What do shopping trolleys, bags and boxes have in common? That's right, they serve for transport, i.e. the temporary storage of things. An abstract thought, as it is completely logical for us to use these „tools“ when we want to transport more than we can hold in our hands. The same applies to transport in the corporate sector. At least, that's what people think. However, the reality in logistics often looks much more one-sided. It often still deals with individual items. However, it would be much more effective if there were a way to standardise the components of a shipment. Because depending on the order, this can warehouse management unnecessarily complicated for logistics.
Naturally, we are not the first to have considered this. That is why the so-called „Handling Unit“ (HU for short) exists. Handling Units refers to the packaging material (e.g., a box, but also a delivery consisting of multiple parts) and the goods contained within the packaging material. A Handling Unit can contain one or more products. It is also possible for several HUs to be nested within each other. For example, a container can represent one HU, but the pallets within the container can also be. This continues with HUs in the form of boxes. Each Handling Unit is marked with its own identification number, which can be used to retrieve data about the HU digitally (e.g., by means of a conventional scan) and in systems such as ERP software manage.
Handling units as helpers within and across the company
What initially sounds superficially practical is actually really efficient for logistics companies. Warehousing is made easier because stocks can be recorded, checked and transferred more easily. In delivery, HUs can be used to manage the quantity of an order more easily. Instead of thinking and communicating in individual parts, the company thinks and communicates in handling units. As the handling unit still includes the individual components of the packaging and means of transport (e.g. pallet), these do not have to be booked separately.
HUs also have advantages in logistics across companies. The components of a handling unit are already defined by the supplier. This allows the company to transfer the data into the system without any intermediate steps. In addition to the reduced administrative effort, this also minimises the susceptibility to errors in such transfers.
You can find out more about logistics in this article read.
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