How pooling works
The pooling process involves several coordinated stages managed by a specialized logistics provider. The logistician receives goods from various industrial companies, prepares them according to delivery requirements, loads them into optimized trucks, and ensures timely delivery. This system allows industrial companies to maintain lower stock levels while having precise real-time visibility of their inventory, enabling them to better understand their sales patterns and ensure reliable stock rotation calculations.
Delivery rotations are carefully designed to prevent stockouts at retail locations, ensuring continuous product availability for end customers. By sharing logistical resources—including warehouses, trucks, and human and material assets—companies can significantly reduce storage costs while maintaining better in-store presence for high-turnover goods, ultimately generating more profit for all stakeholders involved in supply pooling.
Compatibility requirements
Successful pooling requires careful consideration of compatibility among participating companies. Organizations must ensure logistical compatibility regarding their products and customers. Requests need to be compatible in terms of both volume and timeframe, which is particularly crucial in large retail stores where seasonality plays a significant role in volume management.
Two main types of distribution pooling exist: fixed distribution, which involves minimal changes in delivered volumes, and variable distribution pooling, which accommodates larger volume fluctuations during peak periods such as Easter or Christmas. When industrial companies collaborate using joint production resources and warehouses, their logistical organization must always remain compatible.
Project management
A dedicated project manager typically leads pooling systems comprised of multiple partners across various sites. This manager serves as the reference person responsible for selecting the most appropriate solutions and best logistics providers for storage, transport, and IT back-office operations, ensuring smooth coordination among all third-party participants in the pooling network.
