Order Consolidation

Order consolidation is the process of shipping a number of individual orders together.
Shipments going to the same destination are grouped and shipped together in order to save costs and time.
An Advanced Shipping Notice (ASN) is sent to the buyer to inform them of their order consolidation

Order Consolidation Strategies

Vehicle or multi-stop consolidation (over stops), where small load shipments are picked up and dropped off along the multi-stop route by the same vehicle so that combined big loads could maximize the capacity of the container or truck.
Inventory or temporal consolidation (over time), where the current shipments are held to wait for future shipments. By waiting for one period or multiple periods, the total combined load could be shipped using one container or one truck so as to save multiple separate LCL or LTL costs.
Terminal or facility consolidation (over space), where the small shipments among several facilities are transported over long distances to the transshipment centre to consolidate into larger shipments.

Consider an international manufacturing company supplying domestic end users in a destination country of your choice; examine the packaging requirements and issues to get goods from source to end user. Use this example to explain in no less than 600 words how the different packaging and packing materials have changed in recent years.

Distinguish between Packing, Packaging and Stacking
Discuss the factors to consider while selecting packing and packaging materials
Using relevant examples provide the different types of packages and their inherent advantages.
You have been hired as a consultant to advise an inefficient warehousing company, prepare a brief report advising the company on the most appropriate packaging systems as well as stacking and loading equipment.
Briefly explain the major elements in a good order management system
What benefits and challenges are associated with order consolidation?