Consolidated warehouses have become popular in the logistics market over the last few years and have become one of the fastest growing installation models, thanks to their capacity to respond to the new needs of shippers.
Companies accessing new regions, dedicated to any industry or specialising in e-commerce, in search of logistical savings or requiring temporary storage are finding these centres, close to consumer markets, increasingly attractive, in which the loads of different customers are stored to optimise their distribution.
What is goods consolidation?
To address this concept, we must take a step back to analyse the phase prior to the arrival of the goods at the consolidated warehouse. The consolidation process begins in the transport service, as goods from different customers are grouped together with those of others to share a truck's journey.
The cost savings are multiplied in storage, as all the loads are unloaded in the same facility, where they remain temporarily until their dispatch, where they are grouped again to optimise the movement in groupage services to their final destination or the next point in their supply chain.
What are the benefits for shippers?
These different stages in the goods consolidation process, and particularly the consolidated warehouse, provide five major benefits for companies specialising in any B2B or B2C business segment.
- Adapted to all types of goods: the main advantage is that they are services designed for any volume of cargo, adjusted to the needs that a company requires and that may arise at any time and in any region.
- A more economical supply chain: both in the transport and storage phases, there is a generalised saving in costs, as both the lorry and the installation are shared with goods from other customers.
- The company does not require its own warehouse: shippers can avoid contracting logistics space, which is particularly costly near cities, where consolidated warehouses are usually located.
- A permanent stock update: the optimal location of these facilities allows companies an immediate response to adjust their stock to any unforeseen demand.
- Ideal for ecommerce: consolidation centres also provide faster logistics solutions to meet the demanding delivery times of the ecommerce business.
The consolidated warehouse, a TRW service from Rhenus
The Rhenus Group's comprehensive logistics vision and accumulated experience allows us to provide transport and storage solutions adapted to all kinds of needs, also adjusting them to the requirements demanded by the market at all times.
In this sense, we have a portfolio of Transport Related Warehousing (TRW) services to offer a complete structure of facilities dedicated to storage in centres strategically located along the supply chain.
From pick-up to final delivery, these facilities offer temporary warehousing, fully synchronised with our road transport services, for maximum shipment agility.
This dense network of multi-client consolidation centres has five main characteristics:
- Adapted to all types of industries and prepared for the most demanding storage: ADR, agricultural products, textiles, pharmaceuticals or automotive components, among others.
- Proximity to urban markets, allowing regional distribution and supply.
- Integrated into our extensive groupage network to reduce transit and unloading times.
- Local plant replenishment of raw materials, semi-finished products, etc.
- Equipped with maximum security: fire sprinkler system, video surveillance, WMS (warehouse management system).
What additional services does Rhenus offer in these centres?
We see this period of storage in consolidation centres as an opportunity to add value to the management of goods. For this reason, the offer of Transport Related Warehousing (TRW) solutions is completed with a portfolio of complementary services to the transport of your goods:
- Assembly and repair services.
- Carrier management.
- Certificate management.
- Stock management and tracking.
- Quality control.
- Packaging, repackaging or labelling.
- KPI analysis.
- ICT solutions for integration with customers' IT systems.
Looking for an expert in consolidated warehousing? Contact us