5 Reasons Logistics Is Valuable for More Than Just Transportation
Most businesses rely on the transportation of goods in and out of their facilities. But small businesses that start out focusing on transportation as a discrete subject unrelated to their other business operations may not realize how evaluating their operations with a fully-fledged logistical approach can benefit them. Here are five ways changing your approach to logistics can help your company:
1. Proactive Planning. If you think about transportation separately from your other business operations, you will only try to manage transportation as it affects your company's prices, delivery, and your personnel's schedules. But for a company that wants to grow and evolve, thinking ahead is vital. A logistics team thinks outside the box, embraces technological improvements, and looks for ways to tweak the process to make it better — even when what you are already doing is working.
2. Backup Plans. Every missing shipment, delay, or damaged set of goods can mean lost profits. This is one reason that a logistics-based approach creates backup plans to minimize the effects of such problems. This includes working with a variety of vendors, making emergency plans, evaluating issues that have happened before, and foreseeing potential problems.
3. An Optimized Supply Chain. The logistics approach involves much more than just moving goods. It optimizes the entire supply chain from the selection of raw materials to the return of goods from dissatisfied customers. This integration can reduce costs overall and make your supply chain more efficient and effective.
4. Better Control of Each Step. Because a logistics team is interested in the entire supply chain, it seeks more control over different steps in the process. Instead of just relying on one or more individual transportation companies, your team oversees materials purchasing and even other vendors' supply chains. It drafts contracts with suppliers to guarantee better results. And it creates enforceable standards throughout the chain.
5. An Emphasis on Feedback. When you focus on just the safe arrival of goods from shipment to shipment, the process is straightforward and you may not see any reason to change anything. In fact, many small companies don't want change but instead seek stability. However, logistics managers are always looking for feedback that can help refine the process. Logistics wants data, measurement, and analysis — not just results.
Where to Start
Want to know more about how the logistics approach can help your business become even better than it already is? No matter where you are in your growth cycle, the best place to begin is by meeting with a managed logistics service, like AIT Logistics INC. They will help you discover how logistics can be used to benefit your company.