Things to Keep in Mind Before Hiring a Supply Chain Management Company
There are many reasons why businesses choose to hire supply chain services. Handling transportation, distribution, inventory, and storage can be exhausting and time-consuming if you are unprepared to scale for growth. Supply chain management companies can help you by providing you with the staff, infrastructure, transportation, and software to manage your entire supply chain. Before you pick up the phone to request these services, here are some things to keep in mind.
Tips for Hiring the Best Supply Chain Management Company for Your Business
Proven Knowledge
The right supply chain management company for you should have years of knowledge and experience in managing vendors and freight costs. They should thoroughly understand the processes of management and logistics and have unmatched communication skills. You should find out if the supply chain management company can meet your specific needs. You may need to hand over your inventory management to them, or get help with manufacturing, storing, and distributing your products. Consider what your specific needs are and find a company that can assist you with those requirements.
Collaboration Abilities
A good supply chain management company will be an expert at collaborating with suppliers, intermediaries, other third-party service providers, and customers. A business owner like yourself may be great at collaborating, but chances are that you might have too much on your plate as it is. By outsourcing, you enable supply chain managers to collaborate on your behalf with all the necessary parties, so you can focus on what’s important. While they focus solely on managing your supply chain, you can use your time to focus on marketing, sales, and other core competencies.
Problem-Solving Skills
Supply chain management providers are always seeking new ways to produce and manage better. Because of this, they are effective problem-solvers. Their continued exposure in the supply chain field can help you deal with any unexpected hurdles that may arise in inventory management, vendor consolidation, or logistics.
Certification
Another aspect to consider when choosing your supply chain partner is whether they are certified in the industry. The top supply chain professionals have received certification for their qualifications in areas such as analysis, design, and implementation techniques. When you hire a specialist with these qualifications, you can trust that they have a superior level of training and understanding. If they are on a board of professionals, you will have additional access to resources to help your business drive.
Benefits of Hiring a Supply Chain Management Company
Increase Profitability and Efficiency
When you hire a third-party logistics provider, you can redirect and focus on ensuring that your business staff develop their skills and gets training in areas that are important for the long-term. As your provider focuses on your supply chain, you can focus on building confidence in your staff. You can help them develop new skills to take on new roles in your company and strengthen the relationships you have with your team members. This solution focuses your internal resources on your business, while the supply chain professionals handle the bulk work of your products.
Cost-Effective and Time-Efficient
Hiring a supply chain management company is a cost-effective and time-efficient solution to your growing business. With their relationships with suppliers and transportation companies, they can help you get the best rates to run your supply chain. They also strive to make their operations more efficient to save time and provide exceptional service to keep up with and surpass their competitors.
Variety of Services
Modern business moves at a rapid pace, so unless you can scale for growth, you’ll find yourself frustrated as you try to keep up with every passing quarter. Every extra touch point in your supply chain can mean another account, invoice, and moving link to add complications. When you work with a third-party logistics provider, you can cover multiple bases at once, leading to less downtime that you spend waiting for responses via e-mail and individuals to work together.
Custom Solutions
Another benefit of hiring a supply chain management company is that they understand that each business is unique. Even if they generally offer the same kinds of services, they can customize their solutions to help you. Whether you need assistance with tricky shipment scenarios or need a robust reverse logistics solution, your service provider should be able to cater their offerings to your needs.
Contact Lean Supply Solutions for Outsourced Supply Chain Services
The reasons why a business should hire a supply chain solution provider is no different than the reasons for why a sick person should hire a doctor to deal with their health issue. The goal is to get specialized expertise in a specific area that you need. As you can see from the points mentioned above, there are many benefits to hiring a third-party logistics provider.
A supply chain provider can help you deal with the challenges of a growing business, whether you are a small or medium-sized organization. With their supply chain services in your hands, you can benefit from their efficiency and talent, as well as many other advantages such as supply chain management software and technology that increase visibility and communication between you and everyone in your business network.
If you are looking for the right company to partner with, Lean Supply Solutions is the answer. We rise to the challenge of meeting our clients’ needs through our services, which include product fulfillment, warehousing and distribution, e-commerce fulfillment, warehouse pick and pack, order fulfillment, and more. To learn more about outsourcing to our supply management in Toronto, or to ask any questions, contact us today.
- Published in Blog
What Is Supply Chain Sustainability and Why Is it Important for Your Business?
Corporate social responsibility and supply chain sustainability are buzz phrases in the industry today, but what do they mean? Sustainability is more than just the icing on the cake; now it has become a necessary part of every business model. Here’s what you need to know about the importance of sustainability and supply chain management, and why you should get on board as soon as possible.
What Is Sustainable Supply Chain Management?
Sustainability is the future, and it is more important than ever that your business’ supply chain establishes a sustainability program. This program will help you understand the level of social, environmental, and economic impact and viability that your suppliers and customers have. There may not be government pressures to push sustainability, but there are already corporate pressures on suppliers and vendors. Sustainability is more than just going green and being environmentally friendly. It also impacts the entire manufacturing process, from where raw materials are obtained, to the processes within the plant, to the use and potential recyclability of the product or service.
Why Is It Important?
Innovation
When manufacturing inventory, the first aspect that will lead your business to a more sustainable future is the supply chain. Manufacturers need to create new ways to manage and track their practices in the supply chain, manufacturing process, and in sales and marketing. Customers are also becoming increasingly active in supporting these measures.
Brand Enhancement
Sustainability does more than improve product quality; it can also improve customer relations. Focusing on cost alone when considering manufacturing inventory won’t cut it. Customers become loyal to brands that they share their values with, which is why you should invest in sustainable practices that reduce waste and use ethically sourced materials. Makeup brands that use plant-based ingredients and recycled packaging, and those labelled as “vegan” and “cruelty-free” quickly build a loyal customer base. Consumers are more aware of the things they buy, and many choose to trust brands that do their best to protect the environment.
Cost Control
When shifting to a sustainable supply chain model, it might be expensive at the start, but it has proven to bring greater efficiency in the long-term. Companies experience a significant decrease in expenses over the long term, which is attractive to both manufacturers and customers. All parties gain something when you move to a sustainable business model.
Tips for Supply Chain Sustainability
Map Your Supply Chain
Many companies do not completely understand how sustainability affects their supply chain. As you prepare to improve, one of the first changes you should make is to the inventory suppliers. Identify the most significant environmental and social challenges they have and then prioritize your efforts with them.
Communicate Expectations
By focusing on sustainability within your supply chain, you can effectively communicate corporate values and cultures to your customers and suppliers. By establishing and communicating expectations, you can involve your business relationships in your sustainability efforts. These expectations can be communicated through a supplier code of conduct. There are many resources and tools available to assist companies with developing a supplier code of conduct. These guidelines and tips for writing and adopting a successful supplier code of conduct can be found by doing a little research and using the tools available online.
Develop Training and Capacity Building Programs
Another important step to improve sustainability and drive behavioural change includes training development and capacity building programs. You can transfer knowledge across the supply chain by leveraging the best practices and case studies from your best performing suppliers via online training modules, annual conferences, and capacity building campaigns. As you showcase the success of your best suppliers, you encourage everyone to recognize their efforts and demonstrate the practical benefits of sustainability initiatives. You also establish an incentive for the rest of your suppliers to do better.
Baseline Supplier Performance
Once you have set compliance standards for your target suppliers, you should collect data from them through a simple benchmarking questionnaire or self assessment to understand your starting point. Many organizations have begun to evaluate their supplier performance using surveys and questionnaires. Many organizations also incorporate every area in their code of conduct with special focus on the self assessments related to important areas of their business. Baseline assessment of supplier performance are the starting point for future programs aimed at improving supply chain sustainability and assessing where the greatest need for improvement exists.
Drive Performance Improvement
Once your business has a solid understanding of supplier baseline performance, you can create an audit program to measure performance improvement as time goes on. Although the self assessments are completed by a corporate group, on-site audits can reveal local practices, practical optical opportunities for improvement, and behavioural challenges that are challenging to identify through surveys alone. When your organization implements an audit program, you should be prepared to act on the findings by preparing corrective action plans that include communicating the results and expectations, and if necessary, terminating suppliers if they do not comply. You compare these audit programs with incentive programs that reward suppliers that comply.
Lean Supply Solutions Provides Logistics Management Support
As a business, sustainability in the supply chain allows you to reap countless benefits. Offering a transparent business model to your suppliers, investors, and consumers allows you to demonstrate your commitment to sustainability. This attracts customers who are now becoming more aware of their impact on the environment. To keep up with this competitive environment, you should always strive to move forward and exceed the expectations of your relationships.
Ready to benefit from a sustainable business model? Partner with a third-party logistics provider and start today! Lean Supply Solutions rises to the challenge of meeting our clients’ needs through our services which include product fulfillment, warehousing and distribution, e-commerce fulfillment, warehouse pick and pack, order fulfillment, and more. To learn more about outsourcing to our supply chain management company in Toronto and Vancouver, or to ask any questions about our supply chain services, contact us today.
- Published in Blog