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Approachable Cargo™: Distribution and Handling with CakeBoxx Containers

CakeBoxx two-piece containers are the cornerstone to the most efficient, high capacity cargo handling and distribution system.

Using CakeBoxx two-piece intermodal containers as the backbone of your distribution system will accelerate the flow of your products and dramatically improve the overall effectiveness of your inbound product handling and distribution operations. We put together the video below to simply explain why:

The removable CakeBoxx lid allows immediate 360 degree access to the products inside and instantly transforms traditional, single-threaded unloading operations into a streamlined multi-threaded, high-efficiency cargo discharging operation tailored to optimally support your downstream process flow.

Designed to meet the needs of today’s fast-paced final mile delivery requirements, the CakeBoxx two-piece container offers a long-awaited improvement to supply chains everywhere constrained by the requirement to unload every piece of cargo through the rear door choke point of a trailer.

CakeBoxx does this simply by re-engineering the architecture of the container, meaning the rear doors are no longer are the only place where you can unload the container from.  Lifting the lid is simple – and when the lid is raised – let the efficiencies begin!  The cargo inside can now be approached from all sides, not just through the rear doors and not just one piece at a time.

Multiple angles of approach to unload the goods mean greater speed and greater flexibility to decide how your handling system will work. Cargo can now be quickly sorted during unloading and more quickly delivered to the downstream processes inside the distribution center. Cargo at the front of the trailer can be accessed as easily and quickly as cargo at the back.

We call this the “Approachable Cargo™” concept, a capability that allows you to work with the cargo to handle it how and when you want, rather than being forced to handle it one piece at a time and only at the rear end of the trailer.

360-degree access to products from all sides allowing cargo to be handled in whichever way suits the operation best
No need for employees to work inside the dark, restricted space of a trailer’s interior – greatly reducing risk of injury
Handling trucks never need to operate on top of the container floor, so far less damage to equipment
Safe, simultaneous discharge by multiple fork trucks from different angles of approach is easily possible, greatly increasing the speed of the operation
Lid easily lifts away from the deck using conventional handling equipment

Cargo velocity in the distribution center is not the only benefit of approachable cargo.  Speed can sometimes be counter-productive if poorly managed and can produce unintended negative consequences.  But when you combine increased speed with enhanced safety and cargo agility you develop a game-changing process improvement.

The CakeBoxx two-piece container delivers improved safety at every turn – making your approachable cargo even more friendly.  When the lid is lifted away from the cargo, employees no longer need to work inside the dark, restricted confines of the trailer’s interior space.  All cargo is offloaded from outside the footprint of the container deck under the bright interior lights of the distribution center work space , eliminating the risk of fork truck / cargo / employee interface accidents.  This also means fork trucks and other handling equipment never have to go inside or operate on top of the container floor – as all cargo is unloaded from the side or the top.  This greatly minimizes the possibility of damage to the goods themselves, the trailer, the handling equipment and injuries to the operators themselves as they perform their duties in a more clearly defined operating system.

All of these factors add up to reduced costs and a faster system.  More well-defined operating parameters are fertile ground for further evolution of enhancements and innovation.  For instance, the CakeBoxx-based cargo loading architecture is very well suited to the implementation of automated or robotic-based system, where repeatability and consistency is required for optimizing their use.

Envision your goods being packed into a CakeBoxx container at the factory of origin then being shipped globally to your distribution points, a truck rolling into the unloading bay, lifting the lid of the CakeBoxx, removing the goods and rapidly transitioning them into final mile mode as the truck departs four minutes after it arrived, and another truck rolls in immediately to repeat the process. Throughout this streamlined cargo journey the goods have never been touched, handled or repackaged since the moment of loading at origin.

Our innovative two-piece intermodal containers can deliver these capabilities these and other benefits you may have never thought possible with shipping containers.