FLEX Overview | Cost & Flexibility | FLEX Availability | Download the FLEX datasheet
Global Link Logistics FLEX Program (Furniture Less than container EXpress)
How FLEX Works
FLEX provides three cost-effective solutions to deliver a range of order sizes to North American destinations. Our consolidation center next to the Port of Yantian in Southern China allows our customers to consolidate orders from multiple factories into a single order. Our systems capture our customers’ sales order and match and label incoming vendor product to sold orders. When all of the pieces of the order are ready for shipment, we consolidate the product into a container bound for one of our deconsolidation regions. Consolidation across factories allows our customers procurement flexibility as well as the option to offer mixed product in full or partial container quantities directly from China.
If that order is more than 300 cube and less than a full container, we’ll consolidate with our other customers headed to the same destination region. Our network of experienced furniture LTL partners deconsolidate the container and deliver the individual orders to the retailer door. Because we have selected partners with terminals close to the nearest port or direct MLB rail ramp, our customers minimize transportation time, expense and inventory. Our system tracks the product by SKU and Sales Order from the moment it hits our dock in China through to the dealer, all in near real-time.
If a single order consolidated across multiple factories in the region amounts to a full container, we will deliver the container directly to the dealer door. The option of origin consolidation allows larger retailers to still order full container loads, but across an origin rather than one factory, lowering their inventory This, in turn, gives our customers the option to procure from a larger vendor base in the region.
Finally, a customer may have a full container from a single factory with multiple destinations within one of our LTL deconsolidation regions. We ship the full container to our furniture transport partners, who deconsolidate and deliver the order.
While most customers will choose one or two options to offer to their retailers, the result is the same: increased flexibility, improved visibility, transportation savings of up to 20% of invoice value in comparison to a US warehouse model, and a streamlined supply chain for retailer and manufacturer alike.
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