The era of ecommerce is also the era of enhanced consumer preferences and personalization. This adds new dimensions to supply chain management in the form of customized orders, retail vendor compliance, and having to deliver more complex product configurations under shorter deadlines. These duties are often shifted further along the supply chain and have resulted in new forms of value-added services in warehousing and distribution in response.

The Main Forms of Value-Added Services in Warehousing

Kitting

This is the creation of various “kits” of products in advance that can be mixed in with other products to quickly create the final version. A good example is television sets, which often come with things like HDMI cables and remotes. Cable/remote kits are often prepared in advance so that they can be combined and shipped with television sets upon an order being received.

Bundling

This is similar to kitting, but is more dependent on the needs of a specific retailer or customer. While “kitting” refers to ways that different elements of one product package can be brought together, “bundling” is when multiple products become part of a single package or deal. Bundling is more commonly seen during special promotions or holidays.

Value-Added Functions in Supply Chain Management

Regardless of what form your value-added warehousing services take, there are clear benefits to incorporating them into your supply chain activities.

Production Costs

Value-added services help make shipment sizes, packaging, and inventory levels more efficient and streamlined, which will result in lower production costs by extension.

Time

Kitting helps reduce the amount of time that must be spent picking and packing a product after an order is received. Kits are also, by their nature, easier to adjust as new products come in and older sets need to be upgraded. This further contributes to a more efficient workflow and streamlined processes.

Control

Being able to more effectively customize orders isn’t just a benefit for customers; the use of value-added services in your supply chain lets you exert more control over how products are arranged and distributed. This empowers you to react more efficiently to shifts in inventory and to prevent yourself from having too much or too little of any individual product.

Reliability

Integrating value-added services into warehousing and distribution operations makes filling orders—especially customized ones—easier and more flexible. This allows customer desires to be fulfilled consistently and improve overall satisfaction.

Finding Value-Added Warehousing and Distribution Services in Toronto

Lean Supply Solutions is a third-party logistics (3PL) fulfillment company whose operations are based around the “Lean Methodology,” a proven philosophy focused on eliminating any operations, equipment, or resources that are not capable of adding value to our clients’ supply chains. By striving to ensure that the right products are provided to the right customers at the right time, Lean Supply Solutions is able to offer consistent, predictable, and quality results. To learn more about the Lean Methodology or outsourcing to Lean Supply Solutions, or to ask any questions, give us a call at 416-748-8982.

When it comes to warehousing and distribution services, or supply chain management in general, keeping costs low is always important. While you should always make sure you are getting quality services, this doesn’t have to mean paying top dollar every time. There are numerous ways that even existing warehousing and distributions services can be tweaked and adjusted to improve savings and enhance efficiency.

How to Enhance Warehouse Efficiency

Reduce Travel Times

Warehouses can reach the point where they become immense, sprawling spaces. While this is good for storage, it can also create situations where order pickers end up wasting a lot of time going from one spot to the next. Look for ways to streamline the pick-and-pack process so that it is easier to move about and less distance has to be crossed. Flow racks or flow path optimization are great ways to address this.

Move Orders to Zones

This is sort of the opposite of the above tip. While reducing travel time is about reducing the movement of workers, this tip is about improving the flow of materials and products themselves. Consider only sending order containers to warehouse zones where active picking is required, for example.

Eliminate Travel, Split Case Selection, and Replenishment

Instead of having your pickers go and locate items, why not bring the items to the picker? Automated staging storage and goods-to-person picking stations can make use of technology to enhance the flow of products through the warehouse.

Layer Pickers

A layer picker is a type of robot that is best imagined as a sort of “super forklift.” These machines are able to take single or multiple layers and build or move mixed-load pallets with ease. These are extremely useful devices in any situation with large amounts of pallet products.

Control Inbound and Outbound Freight

The services that you use to move freight in and out of your warehouse are some of the largest sources of growing costs in the industry. While you will naturally have less control over the shipping side of the supply chain, that is no reason to let costs get away from you. Focus on competitive bidding and look for areas in your carrier agreements where reductions can be negotiated without hurting overall service levels.

Consider Third-Party Fulfillment

Getting a third-party logistics (3PL) provider is a valid and popular way of reducing costs. By taking advantage of another firm’s supply chain expertise and specialization, you can get expert service and warehousing and distribution services at a fraction of the cost it would take to go solo.

Have a Continuous Improvement Process

You can’t improve what you don’t measure—cliché, but true. Make regular measurements and evaluations of your procedures and processes to find areas for improvement and enhanced efficiency. Set objectives and make sure people are accountable for implementing change. Then, once it’s all over, review and start again.

Warehouse and Distribution Toronto

Lean Supply Solutions is a 3PL fulfillment company whose operations are based around the Lean Methodology, a proven philosophy focused on eliminating any operations, equipment, or resources that are not capable of adding value to our clients’ supply chain. By striving to ensure that the right products are provided to the right customers at the right time, Lean Supply Solutions is able to offer consistent, predictable, and quality results. To learn more about the Lean Methodology, outsourcing to Lean Supply Solutions, or to ask any questions, give us a call at 416-748-8982.

It is an exciting time when small businesses start to outgrow their existing infrastructure. As sales pick up and consumer interest grows, extra storage space becomes necessary to keep enough stock on hand and organized. This is where warehousing services often come into play. A third-party warehouse and fulfillment centre will allow your business to get the storage space and distribution logistics set up and operated in an effective and efficient manner. However, not all warehouse operations are created equal, so it’s important to make sure you are getting quality warehousing services. To that end, here are some elements to keep in mind when evaluating candidates. Use the following as a checklist and mark off whether a candidate service possesses or lacks any necessary aspects.

Warehouse Location and Physical Properties

The most basic thing to keep in mind about a warehouse service is where it is located and the physical size of its operations. When evaluating a potential warehouse, make sure to assess the following:

Size of the Building

Make sure to look at the building in light of your current and potentially future needs. Is it large enough to offer what you need right now? If your growth continues along projected lines, will it still be enough after three or five years?

Number of Bay Doors

The bay doors are used for shipping and receiving, with the number of doors dictating how many containers can flow in and out of the warehouse each day. You may not necessarily need a dedicated bay door for your business, but you also don’t want to be stuck with products waiting to ship and no way to send them out. Inquire about the number of containers that can be shipped and received per day and how your products will fit into the overall flow of the warehouse operations.

Proximity to Ports, Airports, Rail, Highways, Etc.

One of the benefits of using warehousing services is that it allows you to take advantage of being strategically located near major routes of traffic. Having easy access to major highways or air or sea travel helps make shipping and delivering easier. Obviously, the exact sites you want to be near will depend on your business model. For example, if you primarily ship across the country, you have less need to be near a dock, but will benefit more from highways and possibly airports.

Available Space

Most third-party providers of warehousing services split their sites up among different clients, which means that you are only going to be able to make use of a portion of the total space in the warehouse. Make sure that the space that is available is going to be enough for your needs. For instance, it is common to need a bit of extra room during high-volume periods like holidays or big sales; will it be possible to get that extra storage space or is everyone packed too tightly together? Flexibility is important and shouldn’t be discounted.

Equipment Checklist

Warehouses make use of numerous types of storage and transportation equipment. Many of these are considered basics of warehousing activity, so you should press for an explanation if any of the following are not used at a candidate site:

• Pallet racks
• Conveyors
• Flow racks (used for pick and pack)
• Scanning stations
• Packing tables

Staffing Considerations

The warehouse workers are going to be provided by your warehousing services provider so you won’t necessarily have control over who is handling your products. However, this does not mean you can’t inquire about the staff and learn more about them. Consider looking into some of the following:

Certification and Training

Knowing if employees are trained in elements like Six Sigma, Kaizen, or Kanban, or what their training procedures are in general, lets you understand the kind of performance you can expect. This information also lets you get a sense of how professional the workers are going to be in carrying out their duties.

Turnover Rate

A higher-than-normal turnover rate should be viewed cautiously. While it could be benign, a constant cycling of new employees means overall effectiveness will suffer since there are fewer experienced workers around. It also means you may need to become familiarized with new workers more routinely if the turnover affects your own area.

Background Checks and Probation Periods

Knowing how thoroughly a warehousing service screens employees is good for peace of mind. Further, understanding the probation and training period lets you know how long an employee is monitored before they are considered fit to work on their own.

Motivation Methods

Consider what is motivating the warehouse workers. Do they get bonuses for speed, safety, or other merit-based elements? Are promotions or raises based on seniority or other factors? Understanding what incentives employees are given can give you a sense for workplace moral and enthusiasm.

IT Systems

Information technology is becoming an increasingly central part of warehousing services and any candidate is going to be making use of various systems and interfaces to help manage the flow of goods through the warehouse. Be sure to check for the presence of any of the following and ask for specifics about their capabilities:

• Warehouse management system
• Transportation management system
• Yard management systems
• EDI, RFID, barcodes
• Inventory control and location management systems
• Flexibility of systems (how modifiable are they?)
• Name of IT manager (for collaboration)
• Integration and customization abilities of systems so they can be linked to your business

Finding Warehousing Services with Lean Supply Solutions

Lean Supply Solutions is a third-party logistics fulfillment company whose operations are based around the “Lean Methodology,” a proven philosophy focused on eliminating any operations, equipment, or resources that are not capable of adding value to a client’s supply chain. By striving to ensure that the right products are provided to the right customers at the right time, Lean Supply Solutions is able to offer consistent, predictable, and quality results. To learn more about the Lean Methodology or outsourcing to Lean Supply Solutions, or to ask any questions, give us a call at 416-748-8982.

Third-party logistics service providers are outside companies that complete various supply chain, warehousing, and distribution tasks on behalf of client businesses. Many companies make use of 3PL fulfillment services to save money and manpower and to better grow their operations and reach. However, just because 3PL outsourcing is popular doesn’t automatically mean it’s the right approach. Instead, consider the following advantages of 3PL logistics and see whether they are something you need or are interested in applying to your own business.

Improved Global Capabilities

Expanding business operations is always a risk vs. reward situation. There is significant financial investment involved when entering new markets and if things don’t work out, you can be left taking a very large hit to the wallet. One benefit of 3PL outsourcing is that you can use a fulfillment provider who already has distribution channels in the target region, whether it’s another country, state, or city. By taking advantage of these pre-existing channels, you can enjoy lower costs when expanding or even do a low-risk test as a starting point.

Reduced Costs

As mentioned, outsourcing allows you to avoid the major costs associated with trying to create your own distribution center or network. However, even if the start-up costs are ignored, there are distinct savings to be found in the long term. 3PL logistics service providers cater to numerous businesses at any one time and the costs of ongoing operation are split between them. This means that ongoing maintenance and labor fees are lower than they would be if you were trying to go alone. Additionally, 3PL companies frequently get reduced shipping rates because of their large volume. This can allow you to enjoy discounts on distribution that would not normally be possible when trying to ship solo.

Enhanced Security

Theft does happen and about $30 billion worth of cargo is lost in the United States every year. Although not every step of the supply chain can be fully controlled, 3PL companies can influence more steps than most independent businesses can and take measures to ensure proper safeguards are in place. How this is done takes many forms. Enhancing security can mean putting cameras in warehousing facilities, properly screening workers, installing GPS or emergency stop systems on transport trucks, or embedding trackers within the shipment itself. There are also data security measures that will be taken to prevent customer information from becoming compromised.

Improved Quality

You may be currently managing your business’s logistics and fulfillment operations just fine. While this is always a good thing, it doesn’t mean a 3PL service provider can’t do it better. This is not to insult your abilities, but it is an observation that some 3PL companies may have more experience, better shipping rates, better geographic locations, or other factors that you can’t necessarily improve on by yourself. Economy of scale also means that there will be cases where cost and quality can be improved through the volume easily obtainable by 3PL companies but too difficult or impossible for a smaller business to acquire. Many 3PL companies also make use of technologies like real-time inventory tracking and warehouse management systems that allow for more efficient overviews of fulfillment operations. This can ensure better coordination and awareness of the entire supply chain and empower you to keep things working smoothly and efficiently.

Getting a Lean Third-Party Logistics Services Provider

Lean Supply Solutions is a 3PL fulfillment company whose operations are based around the Lean Methodology, a proven philosophy based on eliminating any operations, equipment, or resources that are not capable of adding value to our clients’ supply chain. By striving to ensure that the right products are provided to the right customers at the right time, Lean Supply Solutions is able to offer consistent, predictable, and quality results. To learn more about the Lean Methodology or outsourcing to Lean Supply Solutions, or to ask any questions, give us a call at 416-748-8982.