How many units to order is set by your measured dispatch volume and the cycle time of a container, not by a sales forecast. The cycle runs from the container leaving to being ready again after washing and inspection, and each stage is time-stamped.
The calculation: number of containers = daily dispatch × cycle time in days + allowance for washing, maintenance and loss. For example, if 40 containers go out a day and the cycle is 3 days (1 day out, 1 day back, 1 day in washing), 120 containers are in circulation; adding 12 for washing, maintenance and loss makes 132. The allowance comes from your operating records.
In batch size the first item is freight: according to Maersk, in a shared container (LCL) you pay only for the volume you use, measured in cubic metres, while in a full container (FCL) the whole container is yours. Freight per unit rises with few containers and falls when the batch fills the container; containers bought in excess wait in storage. In staged buying the second batch must have the same size, racking system and plate dimensions; otherwise two batches behave like two different systems. Send Aris Makina your daily volume and cycle pattern and we work out the count together.
