Companies can ship products in many different ways. But because each way offers different advantages, companies often use several different transport types before a product reaches the consumers. This is where transloading comes into play. If you want to learn how to improve your speed to market with transloading, here’s what you need to know.
What is transloading?
Transloading is moving cargo containers from one transport mode to another. For example, a typical example of transloading is port containers being unloaded from rails and loaded onto trucks.
It’s often necessary to change the transport mode for successful delivery. At the same time, sometimes it’s required to split shipments into several railcars to deliver them to multiple locations.
Transloading is often used in shipments that include cargo palletization and switching multiple warehouses. This is a preparation technique used for a combination of goods that need to be delivered to stores.
How it gives you flexibility
Every business needs to understand its actual supply chain costs. But this sounds easier than it is. It’s challenging to recognize the whens and wheres in your supply chain as there are various points where your freight and carriers interact.
Setting up operations can last a long time, and when something goes wrong, you will have a lot of downtime. However, with transloading, all of the logistics are much smoother and easier to understand.
At every point, it’s possible to split cargos, transfer them, and switch to another transportation method. Companies that offer transloading have been doing this for a long time, and they have lots of experience. They handle this side of the business, and allow companies to focus on other essential aspects of their operation.
How you can establish new supply chains
Companies often have difficulties reaching certain places, as shipping is too expensive. With transloading, you can establish new supply chains by using different transportation methods.
One section of the journey can be reserved for a particular method, while the other can be switched to a different one. Every market covered by your transloader is another opportunity to push your products.
Every transportation method has advantages. If the price is the issue, you can switch to water transport. If you need to go deep inland and don’t have enough resources for air transportation, you can turn to trucks or trains.
It’s easy for your shipments to get locked in when using a single transportation method. Transloading lets you combine water, road, and rail, which enables you to reach new markets with ease while keeping your prices the same.
How you can lower fuel costs
Several factors affect road transportation costs, but fuel is the biggest. A lot of companies are simply used to avoiding road transportation. But in reality, this type of transportation is very cost-effective for short and medium distances.
At the same time, they are a lot faster than water transportation. Furthermore, road networks are well-established today, and no matter where your final destination is, you can reach it with ease. With ships, there is often the need to go in circles until reaching the closest destination to the delivery location.
Historically, the price of fuel for trucks has never been lower. However, modern vehicles have more economical fuel consumption. Simply put, the operation costs of road trucks are much lower. The lower the expenses are for the truckers, the less you will have to pay.
How you can improve time efficiency
When your warehouse or distribution center is located outside of the path of your typical transportation method, you’ll need a lot of time to deliver your products. For example, if you prefer railroads, your transit time will be longer.
In these situations, transloading can help you improve efficiency. The key is to recognize the best location where the shipment will be switched from train to truck or other transportation methods.
Making the switch takes some time, but compared to going around your delivery location, it’s a better alternative. Simultaneously, shipping long hauls with railroad transloading can give you more versatility and lower prices.
Instead of unloading everything to a single location, you can use trucks to unload piece by piece as the train moves on the main course. All of these trucks can quickly deliver to a nearby location as the train acts as the primary distributor.
How all of this improves your speed to market
Speed to market is not just about transforming an idea into a product ready for use. Innovation is faster than ever, and consumers are used to getting something new each month. This means that you need to make your products available quickly.
At the same time, modern consumers expect instant gratification. They want products in two days and nothing less. Speed is king, and this is what transloading is all about.
Bottom line
Transloading provides many benefits for your business on road, rail, and water. Streamline your shipping routes, boost efficiency, and reach out to new markets, and this will make your business more reliable and more competitive.
