Middle mile logistics, often overlooked in the supply chain process, plays a pivotal role in ensuring that goods make it from warehouses and distribution centers to last mile delivery hubs as efficiently as possible. For brands, optimizing the middle mile can lead to faster deliveries, lower operational costs, and a significant reduction in their environmental footprint. As ecommerce expands and shopper expectations rise, having a streamlined middle-mile strategy is a necessity.
We’re going to dive into why the middle mile is so important and how GoBolt is working with WARP to improve operational efficiency and lead the charge in making logistics more sustainable.
The Importance of Middle Mile Logistics for Brands
What is the Middle Mile?
Middle mile logistics refers to the transportation of goods from fulfillment centers or warehouses to regional distribution hubs, where packages are sorted and prepared for last mile delivery to the end shopper. It acts as a crucial bridge, ensuring that products are moved efficiently between points in the supply chain. While the last mile often receives more attention, the middle mile is where many brands can unlock cost savings, improve delivery times, and improve the environmental impact of their operations.
The Impact of Inefficient Middle Mile Logistics Operations
Inefficiencies in the middle mile can quickly add up, resulting in higher transportation costs, delivery delays, and a larger carbon footprint. When trucks aren’t fully utilized, or shipments are routed inefficiently, it leads to wasted fuel and unnecessary trips. For brands looking to improve their bottom line and their sustainability efforts, focusing on optimizing the middle mile is a powerful strategy.
Sustainable Middle Mile Logistics with GoBolt and WARP
Consolidating Freight for Maximum Efficiency
One of the biggest contributors to inefficiency in middle mile logistics is underutilized truck space. Many brands send partially filled trucks on long-haul routes, wasting fuel and resources. WARP addresses this issue by consolidating freight from multiple shippers and ensuring trucks are filled to capacity. This way, fewer trucks are needed, and fewer trips are made, leading to significant fuel savings, reduced carbon emissions, and a more cost-effective solution for GoBolt’s brand partners.
Zone Skipping for a Faster, Greener Delivery
Zone skipping is another innovative approach WARP and GoBolt use to enhance middle mile efficiency. Instead of moving packages through multiple sorting facilities, WARP and GoBolt bypass these steps by injecting goods directly into regional hubs closer to their final destination. This speeds up delivery times and reduces the fuel and energy required to process packages through additional touchpoints.
By partnering with WARP, GoBolt can offer brands faster delivery times while minimizing the environmental costs of transportation. Fewer touchpoints mean fewer resources used, which translates to both economic and ecological savings for brands.
Vehicle Utilization: The Right Vehicle for the Right Shipment
Not every shipment requires a 53-foot truck, and sending small or medium-sized loads in large, fuel-heavy vehicles is a common but costly mistake. WARP deploys a diverse fleet, including cargo vans, box trucks with liftgates, and full-sized trailers, to ensure that every shipment is transported in the most appropriate vehicle. This approach minimizes the use of fuel-heavy trucks when they aren’t needed, further reducing the carbon footprint of middle mile operations.
Additionally, WARP uses last-in, first-out (LIFO) freight consolidation techniques to maximize space and efficiency. This means trucks are loaded strategically to reduce the number of trips required, cutting down on time spent on the road and fuel consumption. For GoBolt’s brands, this translates into a leaner, greener supply chain.
How Technology Enhances Middle Mile Efficiency
Real-Time Visibility for Better Decision-Making
Having real-time visibility into your supply chain is essential for making informed decisions. WARP and GoBolt’s proprietary technology provides their brand partners full transparency into freight movement. This means brands can track inventory as it moves between fulfillment centers and regional distribution hubs, making adjustments in real-time to avoid bottlenecks, delays, or overstocking issues.
For GoBolt, this means that shipments are optimized for efficiency at every stage of the middle mile. By reducing unnecessary transportation and aligning stock levels with demand, we can reduce fuel consumption and improve overall service levels for our brands and their shoppers.
Advanced Sortation Methods
Efficient sortation is key to reducing the carbon footprint and a brand’s Scope 3 emissions associated with handling and moving goods. WARP’s advanced sortation technology allows for faster and more accurate processing of shipments, which in turn reduces the amount of time freight spends on the road. By integrating this technology into our operations, GoBolt is able to provide a faster, more simplified middle mile experience while reducing emissions at every step.
Sustainability in Action: GoBolt and WARP’s Green Initiatives
Exploring Alternative Fuels and Green Technologies
Sustainability is at the core of GoBolt’s mission, and our partnership with WARP reflects this commitment. Whether it’s adopting electric vehicles, exploring alternative fuels, or implementing smarter routing systems, both GoBolt and WARP are dedicated to continuously improving the environmental impact of our middle mile operations.
Emissions Calculator for Transparent Supply Chains
To empower brands with greater visibility into their environmental impact, WARP is piloting an emissions calculator on their platform. This tool enables brands to see the emissions associated with their shipments and explore options for offsetting them.
GoBolt, who launched their proprietary emissions calculator in 2022, is able to provide their brand partners with accurate emission calculations, helping brands understand their Scope 3 emissions, how they’re trending over time and further, how many emissions they avoided through GoBolt’s EV deliveries.
Collaborative Efforts for Greater Visibility and Sustainability
Seamless, Detailed Tracking from Fulfillment to Last Mile
The GoBolt <> WARP partnership ensures that retailers have full visibility into their shipments from fulfillment center to last mile delivery. By providing tracking information not just at the pallet or truck level but at the individual parcel level, we enable brands to see exactly where their products are and when they will arrive. This means that when products are transported from GoBolt’s fulfillment centers to last mile delivery partners, brands have access to status events including the first parcel scan and injection time. This level of visibility improves operational efficiency and gives customers peace of mind.
Sustainable Middle Mile Logistics in Action
Thanks to WARP’s innovative solutions, GoBolt benefits from fewer trucks on the road, shorter distances traveled, and a more eco-friendly middle mile operation. Our customers, in turn, enjoy reduced costs, faster delivery times, and the satisfaction of knowing they’re contributing to a more sustainable supply chain.
Final Thoughts on Improving Sustainability and Efficiency in Middle Mile Logistics
Middle mile logistics is a crucial part of any brand’s supply chain, but it doesn’t have to be a drain on resources or the environment. With the right strategies in place, brands can optimize this phase of logistics for both efficiency and sustainability.
At GoBolt, we’re proud to partner with WARP to offer brands a smarter, greener middle mile solution. Together, we’re driving down costs, cutting carbon emissions, and creating a more transparent, efficient supply chain.
Ready to optimize your middle mile? Reach out to us today to see how GoBolt can help your business achieve operational excellence with a smaller environmental footprint.
