Container devanning is one of the key components of the whole logistics process. It has to be done with the utmost care, by a dedicated and experienced team to ensure that your goods are safely warehoused and then ready to be shipped on as required.
At SSO Logistics, we can handle the entire process from the safe entry of your goods to the UK, their safe transportation to our warehousing facilities, container devanning, storage in safe, accredited facilities, and then shipping on to the end-user.
What exactly is container devanning?
Container devanning is the process by which a landed container is unsealed, and its contents carefully taken out. To the layperson, it often sounds like a simple and straightforward process. While it can be, it needs to be handled carefully by an experienced team. Shipping containers are large, cumbersome and are packed to maximise space. This means that unpacking them can present a range of risks, particularly when you consider the potential contents. These are risks not only to the workforce who are doing the job, but also damage to the contents. Incorrect handling can create a whole range of problems and even reduce the overall value of your inventory.
With that in mind it’s always important to ensure you use the services of a professional, experienced, and trusted logistics company when it comes to container devanning. They will streamline the entire process, carrying out the task efficiently.
To make sure your goods are handled carefully, you should trust the project to a professional team. SSO Logistics can take care of the entire logistics process from the receipt of goods into the UK to the distribution of those goods to the end-user. We take great care and attention to the whole process, and devanning is no exception.
Typically, full container load shipments are devanned at the destination warehouse. The containers will be received and then carefully unloaded by skilled and experienced handlers. This will involve forklifts, cranes. and manual handling. Having handled a wide range of shipments, there’s nothing that fazes our operators
Over the years, our skilled devanning operators will have worked out the best way to approach different cargoes. They will unload any shape or size container, whilst providing clients with the maximum cost efficiency for the entire process.
How does the SSO Logistics devanning process work?
There’s more to container devanning than merely unpacking a shipping container. Here we go into a little more detail about what’s involved, from receipt of the goods into the UK through to do devanning, storage and shipping on to the end user. A good logistics company can make the whole process sound simple and, when done correctly, it is. But there’s a lot that can potentially go wrong at various stages of the process.
The journey to the UK
The devanning process begins when your goods arrive into the UK. Typically, any company that’s importing and exporting goods to and from the UK will receive their goods at ports in shipping containers. They may have completed a long journey from anywhere in the world, with the proportion of UK freight cargo from fast developing parts of the world like Asia, increasing steadily year on year. Whether the goods have travelled from continental Europe, or from the Far East, they need to be handled with the same level of care and attention.
After the arrival of the goods into the country, they will then be picked up by a haulage company for the next part of their journey. The goods will be carefully loaded onto lorries for road transportation to our warehousing facilities.
The SSO Logistics warehousing facilities are some of the best in the business. Having relocated to premises in St Helens, we now have extensive warehousing facilities and dedicated container ramps for the offload of containers. Our location also means we have excellent access to the M6 and M62 motorways and onwards to the rest of the motorway network. Being a member of UPN gives us the ability to collect at a UK and European level, giving us access to 143 depots all with local knowledge.
Our warehousing facility is also BRC Accredited. This means that our services have met strict criteria for the storage and distribution of food and food related packaging. It guarantees that everything we do complies with all the necessary food safety and hygiene standards. This gives you confidence that product integrity will be maintained throughout the transportation, handling, storage, and distribution process. BRC Accredited Storage is essential for anyone importing or exporting food and drink.
Before you choose a logistics company you should consider the location of its warehousing facilities. Just how accessible are they? They should be well placed not only for receiving goods into the country, but also for distributing them on to the end-user. At SSO Logistics, we believe our location gives our clients a key advantage.
The unloading process
Once the goods have arrived at our warehousing facilities, the unloading process can begin. This is a delicate and sometimes complicated operation, and one that needs to be handled with care using the correct equipment based on the particular requirements of each containment. Our professional, experienced team will take account of all of the necessary health and safety protocols and will be aware of any potential hazards including any unsecured items in the containers themselves. At our warehousing facility we work hard to ensure that other potential hazards such as slippery floors are eradicated.
Dock-level unloading may be an alternative. Our loading docks are areas where vehicles can be parked and then safely unloaded using dock-level forklifts.
We might also then break down the cargo by hand and place it into pallets. This is known as ‘handballing’ and our team are skilled at what can be a laborious and sometimes challenging task. Palletising goods can make goods easier to store and then ship onwards. The team at SSO are highly experienced at handballing all kinds of goods and will handle the whole process efficiently.
Our warehouse management system
As well as the physical moving and storage of goods, a key component of the entire process is the warehouse management system. This is a software application that gives users visibility into the entire warehouse inventory and helps to facilitate the correct storage of any goods that are received. It manages supply chain fulfilment operations from the warehouse to where they’re needed.
Our warehouse management system is up to date and efficient and allows for food and other perishable goods to be stored by Best Before Date (BBD). Full traceability can be guaranteed. It’s cloud-based, and fully visible to our clients who can keep track of their cargo remotely. Goods are processed in and out of the warehouse by barcode. Our system is fully customisable and can be adapted to the precise requirements of each client. Detailed delivery notes can be produced ready for dispatch.
The final part of the logistics process sees the cargo dispatched onwards. We can dispatch goods to the client themselves, perhaps in stages as and when the goods are needed, or for storage on their own premises. Alternatively, we can handle the orders, then speedily pick, load, and deliver goods to the client’s customers. We can offer the transportation of smaller cargoes, perhaps as little as a single pallet, up to large scale deliveries through our own fleet of vehicles.
We make the entire process straightforward
SSO Logistics is one of the UK’s leading logistics providers. Working as a full logistics partner for a wide range of clients with very different requirements, we offer a premium, highly tailored, service from beginning to end.
The devanning process can seem complex, which is why a trusted logistics partner is key. We’re always happy to answer any questions you might have either about our facilities or the logistics process.
Why not contact us to find out more about how the container devanning services offered by SSO Logistics can help make your business more efficient?
