Can you juggle? How many balls can you keep in the air at one time? Would you say three or four? How about five? If your day job involves supply chain management, you might be more talented than you think. Logistics takes coordination, and you have a lot of figurative balls up in the air all at once. So, how can you improve the daily juggling act of your business? Let’s see how you can optimise logistics systems so that they work for you!
How Do You Optimise Logistics?
Here are three simple ways to optimise logistics systems in your business.
1. Automate
Automation means that you can plan further ahead. Logistics software provides more accurate calculations which takes some of the guesswork out of future requirements. It also reduces judgement errors.
Why waste valuable time on manually doing tasks when you can get them automated instead? Smart software tools can really help you here.
2. Outsource
It’s often a good idea to outsource work that your company can’t perform in-house. Or, at least, the busy work that doesn’t need to be done in-house. Outsourcing may seem like an unnecessary expense, but it pays in the long run.
For example, if you have an online shop, you might consider outsourcing your product packaging. This type of delegation will give you more time to spend on your business without having to learn the ins and outs of another speciality. As a result, you’ll see an increase in sales and business growth.
3. Accurate Predictions
In supply chain management, timing is everything. Timing comes into play when you’re working to get the right materials, in the right quantities to the right people.
So it’s important that you’ve gathered data to base your decisions on. Working off past records will help you predict future patterns and prepare accordingly.
Inventory control is especially important in the retail setting. For example, let’s say you run a bakery and you sell a variety of pastries on a daily basis. You’d probably sell more during colder weather when people are craving comfort food. So, it’s necessary to understand your customer’s behaviour, what they want, and when they want it.
When your decisions are thus informed you’ll anticipate changes in your logistics requirements, and you’ll be better equipped to meet demand. You’ll find your logistics process optimised, providing better customer service.
Vehicle Loading and Scheduling
When it comes to logistics, vehicle loading and scheduling is a whole story on its own. Implementing loading and scheduling software can help you in these areas:
– Managing routes and delivery times
– Coordinating your orders and deliveries better
– Running your fleet more efficiently
– Reconciling your loads and deliveries
Let’s take a closer look at how this all comes together in one useful package with Omni’s Vehicle Loading Feature.
Delivery Management
With our logistics management software feature, it’s much easier to manage deliveries. You’re in control from the moment a sales order is generated right up until delivery is made.
Delivery management functionality does the calculations for you. So the system lets you know if the vehicle is overloaded or ready for transportation.
Order Picking
It’s easier to access loading sheets. This helps you see the list of customers you’re delivering to. It’s also a quick way of seeing the stock items that need to be included in the load.
Load Management
Not only does our software help with distribution, but also with physical vehicle loading in that you can manage the carrying capacity of your vehicles better. It allows you to input vehicle data, such as weight, volume, and carrying capacity which makes it much easier to determine if a vehicle is overloaded.
Once all your orders have been captured as loaded for delivery, the software will generate the relevant invoices. Then, when you have the invoices, your vehicle is ready to be sent out.
Our Vehicle Loading feature simplifies every step of load management. This makes it so much easier to coordinate all the factors. The room for error is much less when one step automatically follows the next.
Routing
With our vehicle loading and scheduling solutions, you can even set up customer route profiles. So when it comes time for vehicle loading, you can pull up customer delivery details with the sales orders.
When you set up a particular routing for deliveries, you can also set a delivery sequence. This information will automatically populate onto the trip sheet.
The importance of route optimisation shouldn’t be overlooked. Your customers expect to receive their orders on time, every time. When you let them down, your reputation pays the price.
Don’t Drop the Ball
The logistics process is a fundamental part of the retail industry. This is especially true if your business has anything to do with e-commerce.
What is the cost of disruptions in your supply chain? In 2020, it was reported that 64% of American and European companies lost up to 20% of their revenue, and their brand reputation suffered too. (Source)
So it’s pretty important to make sure that your logistics strategy really works. You don’t want to lose out because of inefficiencies or disruptions. You’ll also need to recognise weak points and prepare for the unexpected as best you can.
Optimising logistics systems isn’t a quick fix and it involves many interrelated business processes. Streamlining your operations might not happen overnight, but that doesn’t mean it’s an impossible task.
Partnering with the right logistics software provider will make the juggling easier to handle. Every business can benefit from Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to streamline day-to-day operations. One of the benefits of our ERP system is that you can seamlessly integrate your logistics process.
What Does Optimisation Mean in Logistics?
Put simply, it means improving the performance of your systems. You take your business challenges and all possible factors into account and then make a plan to develop the most efficient, profitable way forward.
In logistics, you have to manage a variety of supply chain factors from start to finish. You also have to rely on analytics as this data provides critical information that you need to coordinate supply and demand.
We are acutely aware that procurement of enough raw materials at the right time is an important part of logistics. Failing this, we won’t be able to fill manufacturing and distribution requirements. We need to balance many factors so that we can reach the best value for money at the same time as meeting our customer’s expectations.
Here are some of the factors that make up the logistics management juggling act:
– Placing and completing orders
– Reverse logistics
– Control, forecasting and manage inventory
– Warehouse storing, packing and handling inventory
– Inbound and outbound logistics
– Vehicle scheduling, loading and transport logistics management
– Keeping pace with suppliers
– Customising a software system and gathering important data
– Global logistics
– Vehicle loading and scheduling
Optimising logistics systems means better planning and execution no matter what industry you’re in.
The Juggle
If you want to please the crowds, your juggling act must be perfect. And it can be.
When you optimise logistics systems, your business benefits. You can quickly maximise your operations and build a stellar reputation in your industry. You will experience an increase in your profits when you improve your productivity and daily operations.
It’s Omni’s goal to make sure you never drop the ball. If you’d like more information on a customised solution for your business, contact the team here.
