Definition: Cartage is a transportation procedure that involves moving certain cargo within a short distance. It is a term that describes a carrying service that serves local destinations.
What Does Cartage Mean?
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Supply chain procedures are not just employed for long distances, their reach also includes logistic processes that function within nearby locations. This is the case of smaller distribution operations that are normally employed by businesses to keep certain areas of their geographical reach properly covered through ground vessels such as trucks, mini-vans, small vehicles or even motorcycles.
Cartage is also an essential part of internal distribution processes that aim to keep the different warehouses that a company operates within certain geographical region adequately supplied.
Additionally, this this is a common transportation method employed by carriers that serve many locations of certain country. These companies establish different fulfillment and distribution centers that are interconnected through cartage. Companies frequently have experienced Supply Chain Departments that deal with all these highly complex networks of interconnected shipping operations that require punctual and accurate deliveries.
Example
PharmaCenter Co. is a company that has more than 120 stores located across the U.S. and its business model is based on large discounts offered to end customers by cutting the intermediaries within the supply chain, therefore creating a direct relationship between PharmaCenter and manufacturers/importers that allows them to have access to lower prices.
The company owns a warehouse in each state where they have a store and the Supply Chain Department arranges the shipments directly from the manufacturers to each of these warehouses, depending on the requirements of each state. After this facility is properly supplied, the company distributes the goods to the stores through cartage, by using a large network of cargo vehicles. Most of these vehicles are owned by the company and they also hire external ones when there is a sudden demand increase.
