Tag Archives: logistics management

5 Reasons You Should Consider Warehouse Services from 3PL Links

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warehousingWhen your business is transporting goods from one place to another, it is crucial you have a secure warehouse to place these goods. The warehouse should be guarded around the clock to ensure your goods are not vandalized, damaged or stolen; and if you have special storage needs, such as climate control, the warehouse should be equipped to offer the service.

If goods get damaged or a theft occurs, it is not just a monetary loss to your company, it is also is loss of credibility in front of your customers due to delayed deliveries. These are issues that can cost your company dearly, both in terms of money and reputation. You should choose your warehousing partner with care. Without the right warehouse services, your business can suffer in many different ways.

Below are 5 reasons why you should choose professional warehouse services offered by 3PL Links.

  1. Expertise and Experience

3PL Links employs highly trained professionals who ensure all your logistics supply chain requirements are handled seamlessly. The company brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise and hence, is equipped to provide warehousing solutions to suit your needs and budget. This storage method minimizes risks and also ensures expedient and fast service. You never have to contend with inexperienced and untrained employees which increases the risk of loss and damage. Continue reading →

When you should Consider Consulting with a Third Party Logistics Provider

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Third-Party-Logistics-ProviderAny company that sells products must have a reliable delivery system in place to ensure that all items are delivered to customers on time and in perfect condition. For this to be possible, the delivery system must include warehousing, picking, packing, and shipping operations, which are gathered under the generic name of logistics.

Unfortunately, managing logistics is a major challenge for many businesses. Without streamlining logistics operations, a company can easily run into cost overruns, which will negatively impact its overall activity. How can you reduce the risk of cost overruns and outright failure? By simply consulting with a third party logistics provider, or 3PL.   Continue reading →

3PL Supply Chain Management Metrics to Look at

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supply chain management metricsSupply chain management metrics are designed to give your company the analytical tools to assess the performance of each piece of the supply chain. The matrices should be straightforward to use, but aligned to specific business requirements. Three important matrices critical to effective supply chain management and bottom lines are: carrying cost of inventory, inventory to sales ratio, and inventory turnover.

Carrying Cost of Inventory

The carrying cost of inventory is one of the supply chain management metrics that measures the costs of keeping inventory, whether over the short- or long-term. Carrying cost of inventory can help you to determine expected profits on current inventory, and if more product, or less, is required to ensure income levels or to cover expenses. It can also impact more strategic decision-making like sourcing. Continue reading →

Should you Consider Supply Chain Segmentation?

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Supply-Chain-SegmentationBusiness success is contingent on maintaining a competitive edge.  Maximizing supply chain activities allows businesses to operate at highly proficient and effective levels.  Supply chain management integrates all facets of business operation and production, including product development, procurement, construction, and logistics.  Businesses are discovering that they are unable to maximize customer value using a single supply chain strategy.  The same supply chain stratagem will satisfy some customers but the desires of other consumers may go unfulfilled, and for others, the costs may be too great. As a business owner, should you consider supply chain segmentation?  The answer is yes.

Supply chain segmentation means grouping services or faculties together to meet an explicit set of requirements.   Segmentation allows businesses to meet their customer needs at the lowest cost.  It provides an organizational framework that consistently delivers value and business control the complete life progression of a product.  Supply chain segmentation generally follows these steps:

Step One – Group Products and Delivery Channels

The first step for segmentation involves grouping products and delivery methods and creating a matrix, where all combinations are represented.  Each combination is considered an individual supply chain.  The distinct supply chains are rated using business revenue factors of gross profitability and sales.  Continue reading →

LTL Industry Best Practices for Cross-Border Shipping

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cross-border shippingCross-border shipping is an integral part of the global economy and an especially important component of the commercial relationship between the United States and Canada. The United States Census Bureau reported that in May of 2014 the U.S. imported over $30 billion in goods from Canada. If your business is looking to engage in any kind of cross-border shipping, it is important that you ship your goods in an efficient way that also complies with all the pertinent regulations for this type of commerce.

Include the Proper Documents

The first step in making sure that you can properly engage in cross-border shipping is getting your documents in order. Important things that you need to have include:

  • Your bill of lading that is filled out with all the necessary information
  • Evidence of the purchase of the goods, such as an invoice or purchase order
  • A license to import/export: this is usually only required for products that are regulated, like firearms, tobacco, etc.

Continue reading →

Checklist for Efficient Global Supply Chain Management

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Global Supply Chain ManagementEfficient supply chain management on a global scale is a handful for even the most logistics-savvy companies. When you are entangled in the global market there are a lot of blind corners and gray areas. There is going to be a lot of days that you wish that the straight line you drew between two points on the whiteboard was a reality. With that being said, global supply chain management is a difficult yet not impossible task. Here is a checklist of tasks that every business needs to follow to maintain the efficiency of their global supply chain.

Global Supply Chain Management Checklist 

[  ] Always Start With Risk Management: Operational Risk Management is more than just a buzzword. It has to be the starting point of every logistics operation. While it may not be possible to disaster-proof every movement, you cannot know what contingencies you will need to prepare for if you do not take the time to consider the events that will have the most disruptive effects upon your operations. You need to consider how you will do business if your critical systems are rendered inoperable, what steps to take to respond to these catastrophes, and how to resume operations as quickly as possible. Continue reading →

What Type of Supply Chain Disruptions are a Threat to Your Business?

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Supply Chain DisruptionsMany businesses share common management concerns including potential supply chain disruptions. These common supply chain threats include extreme weather like hurricanes or tornadoes, or natural disasters like earthquakes and floods. Other kinds of disruptions like supplier breaks, labor issues and pricing risks, are perhaps less dramatic, but hold the same potential for damage. For every business, the type and ultimate impact of supply chain disruptions will vary. There are several threats to a business”s supply chain, especially if they rely on transportation.

Supplier Breaks

Any manager waiting for a truckload of raw materials originating in a hurricane zone along the Gulf knows that unforeseen disruptions are costly and can potentially put their business at risk. Supplier breaks can arise for a variety of reasons.

Climate change and environmental damage continue to cause supplier breaks because they can lead to swings in the cost of commodities and other materials prices, which can affect your bottom line. For example, changes in climate led to a reduction in grain crops in Eastern Europe, leaving many food manufacturers forced to increase prices to cover the drop in supply and subsequent increase in price. Unanticipated events like explosions in warehouses, business failures, or new regulations can end in supplier breaks too. Continue reading →

How to Choose Supply Chain technology

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Supply Chain TechnologyChoosing supply chain technology is the most important decision a logistics manager makes in his or her career. Why? Simply because the right software solution can propel a company forward, regardless of how bad the economy is, while the wrong one may bury the business for good. Unfortunately, selecting the best supply chain management (SCM) system can be difficult.

Selecting a SCM System

Never has so much technology been developed to help organizations improve supply chain performance. Yet, the performance of most supply chains has never been worse. Due to poor coordination and planning, dysfunctional industry practices, and high costs resulting from adversarial relations among partners, most supply chain organizations generate low profit margins, surviving, not thriving. To help you choose the right SCM system for your company, the rest of this post delineates the steps you should follow in the selection process. Continue reading →

How do Fuel Surcharges Work in the Trucking Industry?

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Fuel SurchargesFor businesses that transport their products within North America and carriers, protecting their bottom line from volatile fuel prices is an ongoing concern. One way to garner some protection from a fluctuating fuel price is the fuel surcharge.

What is Fuel Surcharge?

The fuel surcharge is the total cost for fuel usage. It is a contract between the shipper and another party that sets a standard rate for the fuel and how much will be paid above the base rate, and what fuel price triggers the surcharge, or no surcharge at all. Continue reading →

6 Tips on Enhancing Supply Chain Security

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Supply Chain SecurityThe supply chain is threatened with insecurity from all directions. Theft, terrorism, and cyber crime are just a few examples of threats faced by goods on transit. Fortunately, there are several simple yet effective ways through which the security of the supply chain can be improved.

Here are six practices that you should consider if you’re resolute about enhancing your supply chain security.

1. Applying a structured approach

The first step in averting any risk is usually to stay safe: do not expose yourself to the problem. Start by forming a diverse team tasked primarily with managing supply chain risks at the organization. Then you can have all departments within the organization assessing and outlining their specific concerns which are then planned for by this management team. Every department has its own special needs and giving them the opportunity to express their concerns is the best way of identifying and tackling all risks within the entire organization. Continue reading →