Is paying for more free time cheaper than rushing every delivery?
For imports with uncertain availability, how would you compare extra free time with the cost of arranging urgent trucks?
All questionsLogistics
10 replies
- Start with how many days you actually use, measured from the applicable clock. The answer changes a lot if delays happen before availability rather than after your team can collect.
- I'd separate terminal storage, demurrage and detention. The extra days in a quote may cover only one of them, so the wording matters more than the headline number.
- A reliable warehouse appointment can be worth more than an extra allowance. Paying for time won't fix a receiving dock that keeps postponing the delivery.
- Compare a few realistic cases: normal pickup, two-day delay and a longer hold. Don't let one terrible shipment define the cost of every future container.
- For heavy boxes, include specialist chassis or truck availability. An urgent truck isn't always something you can buy at the last minute.
- I'd negotiate the clock and the return location together. Generous detention days aren't as generous if the empty has to travel a long way back.
- Ask whether unused days have any value or simply expire. A prepaid allowance can still be sensible, but it shouldn't be presented as a guaranteed saving.
- Give whoever books transport visibility of the last free day. There's little benefit buying a better allowance if the operational team can't see it.
- You could trial the extra time on the least predictable lane first. Keep the comparison against similar cargo so the result tells you something useful.
- I'd avoid turning free time into the default warehouse buffer. It is there to manage uncertainty, and a container sitting longer still ties up stock and attention.
Write a reply
Loading…