Reducing Costs of Less-Than-Trailer-Load Purchases by Grocery Distribution Firms

P. F. Shaffer and J. C. Bouma

No 312121, Marketing Research Reports from United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Transportation and Marketing Program

Abstract: Excerpts from the report: A 1975 survey of 129 grocery distribution warehouses indicated that, of the truck arrivals at the median firm, 60 percent were full trailer loads (FTL) and 40 percent were less-than-trailer loads (LTL). In smaller firms, 60 percent of the truck receipts were LTL. Equally significant to the impact of LTL shipments on grocery receiving costs is the high proportion that is handstacked—73 percent, as compared to 39 percent for FTL shipments. The first objective of this study was to measure the cost of LTL grocery receiving, and to develop and evaluate procedures for reducing both the number and cost of LTL receipts. Savings estimates in receiving costs, because of a reduced number of LTL shipments and increased frequency of unitized LTL shipments, will be developed for a varying number of receivings per week. A secondary objective was to determine potential savings when inventory turnover is increased by more frequent deliveries, to be achieved by more combination and shared loads.

Keywords: Labor and Human Capital; Marketing; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; Research Methods/Statistical Methods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 30
Date: 1980-08
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:uamsmr:312121

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.312121

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