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 905-482-2590.
