Even though all branches of modern business tend to evolve and make the transfer and economy as effective and time-saving as possible, there are still a couple of bumps that they tend to stumble upon quite frequently. In order to avoid the ones that are about to be mentioned below, you should either invest in your own logistics service seriously or find a reputable 3PL service which will do this job for you better than you could possibly imagine.
The first common mistake of logistics is basing the purchase solely on hunches. Basically, if the IT part of your logistics is not working correctly, not paying attention to all the freight inventory and keeping adequate track of it at all times, you might easily send wrong products and have the ones sought-after left on the shelves forgotten and neglected.
The next issue is related to something that might easily be labeled as the “paperwork jam”. Simply, if your logistics or warehousing receives freight and fails to check it and verify it through scanning or labeling, storing it nevertheless, this drawback will eventually result in additional work and, thereby, additional expenditure. Moreover, it might lead to a delay in the package delivery later, reflecting on your earning, discount possibility and reputation, to say the least.
Speaking of misplaced inventory, this common phenomenon can easily be placed next on this list of common logistics bugs. If the inventory part of the business is not functioning correctly, it can order some goods that have actually not been sold yet, leading to unnecessary cluttering. This can equal money loss, especially if the goods have an expiry date.
The above mentioned factors tend to start a vicious circle in your business, obstructing it to the point you could not have imagined. The misplaced package gets a wrong inventory entry, the order does not fulfill the inquiry, the paperwork piles up, and money get wasted infinitely. At the same time, your production part of business continues piling up products even though you do not actually need them and… sooner than you expect, your business faces some serious issues.
Finally, the future predictions in the field of logistics, especially the third party ones, say that the IT problem in this area of business will finally get solved. Namely, most of the 3PL companies use ineffective software, doubling their work and slowing their business down. Even though IT can be a gamble in logistics, if you play your cards right, you might boost your productivity significantly. This is only possible through constant software updating and opting for nothing but the best quality of software for the occasion. Sure, this costs money, but it pays off soon enough.
The choice is yours. May the mistakes mentioned above serve as guidelines for what not to do. Find some renowned and respectable 3PL service which offers warehousing, supreme inventory management and the experience to back it all up and there is a high likelihood that your business will run smoothly and effectively.
