‘Lumper’ is a term used only in the supply chain industry. Essentially, as anyone who has ever partnered with a vendor to provide lumper services knows, lumpers facilitate the loading and unloading of products, goods, raw materials, and more from trailers and containers. Lumpers are not a given throughout the industry, though. Some transportation carriers expect their drivers, even after a long haul, to postpone their rest until their cargo has been manually unloaded. And numerous operations managers opt to divert warehouse and office personnel from their assigned duties to fill in and load or unload at the dock as needed. However, the supply chain industry only grows each year exponentially. This growth places an ever-increasing burden on overseers to ensure that schedules are met and that the journey from manufacturer to consumer is not delayed. The solution is to hire a lumper service. Here are some of the top reasons why this is not only the ideal option but also resolves ancillary issues as well.
Efficiency is a top concern throughout the supply chain. And every supply chain is only as viable as its weakest link. In short, every aspect of the chain must be reliable, dependable, and execute their tasks on schedule. Every year, for more and more businesses, the smooth operation of their supply chain is ensured by partnering with an external resource, such as Express Freight Handlers. This option proves to be a win-win for all parties. For management, especially where the shipper faces high inbound and outbound volume, hiring a third-party lumper service to perform loading and unloading is very cost-effective. That is because lumpers are skilled labor. Their efficient techniques, used to assess each load before they proceed, can decrease the time required to unload containers and/or trailers. Hiring a vendor to provide these services can also be on-demand, or as needed. This frees untrained workers from other sectors of the company to focus on the tasks they are trained to perform, and not neglect their assigned responsibilities to load or unload at their manager’s discretion.
Hiring day laborers or diverting existing staff can prove extremely costly. Professional lumpers are OSHA-trained and certified. They observe safety protocols to prevent injury to themselves and others. This alone can avoid Workers Compensation as well as liability claims. Additionally, hiring lumper services only when needed, avoids paying benefits, etc. to in-house workers specifically hired for this task. Typically, lumper services are hired by shippers and receivers who realize that lumpers provide a convenient service: they expedite the loading and/or unloading process, both safely and efficiently. This factor is especially important to industries where time is of the essence, such as food and beverage companies, where perishables are moved in reefer trucks.
Lumper services are paid in a number of ways, as there are common factors that can influence their charges. These factors include:
- Location: Where will the team be expected to work? Where is the pick-up and drop located?
- How much freight needs to be loaded/unloaded? The amount of freight to be moved is, understandably, a major factor in determining lumper fees as the time the lumpers are needed is increased. There may also be additional fees if the lumper service must restack pallets for example or document damages that occurred in transit, for example. Third-party lumpers are known to be a cost-effective solution to improve supply chain efficiency.
As a leading provider of on-demand lumper services, Express Freight operates in over 38 states and unloads over a million, yes a million, trailers, and containers every year. With this post, we’ve only scratched the surface of the value our lumper services can provide to your business.
Learn more by contacting us today!
