How can you make your logistics more efficient?

Logistics and its management is the backbone of any contemporary business. It is an important element of a successful supply chain that aids in increasing the sales and profits of businesses that deal with shipping, warehousing, and delivery of products. Before envisioning profits and progress, brands should have a robust plan to achieve operational efficiency through seamless logistics and a healthy supply chain.

Proper planning to focus on order-to-delivery lead time 

Logistics planning plays a crucial role because it serves to link and synchronise the overall supply chain as a continuous process and is essential for effective supply chain connectivity. It encapsulates various steps which are procuring goods, storage facilities, and delivery of products to the exact location. At the end of everything, it is customer satisfaction that matters for any logistics chain since it affects how the company is viewed.

From order placement to delivery, the most crucial aspects of the customer experience and the primary deciding factor in their opinion of the company. It doesn’t matter how well you handle every other aspect of your business operations if your customer’s opinion is affected by long lead times in the fulfillment of an order and its delivery. In logistics, several departments and staff members are involved in any operation, in that scenario improving lead times can be required to deal with the order fulfillment process.

Adopt Automation for the system

In this digital age, where everything revolves around technology, technology plays a major role in increasing the efficiency of any company or logistics. Automation plays an important role in business process optimization. Many valuable pieces of software can be deployed in the logistics process that helps in different processes including tracking and monitoring each delivery. Modern tools and systems are designed to speed up the company’s efficiency and lead times by reducing manual interference and eliminating human error in any case. Automation can help from smart weighing scales that integrate with warehouse management systems and track inventory to business processes and communication software that provides real-time updates for any aspect of goods movement.

Proper warehouse management for maximum productivity

Efficient logistics and its management are incomplete without proper warehouse management. The operations of warehouses are considerably dependent on the type of goods. Proper warehouse management is an essential aspect of any logistics process since it affects everything from lead time to inventory management and even the quality of the product.

Apart from goods being stored, certain improvements can help you reduce wastage and speed up the operations of the fleet. Increase the storage space by using vertical columns and implement industrial weighing scales as part of the material handling equipment that helps warehouse staff to weigh goods faster and more accurately. Under warehouse management, effective implementation of the software for sequencing the products is important because there should be no delay while locating the product when the order is placed and the warehouse staff should be well-trained for all the warehouse operations.

Efficient Transportation and redesign for cost/time efficiencies 

Transportation is considered the highest expense in logistics. It also has a major effect on delivery timeframes and returns on investment, especially if any goods are damaged in transit. In any industry, a rise in transportation costs always translates to a rise in goods prices. The transportation department of the company can be analysed to decrease the expenses of the logistics firm, it can be also revamped for faster delivery of the products. For efficient transportation, start with the delivery route and load planning, picking the shortest and safest route, and using truck scales to ensure vehicles carry full loads.

Under this, product packaging should be designed to minimize the size and weight without compromising on security. A logistics firm should opt for the shortest but the safest route. It helps to save money, save time, Cost-effective packaging ensures low investment and safety of goods as well. Companies should optimize the packaging so that it occupies less volume and it does not increase the weight of the package which helps in reducing transportation costs.

The Team

The team is an essential aspect of any company for its growth. Companies should invest in the proper training of the employees. These training workshops help the employees get acquainted with the latest trends in the logistics industry. It also helps in the increased efficiency and satisfaction of the clients. For efficient logistics, companies need a reliable person who can sort out the issues with the utmost efficiency.

Evaluate and Improvise

Network optimization in logistics is incomplete without integrating measurement, analysis, and feedback of the operations. To minimize production inefficiencies and help your entire teamwork, companies should implement some changes in their SOPs. Companies should focus more on improving the information flow across the logistics chain and go on from there. A double-checking system can be implemented to reduce human error and duplicate shipments, print and display key policy terminology across the facility, use analytics reports to share market behavior and sales flow trends with the team on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis, and make sure people are clear about their roles and responsibilities.

Companies' future planning is heavily dependent on the measured information. Companies should analyse the metrics related to different operations such as Cycle time metrics, Cost metrics, and Service metrics. The ideas, suggestions, and feedback of the employees should be recorded periodically. It reveals any flaws in the system and operations.

This article is written by Praveen Vashistha, Founder & Director of Gxpress.