Groupage

The term groupage refers to a type of shipment – increasingly widespread in international trade – which consists of grouping small shipments of goods that have the same or near origin and destination, so as to form a more manageable load unit (semi-trailer, sea freight container, air container, etc.).

The operation of joining the goods in a single groupage shipment is called consolidation; the opposite activity on arrival (separating of lots) is called degroupage.

The characteristics of groupage

The forwarder carries out a fundamental function, because he is in the meeting point between the different senders: the person in charge of the assembly of the shipment, the one who combines the goods and who is responsible for any damage.

The activity is typically carried out by shippers specialized in sea freight;

It is very important to combine the goods correctly, based on danger degree in order to avoid wrong combinations such as, for example, foodstuff and dangerous goods.

The terms and conditions of delivery are stated in the so-called shipping contract.

The advantages

The groupage is in fact the most economical solution for all those small shipments that taken separately would not be sufficient to complete a load. Code word – optimization.

The are many advantages, such as:

• obtain an economic saving
• avoid breaking the load (the fractional execution of a transport with different vehicles)
• limit the risk of loss and damage
• reduce packaging costs
• contain insurance costs
• improve delivery times and loading and unloading operations