What is the Boxcar?
The boxcar is a rectangular-shaped railway carriage enclosed by sliding doors. It is used to deliver shipments in bulk from one location to another. Boxcars used in railway transit are primarily utilized during middle-mile delivery. They have no windows that protect products from weather and pilferage.
Significance of Boxcar in an E-commerce Shipping and Delivery
Boxcars allow companies to cut down transit time as they are the fastest mode of land transit, with more serviceable areas than air freight.
- Low transit time and high accessibility: Railroads have more access to various locations than any other mode of middle-mile delivery solution. Therefore, its ripple effect gives a seller more coverage in terms of area. Furthermore, boxcars transported by railways serve as the fastest mode of land transport.
- Specialized storage units: A boxcar can be customized to ship goods with special requirements. Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) that require a particular atmosphere are mainly shipped using a boxcar. Additions such as refrigeration, padding, and more enable the transportation of various products.
Prerequisites of Boxcar and How It Works
A seller is required to ship products in bulk to leverage a boxcar. Apart from that, there are certain prerequisites a seller must follow.
- Single-seller boxcar: In such a case, the total capacity of a boxcar is used by a seller. These instances are prevalent for manufacturers transporting goods in bulk.
- Boxcars used by shipping companies: A shipping company will pool products with the same middle-mile destination. Here, products from several sellers are loaded and shipped accordingly.
Use Case with Boxcar
Suppose a manufacturer in Davao city booked a boxcar to ship 10,000 units of unbranded cutlery sets from Digos city to Manila within the next four days. Therefore, they opted for a boxcar. Opting for a boxcar will provide extra safety to the fragile cutlery sets.