What Is Multimodal Transport?

Multimodal Transport is the combination of different means of transport, in order

to facilitate the movement of cargo, i.e. making it faster and more efficient.

When it comes to this mode of transportation, there is more than one kind of
vehicle necessary to take the goods to their final destination, by the use of trucks,
trains, ships, airplanes or some other mean of transport for the delivery.

The advantage of Multimodal Transport lies in the most efficient combination of

multiple means of transport, whilst optimizing deadlines, cutting back on inventory
costs, therefore keeping the costs of the merchandise under control. The
combination of these also results in high environmental sustainability, since
Multimodal Transport reduces the environmental footprint of transportation.

Despite the support of environmentalists and cargo transportation experts,

multimodality might induce certain costs through the use of modal interfaces, such
as transshipments, handling, etc. However, you may hire a Freight Forwarding
Company that provides an interface between the various types of transport, without
getting the Importer or the Exporter involved in this exchange.

For more complex shipments, or a more thorough exploration of the quality/price

ratio of each part of the transportation, multimodal transport is a good, often the
only, option to consider, especially to/from countries that do not border on the sea.

Advantages of Multimodal Transport:

 Centralization of responsibility in one transport operator;

 Use of international experience, in transportation as well as in the field of
bureaucracy and commerce;
 Economies of scale in transport negotiations;
Better use of available infrastructure and more efficient means of transport,
focused on cost reduction;
Reduction of indirect costs (e.g. human resources).
Warehousing
A warehouse is a commercial building generally used for storage of goods and
warehousing is the process of proper storage and handling of goods and cargo using
scientific methods in the warehouse and making them available easily and smoothly
when needed. In recent days, warehousing is considered as one of the most
important aspect of trade.

Warehousing is the act of storing goods that will be sold or distributed later. While a
small, home-based business might be warehousing products in a spare room,
basement, or garage, larger businesses typically own or rent space in a building that is
specifically designed for storage.

Need for warehousing

 Some commodities are produced in a particular season only. To ensure their
off season availability, warehousing is required.
 Some products are produced throughout the year but their demand is
seasonal. Warehousing is important in such cases.
 For the companies which opt for large scale production and bulk supply,
warehouse is an unavoidable factor.
 Warehousing help companies ensure quick supply of goods in demand.
 Production of goods and their movement of goods are important for the
companies for continuous production of goods.
 Warehousing is also important for price stabilization. For necessary goods, the
Government stores them in the warehouses and controls its supply in the
market as per the price fluctuations.
 Vital need of warehousing is for bulk breaking. Consider a trade agent who
imports goods from a country for a large number of buyers in his own
 country. He first takes the goods to his warehouse and breaks it into small
parts for supply to the buyers.
 As far as cost saving is considered, warehousing helps the traders with cross
docking. All the goods are consolidated in the warehouse and then stuffed
into containers according their destination. This is mainly beneficial for small
traders who export low quantity of goods.

What are the four function of warehousing?

Functions of Warehousing means the wide ranges of ctivities, which are associated
with the physical distribution of goods from the end of the production line to the
final consumers. These activities include purchasing of goods, inventory
management, storage, materials handling, protective packing and transportation.

Major functions of a warehouse

 Storage of goods
 Protection of goods
 Risk bearing
 Financing
 Processing
 Grading and branding
 Transportation

What are warehousing services?

Warehousing is the act of storing goods that will be sold or distributed later. While a
small, home-based business might be warehousing products in a spare room,
basement, or garage, larger businesses typically own or rent space in a building that is
specifically designed for storage.
Types of warehouses

1. Private Warehouses
These are generally owned by the manufacturers or traders or distributors and are
used to store exclusively owned goods as well as usually preferred by farmers near
their fields, wholesalers or distributors or retailers near their territory, manufacturers
near their factories, exporters or importers near ports. Private warehouses offer
better control over movement and storage of goods and there is less chances of
error. Beside these, product specific storage techniques can be opted in private
warehouses.

2. Public Warehouses
These warehouses are for use by general public and anyone can store their goods in
public warehouses by paying very reasonable rent. These warehouses can be either
private or state owned. In case a private company wants to start a public warehouse,
it has to obtain a license from the government. Moreover, the operations of these
public warehouses are regulated and monitored by government agencies. These
warehouses are very cost effective. They are flexible enough to store several kinds of
products. Public warehouses offer better value of money as the user pays only for
the space they occupy.
3. Government warehouses
The government warehouses are owned, managed and governed by Central or State
government. They can be used by both private companies and government agencies
for storage of goods. They are therefore also considered a form of public
warehouses owned by government. Government warehouses provide better security
and safety of goods as there is direct involvement of government. They are least
expensive but require considerable paper work to be done.
What is the role of warehousing?

The main function of a warehouse is to store products or goods before moving them
to another location. But there can be some secondary functions of warehousing that
enhance a warehouse's space.