Why Your Business Needs Professional Devanning Services

Devanning is an important and demanding process in any supply chain. It is just not as simple as it may seem. Hiring unskilled or inexperienced labor to perform this task can result in cargo and business losses. For warehousing and logistics managers, it is important to team with a professional freight handling vendor they can both trust and rely on with this meticulous task. For safety, to minimize damage risk, and keep overhead costs down, it is just sound business practice to outsource devanning.

Depending on the size of the load, your devanning team will arrive at the destination on time and be ready to go. Be it a warehouse or container freight station, and no matter what the cargo, or the size of the load, an experienced, professional freight unloading team will size up the requirements and get to work. As soon as the doors open, they will assess if any freight has shifted and closely examine the cargo for damages. When that assessment is finished, a note will be taken as to how the cargo has been packaged or stacked. This arrangement will dictate how the goods will be offloaded and what tools will be required. For example, larger, heavier palletized goods will need to be moved by forklift. For perishables, the devanning of refrigerated goods must be swiftly accomplished in accordance with state and local ordinances to minimize potential loss due to temperature change. 

It should be coming more apparent why unskilled hiring day laborers or diverting some of your staff from the jobs they were hired to perform is not a good idea. Here are some more considerations. The type and amount of cargo will dictate how many workers are needed for devanning as well as how long this process will take. Remember, in your supply chain, the meter starts running as soon as the shipment is received at the point of origin and ends only when devanning has been successfully completed. So in an industry where time is always money, it must be factored how long devanning will take, and performed by how many personnel. If diverting existing full-time staffers from their routine tasks, from 1-3 days on average or possibly longer, your business’s overall productivity will likely suffer and with it your ROI. 

So, instead of creating what is more likely to become a nightmare scenario than a workable solution, partner with a freight unloading service known for its experience and dependability. Not only will you have the workers you require when you need them, but also only when you need them as devanning is not always a daily task. This means that there will be additional savings as this workforce is not only not on your payroll, but also not receiving benefits.

Some of the tools used by professionals for devanning are not likely to be part of day laborers’ and/or office workers’ skill sets. These include forklifts, conveyors, safety life gates, and ramps. They may not have access to company-provided digital tools such as tablets and mobile devices. Devanning techniques that can make the difference between a damaged container and damaged goods include the use of slip sheets and dunnage, straps, and sorting pallets. Inexperienced workers would not be aware of these ways to minimize asset losses, so their actions could potentially contribute to those losses as well.

By now you have an idea as to what you should look for in a devanning partner: Experience, OSHA-certification, regulation compliance, and reliability. Have more questions? Contact us to schedule your appointment today!  Learn more about how Labor Loop can provide the devanning team you need to capably fulfill your requirements job after job.