{"id":8408,"date":"2023-05-12T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/devanning\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T22:03:55","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T22:03:55","slug":"devanning","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/devanning\/","title":{"rendered":"Devanning: Definition, Guide, and What It Means in Ecommerce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Table of Contents<\/p>

** Minutes<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

What is devanning?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does the devanning process work?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devanning challenges<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devanning best practices<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How an experienced 3PL like ShipBob can optimise your supply chain<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devanning FAQs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In ecommerce supply chains<\/a>, even the smallest tasks can have big impact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the act of devanning. It may seem like a negligible aspect of the warehouse receiving<\/a> and putaway<\/a> process \u2013 and as a result, it often goes unappreciated and undervalued by retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reality, devanning is a complex and vital part of your warehousing<\/a> operations. How a business unloads its cargo affects the speed and efficiency of other processes, and sets the stage for seamless inventory flow later on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll break down what devanning is, how it works, and best practices for leveraging this small-but-mighty task to improve your supply chain operations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is devanning?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Devanning is the process of unloading cargo from a sealed container and unpacking the contents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also known as stripping, unpacking, or unstuffing, the process involves unsealing a landed container, and taking out the contents using forklifts or other machinery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devanning typically takes place after drayage<\/a> at the destination warehouse, where the goods can then be received and prepared for warehouse put-away<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, say an ecommerce business ordered 1,000 units of inventory from their supplier. The supplier sends the inventory to the business\u2019s warehouse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the container arrives at the warehouse loading dock<\/a>, the business\u2019s warehouse employees begin the deconsolidation process. Workers must place the pallets or boxes in a loading area, unwrap them, open each container, and carefully remove the inventory so that it can be stored elsewhere.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why you shouldn\u2019t neglect devanning in 2023<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While one might assume devanning is simple, it is actually a meticulous \u2013 and consequential \u2013 process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If devanning is sloppy, inventory may be damaged or lost<\/a> in the process. This results in lost investment and revenue, and slows down the entire warehouse receiving and putaway process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inefficient devanning stalls every function that follows it \u2013 so for the sake of their overall supply chain efficiency<\/a>, merchants should pay attention to how they devan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devanning requires a dedicated team of professionals that are trained in handling essential equipment and machinery such as forklifts and cranes. Workers should be experienced in the correct devanning procedures depending on the size and shape of the shipment, so they can ensure that the cargo is handed off safely and accurately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does the devanning process work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The entire devanning process may take a few days, depending on the type of container and size of cargo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The devanning crew\u2019s experience level and the quality of equipment used also plays a role in devanning speed. In most cases, devanning a shipment can take anywhere between 1 and 3 days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the cargo arrives at the destination warehouse, the containers are placed on either ground level or dock level, depending on what makes them most accessible to the devanning team. Dock-level unloading may require additional, specialized equipment.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before unsealing the container, the devanning team should ensure that they have adequate lighting and are aware of any potential hazards, such as unsecured items or slippery floors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After opening the container, the devanning team will use counterbalance forklifts to unload the cargo. Counterbalance forklifts have forks protruding at the front (rather than outrigging or legs or arms), and can turn on their rear wheels. This gives them the flexibility to move in and out of different spaces, and ensure greater safety and efficiency while unloading cargo. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Source<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How long it takes to unload the cargo will depend on several factors, including whether it is an FCL (full container load) or LCL (less-than-container load) shipment, and whether the container has been floor-loaded or pallet-loaded<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the cargo is unloaded, it is broken down by hand and palletized in a process called handballing. This allows warehousing facilities to systemically sort different cargo so that it is easier to either store the goods or transport them to a different location. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Handballing is usually time consuming. As a result, many businesses choose to outsource devanning and handballing to a logistics partner to expedite the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devanning challenges<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Because container devanning can be surprisingly complex, retailers<\/a> may come across a number of unexpected challenges. Here are just a few common issues that arise from or affect the devanning process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congestion due to supply chain setbacks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Unexpected disruptions in the supply chain such as a global health crisis or transportation issues (such as the infamous Suez Canal blockage in 2021<\/a>) can have a huge impact on devanning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often, supply chain setbacks lead to congestion<\/a>, which happens when multiple containers arrive at shipping docks around the same time. This results in a traffic jam and a huge backlog of containers that need devanning. Clearing this backlog takes a lot of time, and almost always causes delays further down the supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cShipBob was invaluable in helping us navigate the COVID supply chain crisis, especially during the 2020 holiday season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some fulfilment providers keep a curtain of secrecy around their operations, especially when issues arise \u2014 but not ShipBob. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even during the worst of the pandemic, they maintained transparency and communicated with us every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aaron Patterson, COO of The Adventure Challenge<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Staffing shortages<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Devanning requires a team of highly trained and experienced professionals. If there\u2019s a lack of forklift operators or other workers fit to carry out the necessary tasks, the process can be seriously affected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pains of staffing shortages are particularly acute in the handballing process, since a business usually needs to break cargo down manually. Not having enough people to handle this will cause significant delays in the rest of your warehousing operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stock identification<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Depending on where inventory is coming from, there may be variations in how stock is labelled and identified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, a supplier or manufacturer<\/a> may not use the same labelling system or conventions that the retailer uses. This can cause confusion and mix-ups that not only waste time, but also that lead to sorting and storage errors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your devanning crew will need to pay close attention to how goods are labelled, so each SKU<\/a> is handled and received appropriately. In some cases, you may need to relabel the goods to ensure that they can be easily identified and move seamlessly through the rest of the supply chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Container prioritization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When the wrong shipping container is prioritized over a container that needs to be devanned more urgently, it can cause some delays further down the line. This typically occurs due to miscommunication or lack of communication between the involved parties.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Safety risks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since devanning often involves the use of heavy equipment and complex machinery handling huge cargo loads, there\u2019s always a certain safety risk inherent in the unloading process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even a minor equipment mishandling or a small spillage on the floor could lead to expensive accidents that threaten the safety of your workers and your goods.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Devanning best practices<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So what can retailers do to overcome the challenges highlighted above? Here are a few leading devanning best practices to help ensure that the process is as safe and efficient as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow all safety protocols<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In devanning, a business\u2019s #1 priority should always be the safety of its workers. It is crucial that merchants not only have safety protocols in place, but implement them daily to minimise the risk of accidents and damaged goods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These protocols should include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n