Shipping Savings? Sir, Yes Sir.
- Published: November 09, 2022
Company that relocates military members & families significantly reduces shipping costs with lightweight, durable corrugated containers.
Tier One Relocation specializes in moving services for military personnel and their families. In fact, it is the single global provider for all services of the US military, including the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. US military relocations are by no means a small slice of the overall moving pie. Such moves encompass a third of all domestic household goods moves.
Tier One’s growth, however, came in parallel with two equally sizable logistics challenges: the combined supply chain slowdown and fuel price spikes that made shipping costs soar.
Even before its game-changing US military contract, Tier One was keen on mitigating shipping costs and improving efficiencies. Ways to minimize freight weights to keep fuel costs low were particularly enticing. A container’s weight generally depends upon its contents. Unless… the container itself could weigh less?
Enter crating specialist PACT LLC, whose patented Liftvans are customized corrugated crating solutions offering reduced shipping costs, maximized warehousing space and increased sustainability.
“Our corrugated crates are half the weight of a full wooden crate,” said Rodger Mort, President of PACT. “Crucially, there’s no compromise in stack-ability and reusability, which has helped make it the only military approved corrugated crate.”
PACT’s Liftvan concept is simple: rather than typical all-wood crates used to transport large items, its Liftvans comprise a wooden base surrounded by a patented corrugated design called “J-Crate.” The lightweight shipper saves on transport costs and, when knocked down for storage, occupies a fraction of the space of a full wood crate.
Importantly, the corrugated containers can keep even the most fragile items secure during transport, thanks to a 4,000-lb stacking strength. The corrugated material also is a better shock absorber than wood, diminishing the vibration-related damage that can result from the jostles packages frequently endure.
Tier One gives PACT the move’s origin, and PACT ships the 200-cubic-foot Liftvans direct-to-move, just-in-time. When warehousing is necessary, the containers can be stacked two high – a feature most corrugated Liftvans lack.
But the big win is significantly reduced weight. Compared with conventional wood crates, PACT’s corrugated Liftvans were so much lighter they saved Tier One approximately $150 per load of three fully loaded Liftvans shipped coast to coast.
And that was… in 2018. Before COVID-19. Before the most stifling supply chain crisis in decades. Before inflation and the war in Ukraine sent fuel prices through the roof.
“The average savings is now $700 per load going coast to coast,” said Brian Morford, Vice President of Alternative Transportation for Tier One. Tier One’s assessment shows moves long delayed by COVID are now on the rise along with fuel prices. Business is booming and, by utilizing PACT Liftvans, Tier One is saving hundreds of dollars per load.
Tier One also is enjoying another benefit: its corrugated Liftvans are more sustainable than traditional wood crates, which can seldom be recycled and often come with hefty disposal fees. The corrugated Liftvans are a rare case of a more eco-friendly solution also being a more affordable one.
Finally, adopting corrugated shipping crates system-wide addresses another pressing issue: the protracted labor shortage facing the logistics industry. With companies looking to do more with less manpower, the corrugated crate’s simple fold-out process limits labor-intensive crate construction.
Tier One’s military moving business – and along with it, its shipping savings – is on a steep growth trajectory. In 2022, PACT anticipated supplying more than 500 Liftvans to Tier One, with that number likely to climb exponentially.
