Anyone here pushed cube utilization past 88% on 40HC by re-dimensioning to a 600/400/200mm modular carton set? We’re tracking about $32 per unit savings ex-Vietnam on a 12-SKU line after switching to monthly FCLs and a cross-dock in Long Beach, but replenishment variability jumped; what service-level targets and reorder triggers kept your stockouts in check?
We pushed 40HC cube to about 91% on 600/400/200 and saw about the same $32 per-unit ex-VN; what stopped our stockouts was triggering reorders off the next sail date — pull the trigger when projected on‑hand at ETA minus LB cross‑dock dwell will fall below cycle + safety (safety = P95 door‑to‑door lead time with about 1.2× weekly MAD). Small caveat: we kept a 0.6 MOQ vendor-held buffer in Vietnam to absorb slips, which let us run 95% CSL instead of 97%; workable for your monthly FCLs, @ops-jamie?
We hit similar “$32 per unit ex‑VN,” and what stopped the stockouts was anchoring reorder to door‑to‑door coverage through the next two sailings, with safety time set to the P80 of LB cross‑dock dwell + dray appointment lag. We run 96% CSL on A, 93% on B, and bump safety time +4 days around Tet/Golden Week; trigger fires as soon as projected on‑hand at cutoff falls below forecast to ETA+P80. @kelley-supply have you tried percentile‑based dwell instead of fixed days?
Instead of anchoring to sail dates, we trigger when projected on-hand at LB “yard-available” minus a rolling P75 of LB dwell + cross-dock pick time covers demand to the next cutoff; that killed most stockouts on monthly FCLs with a Long Beach cross-dock. A/B/C CSL at 97/93/90, with the buffer tuned weekly off carrier schedule reliability (Sea-Intelligence: https://www.seaintelligence.com). @kelley-supply have you tried an event-based trigger keyed off 315/322 updates?
@OP We pushed ‘88%’ on 40HC and kept stockouts down by triggering when projected on-hand at DC on LB terminal-available falls below demand through the next two vessel arrivals, with safety time = P90 of cut-to-available variance and releases rounded to full-container multiples; CSL 98% on A SKUs, 95% on the rest. Small caveat: the re-dim at that density can break retail pallet heights unless you recheck layer counts. Would splitting CSL by A/B/C fit your 12-SKU mix?
And quick example: after moving to the “600/400/200” set we used one rule — release the next FCL when DC inventory covers only 1.3 sailing windows of demand, with the 0.3 as a rolling P90 forecast‑error buffer by SKU family — which held about 96–98% CSL on a 12‑SKU line and kept savings in your ~$32 ex‑VN range. Small caveat: in promo months that buffer can balloon, so we cap it at 7 days to prevent overshoot. @OP could you seasonally bias your buffer, or are you locked to a flat target?
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