Fine Tuning Your Logistics Management – The Benjamin Gordon Primer
In contemporary commerce, it is not unusual for businesses to source raw materials and components from various countries, assemble or manufacture in a few, and sell globally. One of the keys to success is efficient supply chain management. Regardless of how good your supply chain management is, there is always scope for streamlining it for better market competitiveness and customer satisfaction. Some essential tips for managing your logistics more efficiently:
Proper Supply Chain Planning
Improving your supply chain starts with the planning process, which involves all aspects like procurement, storage, and shipping of materials and goods. Since it is vital to focus on things like the transportation mode, the time taken for the shipping, and the costs involved, you should devise a flow chart detailing the operations. A good plan will also have enough flexibility to accommodate unforeseen exigencies. These include the availability of the products, disruption in the availability of the preferred mode of transportation, issues internal to the organization, political and labor unrest, etc., observes Benjamin Gordon.
Adoption of Automation
Automation is key in modern supply chain management and logistics otherwise, you cannot ship the large volumes required for economical operations. Automation helps in optimizing business processes. You can access many different kinds of application software for deployment in the logistics sector. You can integrate many of these applications with business process software to provide timely updates regarding the movement of goods. Both the shipper and the client can get periodic information regarding the dispatch of goods, goods received at the warehouse, the inventory, and the delivery of the goods. Since there is no manual intervention, the process is more accurate; it saves time and increases business efficiency.
Invest In Training and Relationship Building
No logistics operation can hope to be efficient and successful without a trained and motivated team. For this reason, you must invest in comprehensive training for your employees. You can do this in many ways, but conducting periodic training workshops can keep them updated on the latest aspects of logistics management. In addition to increasing their proficiency, training also keeps them motivated and increases their market value, says Benjamin Gordon. It is also important for people in charge of interacting with customers to possess advanced interpersonal skills. They must be capable enough to face challenges head-on and offer customers innovative solutions.
Efficient Warehouse Management
No supply chain management operation is complete without efficient warehouse management, which also depends on the type of goods. For example, you can store metals and minerals without much hassle, but you need to be very careful with perishable produce like grains, fruits, and vegetables, or dairy and meat projects. You must attempt to maximize the warehouse storage capacity. You can do it by making use of advanced storage mechanisms like vertical columns. Also, effective implementation of software for product sequencing can help minimize delays in locating the products for shipping.
Conclusion
No discussion on the efficiency of logistics is complete without focusing on efficient transportation. You will need to determine the delivery route that takes the least time, costs the minimum, and is reliable.
