Secrets of international transportation of light industry products

Any delays mean losses for the industry and, from the point of view of customers – a lack of needed goods on store shelves. What are the challenges a carrier faces when transporting light industry products?

Light industry – an industry unlike any other

The term light industry is a branch that focuses on producing consumer goods for everyday use. We primarily discuss the broadly defined fashion industry – clothing, leather goods, and other textiles. However, this group also includes establishments that produce food, cosmetics, ceramics, and glassware. The development of the industry depends on demand, and this demand depends on the welfare of society. A characteristic feature of the light industry is that the products produced within it are intended for end users, primarily customers buying goods in stores. In opposition to it is heavy industry, which mainly produces goods for the needs of others. In today’s light industry, eco-friendly measures play an essential role, resulting in production with minimal environmental impact. Since production facilities are usually not a nuisance to the environment, they are often located close to residential clusters, providing jobs for residents.

Transportation of light industry products – potential challenges

The very definition of light industry points to certain aspects relevant to the transportation of its products. First, the location of the industry’s plants provides easy access to various modes of transportation – not only cars but also railroads or aviation, which work well over longer distances, especially when international transport is involved. It’s also worth being aware that this industry is one of the fastest-changing global markets. This is due to the fact that it is closely linked to the current demand for a particular group of products. Consequently, it is characterized by a high degree of flexibility and quickly adapts to a new situation. The transportation of light industry products should give the entrepreneur comparable flexibility and the ability to adjust processes to rapidly changing circumstances. Products manufactured within the light industry go directly to individual customers, who are becoming more environmentally conscious every year. When choosing everyday consumer goods, they pay attention to the carbon footprint generated by their production and transportation. Consequently, logistics solutions that favor reducing the negative impact of transportation on the environment are at a premium. Professional support can help plan them, which will be provided, among others, by multimodal transportation with AsstrA.

Multimodal transport – the answer to the needs of light industry companies

There’s no denying that many entrepreneurs stay with traditional transport solutions and rely on transporting goods by road. In this case, however, it is worth betting on a more modern alternative: multimodal transportation. After all, by skillfully combining different modes of transportation, you can better adapt the process to the specifics of the light industry. Planning a supply chain using multimodal transport admittedly involves more work than usual. This is because it is necessary to analyze a lot of detailed data to determine the routes that will be the most cost-effective and allow for the elimination (or at least reduction) of empty runs. Such a solution is beneficial when products are transported over long distances, which is the norm in international transportation. By combining air, rail, sea, and road transport, it is possible not only to get goods to their destination intact and on schedule but also to minimize the carbon footprint created in the process. Multimodal transportation is also characterized by shorter delivery times than road transport from origin to destination. Thus, it perfectly meets the needs of the light industry, which primarily consists of products with a relatively short shelf life, such as food or cosmetics. In the context of international import and export of light industry products, it is also worth paying attention to the advantages of groupage transport. By choosing to ship unitary packages of products as part of a larger transport unit shared with other shippers, it is possible to reduce not only the process’s costs but also the negative impact on the environment by maximizing the use of transport space.