Planning and Consolidation Overview

Introduction

While Shipment Management focuses on individual bookings, Planning and Consolidation deals with optimizing transport by combining multiple shipments or parts of shipments into larger, more efficient units (consolidations).

FMS provides tools to group shipments, manage consolidated units (like containers or ULDs).

Key Planning and Consolidation Areas

Consolidation Worksheet: A workspace or tool used to view eligible shipments or shipment lines and group them into planned consolidations.
Consolidation Document: Represents a single consolidated unit (e.g., a container). It links multiple underlying shipments or shipment lines and often serves as the basis for booking main carriage transport or arranging equipment moves from the terminal to the Container Freight Station (CFS) or the opposite direction.

Shipment Consolidation: The process of grouping entire Shipments together, often used when multiple small shipments from different customers are combined into one container or truck destined for the same region.
Section Consolidation: The process of grouping specific transport legs (Sections) from different shipments, typically for the pre or on carriage where economies of scale can be achieved.

Typical Workflow

Identify shipments eligible for consolidation (e.g., based on destination, required dates, mode of transport) potentially using the Consolidation Worksheet.
Group selected shipments or sections into a transportation booking or planned Consolidation Document.
Plan the details of the consolidated unit or transportation booking (e.g., assign a container, plan loading and/or unloading sequence).

Manage the execution of the consolidated leg.
Deconsolidate upon arrival (if necessary) and manage the final delivery of the individual underlying shipments.

Table of Contents

Planning and Consolidation Overview

Introduction

Key Planning and Consolidation Areas

Typical Workflow

See Also