They say it takes 10,000 hours practice to achieve mastery of a skill or field. But practicing good logistics is less about the amount of time spent, and more about ensuring best practices. Here are seven easy to remember logistics best practices:
- Evaluate market and internal data
- Determine whether in-house or outsourced logistics management is a better fit
- Make a plan
- Establish relationships with logistics service providers (LSPs), suppliers and carriers
- Purchase and correctly implement a TMS
- Optimize routes, transportation modes and capacity usage
- Ensure visibility into all operations, shipments, etc.
Why did we choose the number seven? Because there's a certain mantra known as the 7 Rs of Logistics that dovetails nicely with the idea of practicing good logistics (though it's really just one R repeated seven times). The Rs are encompassed in the idea of getting the right product, in the right quantity, in the right condition, at the right place, at the right time, to the right customer, at the right price. And there are plenty more "rights" to add if one wanted to extrapolate it further - like working with the right partners, establishing the right relationships, using the right mode, etc.
How practicing good logistics improves operations
Practicing good logistics is more than a benefit in and of itself. Implementing logistics best practices improves operations for a company as a whole. As with any aspect of a business, logistics is largely judged by the bottom line. And practicing good logistics not just can, but will, save a company money by ensuring every avenue to optimize operations is explored. Just some of the ways implementing the logistics best practices will improve operations and either directly or indirectly save a company money include:
- Optimizing location/proximity to transportation options
- Modal conversion to choose the most cost effective mode
- Consolidation & pooling to optimize capacity usage
- Use of market data in freight contract negotiations, modal conversions and more
- Transportation Management Software Technology streamlines every aspect of management
- Ease of doing business by working smarter
That last bullet regarding ease of doing business means one of two things, your existing team is better able to handle the logistics load better on their own with the right plans, procedures and tools in place, or you've realized your business is better off outsourcing logistics management to a 3PL who can shoulder that load for you. And backing up one bullet prior, a good TMS - whether with outside logistics management or keeping it internal - is a must for most of these efficiencies to be realized.
Whatever your company decides in the planning phase - or if your business simply needs help getting started with logistics planning, at InTek, we can assist. Let us know your situation and we'll be happy to discuss a plan unique to your needs.
Learn more about freight and logistics - and what we do at InTek - in our Learning Center. Or you can start with a few of the links below:
- Domestic Freight Services: Intermodal, Truckload, LTL
- Outsourced Managed Transportation Service Solutions
