Save costs through consolidation

In a market where margins are under pressure and sustainability is becoming increasingly important, companies in the transport and logistics sector are constantly looking for ways to work more efficiently. A proven strategy for reducing costs while also cutting CO₂ emissions is to consolidate shipments.

What is shipment consolidation?

Shipment consolidation involves bundling multiple (partial) shipments—often from different suppliers and/or to different destinations—into a single combined load. Instead of running multiple small transports separately, a single larger means of transport is used. This increases the load factor and reduces the number of kilometers driven.

Direct benefits for your supply chain

Lower transport costs:
By making fewer trips and using freight capacity more efficiently, the costs per unit are significantly reduced.
Better CO₂ performance:
Fewer vehicles on the road means a direct reduction in emissions. This contributes to sustainability goals and to your organization’s image.
Less handling and delays:
A smart consolidation strategy prevents unnecessary stops and reduces the risk of errors or delays in the warehouse.

How IDS adds value

At IDS, we believe that structural cost savings start with insight. Using our 4PL platform, we collect data on order flows, volumes, carriers, and frequency. This allows us to identify consolidation opportunities and develop customized consolidation schedules.

Consolidating shipments:
There are various ways to consolidate shipments, the most common being:

Financial consolidation
Transport orders with the same pick-up/loading date and location, and with the same delivery address and carrier, can be financially consolidated into a single shipment. This directly leads to lower transport costs.

Geo-consolidation
We can combine transport orders with a delivery date within a specific time window and destinations within a predetermined geographical area (e.g., within 50 km). This reduces the number of stops and lowers the cost per trip.

Consolidation of delivery windows
When transport orders with the same pick-up location and/or delivery address have delivery dates that fall within a specific working day time window, we can propose to bundle them. This also results in direct cost benefits.

Practical example: Elementis

An inspiring example of the benefits of shipment consolidation can be found in our collaboration with Elementis, a leading company in specialty chemicals. By implementing a Transport Management System (TMS) and intelligently combining shipments, Elementis has achieved significant efficiency improvements and cost savings. Marco Hesselink-Kerkvliet, European Director of Purchasing and Transport at Elementis Specialties, emphasizes the importance of insight and data analysis in this process. “The system shows us whether shipments can be intelligently combined and consolidated. I think we can achieve cost savings of 20%.”

Read the full customer case study here: Elementis Case Study – IDS

Ready to consolidate?
Want to know where consolidation gains can be made in your supply chain? Our specialists will be happy to map this out for you with a quick scan.

Schedule a no-obligation consultation and discover how you can make structural savings and work more sustainably with just a few small adjustments.