Inbound Logistics 101
Thirteen chapters that walk a real shipment from a supplier’s factory all the way to a goods-in scan at your DC. Every major mode of freight, the Incoterm machinery, and a landed-cost view of how mode choice plays out.
Explaining Inbound Logistics
When you order a phone made in Vietnam or a t-shirt made in Bangladesh, those goods crossed oceans, customs, and warehouses to reach you. This site is about that journey, and how to manage it well when you're the one buying it.
What this is
Section titled “What this is”When you order a phone made in Vietnam, a t-shirt made in Bangladesh, or auto parts from Mexico, those goods spent two to six weeks crossing oceans, riding rails, sitting in customs queues, and bouncing through warehouses before they reached you. That whole journey, from a supplier’s loading dock to yours, is what supply-chain professionals call inbound logistics.
This site walks through how that journey actually works, what it costs, and where you have leverage when you’re the one buying it.
Each chapter starts with a concrete shipment, walks through the mechanics that shape its cost and timing, and ends with a small set of decisions you can apply to your own lanes. Numbers in amber pills with the word illustrative are practitioner judgment, not benchmarked figures. Numbers in [Bracketed Source] citations link to verified industry references. If the language is new, Inbound Logistics 101 is the path through.
What’s here
Section titled “What’s here”The Should Cost Model
Decompose any freight quote into the cost drivers that produce it. Mode-level deep-dives with cost build-ups, sensitivities, benchmarks, and worked examples with visual cost waterfalls. Plus origin logistics and customs brokerage as standalone buckets.
Glossary & References
Every acronym used on the site, grouped by domain, with hover-to-explain tooltips inline. Every cited source (ICC, IATA, FMC, CBP, FMCSA, GLEC, UNCTAD, ATA, NRF, industry indices) catalogued.