Consumer durable goods are generally divided into three categories
White Goods include air conditioners, electrical or electronic kitchen appliances, refrigerators, washing machines, speakers and audio systems, televisions, and more.
Brown Goods or Kitchen Appliances comprise microwave ovens, mixers, grinders, cooking ranges, irons, electric fans, and chimneys, among others.
Consumer Electronics consist of televisions, mobile phones, MP3 players, DVD players, etc.
Abhi TransAfrica Logistics and Traders Ltd (ATLT) supports the Fast Moving Consumer Durables (FMCD) sector with integrated logistics and supply chain solutions across East Africa and international markets.
Challenges in the Consumer Durables Supply Chain
- Managing inventory levels while responding to changing demand
- Seasonal demand and stock planning
- Demand-driven distribution across different markets and locations
- Coordinating factories, suppliers, components and finished-product locations
- Packaging and product protection requirements
- After-sales and spare-parts support
- Growth of online and multi-channel sales
- Distribution to regional, remote and emerging markets
- Strategic warehousing and temporary storage requirements
ATLT supports FMCD and consumer durable supply chains through a combination of 3PL & Supply Chain Management, Warehousing & Distribution, In-Plant Logistics, Road, Rail & Coastal Transportation, International Freight Forwarding, Customs Clearance and Reverse logistics support.
- Consumer Durables 3PL & Supply Chain Management
- Consumer Durables Warehousing & Distribution
- Consumer Durables In-Plant Logistics
- Consumer Durables Transportation
- Consumer Durables International Freight & EXIM Support
Consumer Durables 3PL & Supply Chain Management
ATLT supports consumer durable supply chains through 3PL & Supply Chain Management, integrating warehousing, transportation, freight forwarding, customs clearance and distribution activities.
By combining infrastructure, operational expertise, local market knowledge and global connectivity, ATLT helps businesses coordinate the movement, storage and distribution of consumer durable products across African and international markets.
Consumer Durables Warehousing
Interim storage and distribution is a solution to the problems of the intricate consumer durables supply chain, including high volumes, low contribution margins, wide distribution, and high inventory turnover. Making decisions about distribution and warehousing is crucial for maintaining profitability and expanding market share in a cutthroat industry.
ATLT Warehousing Support
- Selection of warehouse location based
on distribution plan and complete Consumer durables SCM consulting
including design of warehouse
facility, setting operational SOPs, suggestion w.r.t. improvements in
current warehousing operations etc.
- Automated authentication &
traceability of consumer durables goods for accurate FIFO management.
- Warehouse binning locations planning
to optimise space utilisation.
- Advance and fully / semi-automatic
material handling equipment to save labour cost
like – ASRS(Automatic Storage & Retrieval System), AGV(Auto Guided
Vehicles), Reach Truck, Forklifts, HPT(Hand Pallet Trucks),
semi-automatic conveyors for packing, printing and dispatches. We offer
these equipment on hire-purchase or on monthly rent basis to
reduce capital investment and maintenance cost (including specialised
trained staff cost) of our customers.
- Full/partial automation in binning,
packaging and loading/unloading to reduce material handling time and
cost.
- Effective Warehouse Management System
(WMS) for demand planning, inventory optimisation and distribution
planning.
- Immediate WMS information flow to
upstream & downstream for quick decision making in fluctuating demand
market.
- Advanced analytics to support world
class consumer durables warehousing operations.
- Organized workplace and continuous process-improvement practices.
- 3PL & Supply Chain Management services to manage customer's
entire warehouse activities.
- Strong operational review mechanism &
reporting to control all activities related to warehousing.
- Design & installation of optimised
racks system on rental basis
Consumer Durables In-Plant Logistics
The transportation of items within the manufacturing or processing facility is referred to as in-plant logistics.
Movements include moving components and sub-assemblies to or from stocking points or line-sides for conversion into finished goods, moving raw materials from receipt to intermediate storage, and transporting completed goods to the factory gate or intermediate storage for shipment outside the factory.
Intra-unit movement of raw, semi-finished, and finished commodities is also covered by in-plant logistics.
ATLT supports consumer durable supply chains through 3PL & Supply Chain Management, integrating warehousing, transportation, freight forwarding, customs clearance and distribution activities.
In-Plant Logistics is part of ATLT’s end-to-end logistics portfolio and can be aligned with production, storage and dispatch requirements within consumer durable operations.
Typical in-plant logistics activities can include:
- Receipt and inward movement of raw materials, components and semi-finished goods
- Internal movement of components, sub-assemblies and semi-finished goods
- Movement of finished goods to staging or dispatch locations
- Operational manpower coordination for in-plant activities
- Management of pallets, bins, trolleys and other returnable logistics assets
- Logistics process and layout review for material transportation, storage and handling
- Organized binning and storage of received materials
- Line feeding and material supply to production areas
- Coordination between yard, storage and production areas
- Return movement of pallets and bins between production and replenishment areas
- Dispatch coordination, loading and documentation support
- Material handling coordination based on product and operational requirements
- Maintenance of organized storage and handling practices
Consumer Durables - Transportation
Consumer durable transportation requires flexibility to respond to demand changes, distribution requirements and product movement across multiple markets.
ATLT supports Road, Rail & Coastal Transportation as part of its integrated logistics network across East Africa.
Transportation can be coordinated with warehousing, international freight forwarding, customs clearance and reverse logistics to support a more connected FMCD supply chain.
As part of ATLT’s 3PL & Supply Chain Management offering, transportation can be aligned with inventory, warehousing and distribution requirements.
Our transportation support can include local and regional movement, distribution coordination, reverse logistics and shipment visibility based on customer requirements.
- Transportation capacity arranged according to cargo and operational requirements
- Support for high-volume consumer durable cargo movements
- Local and regional transportation support across East African markets
- Coordinated transportation aligned with wider supply chain requirements
- Support in selecting suitable transportation modes for different cargo profiles
- Shipment visibility and operational monitoring across transportation activities
- Technology-supported documentation and transportation coordination
- Reverse logistics support
- Regional transportation coordination across East African markets
- Transportation support for domestic and multinational consumer-goods businesses
- Centralized coordination for transportation requests and movement planning
- Transportation documentation and movement records
- Operational visibility and reporting for cargo movements
- Planned transit schedules aligned with customer requirements
- Careful handling and movement of high-value consumer durable products
Consumer Durables - Export Import
International transportation of consumer durables, including raw materials and processed consumer durables into final products, is included in the export-import category.
ATLT supports consumer durable import-export requirements through International Freight Forwarding and Customs Clearance, connecting East African operations with global suppliers and markets.
Our international logistics support for consumer durables can include:
