Sea containers from the perspective of traders - construction, advantages and disadvantages

Sea containers from the perspective of traders – construction, advantages and disadvantages. If we run a trading company, it is natural that we are constantly looking for ways to increase the efficiency of its operation and earn more at the same time.

The means to higher earnings can be, in turn, better organization of logistics combined with finding the source of the items that we sell outside our country.

The choice here is very often on China, where most things can be purchased (and produced) much cheaper. How to transport them to Poland, however, so as not to spend all our savings on the shipping itself? Sea containers seem to be an excellent solution , the advantages and disadvantages of which will be presented in this article.

Why are sea containers a good option for traders?

It is not without reason that sea containers are more and more often chosen by all those who want to increase the efficiency of logistics activities in their own company. All because of the possibility of simplifying the entire system, especially in the case of trading small items. Is it troublesome to import huge amounts of them and generate a lot of paperwork? In the case of sea containers, we can bring it all to one shipment – regardless of size, weight or quantity. Sea containers:

they lead to savings – we do not spend money on the shipment of each item, we do not have to decide on dropshipping; We bring a large amount of items to our warehouse in Poland in one fell swoop, automatically getting rid of additional costs; we pay once for everything;
they allow for more than any other form of transport – we are talking mainly about weight and dimensions, in their case virtually unlimited; although they are important in pricing, sea container transport is the only one that allows you to transport such large loads – and in full;
they are flexible – in containers we can transport both huge (and heavy) construction machines, but also a lot of smaller dimensions and weight items; how we arrange the space inside the container depends entirely on us – it is important to use it to the full;
deliver parcels on time – ships are rarely late, so you can confidently rely on their schedule (although you can’t say they arrive quickly – see below);
they are safe – a huge container is very hard to lose, and due to its solid closure and security seals, it seems almost impossible to lose its contents; of course, we can additionally insure the entire transport, if we are afraid of any complications, which, although they appear extremely rare, are able to happen.

Disadvantages of sea containers

The biggest disadvantage of sea containers, contrary to what we said, is the price associated with their transport. It is felt only when we are not able to fill the full surface of the container with our products . Sea containers, the construction of which I am summarizing below, have been created for the most demanding ones – if we are not able to fully use them and we only ship the products once in a while, they may turn out to be simply unprofitable for us.

For many entrepreneurs who care about time, a disadvantage may also be the long waiting time for the cargo – its journey by sea can take up to two weeks, and although ships almost always arrive on time, you have to wait for them much longer than in the case of other forms of transport .

Sea containers – construction

Most of us can associate the appearance of sea containers with action movies set in sea ports. We certainly associate it with the simplicity of implementation, which is actually reflected in the technical specification. Because when it comes to sea containers, their construction is based primarily on a steel frame to which all walls, but also the base and the roof directly adhere. The former contains special handles to help secure the cargo that will be in the container.

The corner posts are definitely the strongest structural element in the container, which are used for fixing, but also lifting and setting down the container. The whole thing is, of course, waterproof. Loading is done through the door (usually two-piece), which is heavy, but also properly secured with padlocks and seals to ensure that they are not opened at any stage of transport.

Summary

Sea containers , the construction and the advantages of which we have described in this article, are a great option for advanced traders, allowing them to save a lot of money on transport, but also giving them the opportunity to produce all of them (and all the sources from which they take items – in depending on the business profile) outside our country. Before we reach for them, however, we need to make precise calculations and assess whether we will really be able to fully use the potential they give us.