Logistic Families: What Your In-Laws Have in Common with Freight Management

two hand holding up a row of paper dolls

When we first heard the term “logistic families,” we thought “Oh, you mean like us?” 

But it turns out that “logistic families” are just ways to group cargo. It’s not a very common term in the United States. We’re more likely to call them something like “shipping categories.” 

Whether you think of them as shipping categories, logistic families, or something else, they’re important things to know about. When you understand how they work, it’s easier to stay efficient, make plans, optimize your resources, and keep costs down. 

Let’s look at some examples. We’re going to refer to these categories as “logistic families” throughout this article, partly for uniformity, but mostly so we can compare them to in-laws.

Examples of Logistic Families 

image description: two people sitting across from one another at a table. one appears annoyed.

The best way to learn about logistic families is by example, so we’ve included some below. If you’re a visual learner, or if you just find it entertaining, feel free to picture your family at Thanksgiving while we discuss groupings of freight. Those two things have a lot more in common than you think. 

Size and Volume 

Some types of freight are organized by size and volume. For the sake of efficiency, you need to know how much space things take, much like you need to know how much space you’ll need to escape and listen to podcasts when your whole family is at your house. 

Sometimes, managing space gets a little tricky, especially if you’re shipping very large items. This type of freight is called “heavy haul freight,” and it includes things like machinery and pre-built houses. 

Managing space also gets tricky if you have a very large family, which is why some of our family members are well over 30 years old and still sitting at the kids’ table. 

Storage and Handling 

Next up is storage and handling. Sometimes, we group freight or family members according to specific needs. Maybe you need to bring out the air mattresses. Maybe you have to make sure that Uncle Dave and cousin Bob don’t sit too close to each other. (Dave knows what he did.) 

Or, to give you a cargo example, you might put a lot of glass items in the same storage facility or on the same truck, rather than placing them among items that don’t need to be handled with care. 

Another example is shipping food or flowers. For these items, you may need a reefer truck. 

Order Frequency 

Next up is order frequency. How often does this person or item go through the warehouse? 

When it comes to family members, your eccentric aunt who lives in Idaho may show up once every three or four years because she prefers birds to people. You don’t have to think about her accommodations too often, but when she does stay, it may be for several days or more. On the other hand, if you have two or three kids who live in the same city as you, they may make short but frequent trips to your house in which they eat a lot of your groceries. 

The same concept applies to cargo. For instance, everyday items like contact lenses and shampoo might be grouped together, since they’ll have to be shipped frequently. Items like refrigerators and mattresses could also be grouped together, since they aren’t replaced as often. 

What Logistic Families Mean for Shippers and Carriers  

These considerations are just a few of the things that make logistics so complex. Each type of freight has different needs, including specific needs for when, where, and how they’re stored. Often, you have to manage multiple categories at once. 

It gets easier when you work with a different type of logistic family — like ours, for example — to maximize efficiency. Want to learn more? Get in touch with us today. Our team would be happy to answer your questions.