Containers are lightweight, portable, and well-suited to automation. As a result, containerization has become a key component of development pipelines and application architecture across a wide range of use cases. Understanding containerization and how to securely implement it can help the organization modernize and scale its technological stacks.
Some of the key advantages of containerization are elaborated below:
Increased flexibility: Containers can be used to transport a wide range of products, including commodities (coal, wheat), manufactured goods, automobiles, and refrigerated (perishable) goods. There are containers designed for dry cargo, liquids (oil and chemical materials), and refrigerated cargo. Discarded containers can be recycled and utilized for many uses.
Standardization: The container is a standard transportation product that may be transported anywhere in the globe using specific modes (ships, trucks, barges, and wagons), equipment, and terminals. Each container is allocated a unique identification number and a size type code, allowing it to be treated as a distinct transport unit and controlled accordingly.
Costs: Container transportation reduces transportation costs due to the benefits of uniformity. Moving the same quantity of break-bulk freight in a container is approximately 20 times cheaper than previous techniques. Containers provide economies of scale at modes and ports that were not possible with traditional break-bulk handling. The significant cost benefits of containerization stem from cheaper multimodal transportation costs.
Warehousing: The container functions as its own storage, protecting the cargo within. This translates into simpler and less expensive packaging for containerized commodities, notably consumer goods. Containerization provides a net advantage in terms of stacking capacity on ships, trains (double stacking), and on the ground (container yards). With the correct equipment, a container yard can boost its stacking density.
Safety and security: Carriers are unaware of the container's contents because it can only be opened at the point of origin (seller/shipper), customs, and destination (buyer). This indicates less spoiling and loss (theft).
Velocity: Transshipment processes are simple and quick, and ship port turnaround times have been diminished from three weeks to approximately 24 hours. Because of this transshipment advantage, container transport chains move faster. Container shipping networks are well-connected and provide various shipping choices. Containerships are also speedier than conventional cargo ships and have a higher frequency of port visits, resulting in a constant velocity.
