there are still packages which suffer damages, and it is still a big issue for moving companies. With consolidated shipment, the risk of damage for the item lowers down, because it limits the on-loading and the off-loading of the items between three individuals – the shippers, the facility for consolidation shipment, and the receiver of the item. With consolidated shipment being handled by three individuals only, it also gives the receivers the ability to control the goods as soon as it is delivered by the shipper. If there are any issues with the product quality, the consolidation facility will alert the receiver as soon as possible, so that they can request for a product replacement and save more time and money.
Despite the benefits that consolidated shipment promises, there are still challenges to this wonderful method. One of the challenges of consolidated shipment would be the limited number of companies willing to perform this service. There are only a few companies who are offering consolidation shipment, because of the complexity and the additional effort that has to be exerted in performing this task. An individual also has to know the considerable rates when transporting a shipment through consolidation so that they will not be overcharged. It also requires the shippers to study the practice first before trying it, because there are times wherein shippers spend more time planning how to consolidate a shipment, compared to the time spent when using a regular shipping method. Consolidated shipment is very complex, and before someone would try using the method, they would have to study it first to determine if it will work for them.
