Wednesday 24 December 2014

Benefits of outsourcing warehousing and distribution services

The businesses of all sizes are now opting for the outsourcing all their business needs in order to focus on their core business. Out of several services being outsourced, the outsourcing of the warehousing and distribution has become very popular. The businesses of all types are facing the difficulty in managing space for the inventory and in that case the outsourcing of the space is the best option.
Benefits of outsourcing logistics and distribution
  • The distribution logistics company will receive the order and inventory from the customers and suppliers respectively. This company will also take further steps to carry out the distribution of the received orders through their well-established distribution channels.
  • The business would not be required to arrange for the big warehouses to carry their finished products and the raw material. Hence, the company will not be required to arrange extra budget for outsourcing as it will be covered from the money saved from the large warehouse space investments.
  • The distribution and maintenance tasks will come under the outsourced warehouse UK and hence the entire team of the business establishment would be able to concentrate on the core business of the company. The resources of the company will be invested at the right place and the focused approach would be developed.
  • The professional distribution channel will bring in great quality to the supplies and delivery as well. Thus, you will get to see many satisfied customers of your business if you have delegated your logistics and distribution to the experienced and efficient distribution professionals.
The advantages of outsourcing the warehouse facility are much more than just the space saving. You get the highly efficient delivery system backed by equally efficient team of professionals and all these would mostly fall in your limited budget!

Why you need professional warehousing and distribution company for food distribution?

The companies manufacturing and selling the food products may always need to indulge considerable work force in order to establish the efficient distribution channel. The shelf life of the food products is very limited and the timely distribution of the products under the controlled temperature becomes the key requirement. The special distribution units are therefore being established in order to aid effective food distribution.

What makes distribution of food products different?
Limited shelf life
The shelf life of the food products is limited and that calls for the timely delivery. The food distribution and transport should be carried out in stipulated time so as to deliver the food products in its original form. This calls for highly effective distribution channel and that is possible only with the help of dedicated distribution service. The food company may have to hire many resources in order to carry out the timely delivery and distribution; hence the outsourcing of the services would be the right choice.

Controlled temperature
There are certain food products that may get spoiled at certain high or low temperatures. The food distribution system should therefore have temperature controlled delivery system in order to deliver the food products without spoiling them during the transition.

Outsourcing distribution system for food products
The above points that make the food distribution different from others have made it quite evident that you require dedicated distribution channel and that is possible only by outsourcing the distribution system. The dedicated service provider would carry out end to end warehousing and distribution in the controlled temperature units so as to maintain the quality of the products to their best.

If you are also in the food business and are struggling to establish an efficient distribution channel then outsourcing is surely the best idea!

Saturday 15 November 2014

Questions to ask before hiring 3PL Company

Do you know the importance of logistics management? Do you feel that your business needs the proper management of logistics? Do you think you should hire the professionals for the same? Are you planning to hire the third party logistics company? Do you want to know the questions that you should ask before choosing them? If the answers to these questions are affirmative, you are going to love this blog.

The trend of hiring professionals for storage and distribution is increasing each day. So, if you fall into the category of people who are planning to hire a 3PL company, you are in the right place. With the increase in number of 3PL companies, it might seem like a daunting task to you to choose the right one. To make it easy, you should ask a few questions to them before hiring. So, let us take a look at some of those few important questions. Here we go...
  • How much do you charge? What about the additional fees? Will there be any discount available?
  • What type of services do you offer? Does it include print and mail or accounting services?
  • Do you offer customised shipping and labelling?
  • What is so unique about your company?
  • Do you provide 24*7 shipping?
  • Have you worked with the business like mine before?
  • Can you provide me the contact details of your past clients?
  • Can you tell me the entire process that you follow?
Now that you know the questions to be asked to a 3PL company before hiring them, it is advisable for you to keep them in mind and then choose only the one that gives satisfactory answers to all these questions. Good luck for that!

Tips to manage logistic effectively

Have you heard about third party logistics? Do you have to deal with the transportation of materials on the daily basis? Do you want some tips to manage the logistics effectively? If the answers to these questions are yes, yes and yes, you are undoubtedly in the perfect place at the right time.

The trend of hiring the logistics solutions company is increasing each day. People have understood that it is better to let the professionals do this work so that they can focus on other important aspects of their business. So, most people have started hiring professionals for the same.

With the increase in demand, the logistics solutions companies are increasing. Logistics is all about transporting the materials from one place to another safely on time. It is all about deciding the things by asking the questions like when, why, how, what and where. Although it is difficult to manage, you can do it successfully if you can anticipate the problems well in advance and be ready to face and manage everything.
If you want to work upon your logistics skills to keep ahead of competitors, you need to continuously spend time to hone up your skills. Here are some of the tips to manage the entire process efficiently...
  • Planning in advance is the key: Better the plan, less are the chances of failing. So, make sure you plan well.
  • Overconfidence=failure: No matter how well you plan, never ever be overconfident about it. If something has to go wrong, it will!
  • Stay out of panic mode: If you will panic, something or the other will go wrong even if it was not going to. So, keep calm!
  • Learn from the past: Committing mistake is not a failure, repeating it again is! So, learn from your past mistakes.

Thursday 16 October 2014

Hiring the Perfect Logistics Manager for your business

Your business would be having the finest of the marketing team, the best accounts team and an extraordinary customer service; but what if your goods and products are not delivered at the required place at the required time, everything goes in vain.

Having the appropriate logistics and distribution services for your business is highly important. Here is a list of considerations that you should remember before you select any transport and logistics services:
  • Find some company with good leadership:
The company should be in the hands of good leaders. They should be able to show the correct vision and develop relevant strategies for the logistics. The ideal candidate has to be effective in presenting the company’s logistics and other services that are provided.
  • Make sure the company has all the required skills for the ideal transport and logistics:
There are various basic skills that are needed to be present in the perfect logistics and distribution services including supply chain management, transportation, distribution, warehousing, technology, customs, order fulfilment, trade issues, and third party management.
  • Check their history, records and accomplishments:
You can always ask for history of the company. You should have a clear idea about the company’s past accounts and their accomplishments at work. You should know which logistic solutions in UK have been working for what clients and since when.
  • Find out if the company is creative or has redesigning processes in mind:
Constant proactive solutions and reviews is an important feature in logistics and transportation services. They should always be able to come up with new and creative solutions and provide better documentation.
  • They should be an effective listener and a skilful communicator:
The company’s representative should have good analytical skills. They should be experienced in analysing the goals, the current status and developing plans for development of their clients.
  • Examine the history of their implementation:
An ideal transportation organisation has to build cohesive relations with cross functional groups. Only a good listener can understand and the requirements of a company and effectively communicate the needful. Keep a record of how well has the company has implemented their previous orders.

Monday 15 September 2014

Tips to remember before buying pallet shelves

One of the best storage tools ever in the industry is the containers. Pallet storage racks are exclusively made to store the pallets. These are available in various sizes from small, medium to large. There are many racks that can hold hundreds of chests safely. They are one of the best ways to handle the logistics management. Another category to differentiate them is the heavy duty or light weight. Some of the other types are open, closed, carpet types, etc. 

These storage systems have taken birth from our customised needs and demands of the increasing technologies in the market. There are a number of industries that require chests because all need a secure method for storing of their products and goods. Hence, designed to satisfy everyone’s needs, these container shelves are becoming popular in all the segments of businesses like health and safety food storage and lots more.

An entire system is just what is needed to keep your containers safely in the warehouse. Depending upon the total space of your warehouse, you can arrange these shelves so that minimum space is utilised. Also, if the standard sizes do not fit your business requirements, you can very easily get them designed and customised according to your needs. Be sure that they are only safe, as they will be used also during bad weather conditions. 

Heavy duty pallets are very strong and can sustain most of the damages from occurring. They are also great in holding heavy loads and can stay in harsh climates. Most of these containers are open from all the sides and therefore easily accessible. Pallet storages help save storage space and gives easy accessibility, especially when they have to be unloaded. This type of rack has a static structure with a roller system at a declining angle that enables easy access to the pallets.

Nowadays, even mobile racks are available that have small wheels attached to them to move the rack from one place to another. Mechanical brakes are also present in them to control the movement of the racks.
One of the many benefits of using this system of such a kind of logistic management is that it enhances the productivity and quality and reduces any extra cost as moving these chests do not require electricity.
You can do a bit of research online and finally decide as to which kind of pallet shelf is ideal for your business.

All you should know about the supply chain management

Logistics solution consists of planning, implementing, and controlling the warehousing, distribution and transportation. It consists of all software systems and activities that when combined together enable a company to transfer raw materials and finished goods from one point to another. It may also be referred as a supply chain management.
 
A 3rd party logistics provider designs the logistic blueprint of the company and provides them with exclusive solutions. The logistic solutions in UK aim to improve the company’s efficiency and reduce costs. This has become a very powerful tool as it increases the openness to the varying business conditions; thus increasing the competitiveness within the organisation. Increasing the responsiveness towards market is one of the most important steps any organisation should take, in order to survive in today’s competitive world.

It is a business process that ties manufacturers, retailers, customers and suppliers in the form of a chain. In short, it is a process of synchronising the physical goods and its related information. With increase in technologies, logistic solutions in UK are likely to be more affordable to even the smaller organisations. Today, the big companies have become so much dependent on the supply chain management systems that even a small error harms the entire network.

It is helpful for your business in the following manner:
  • Increase productivity and reduce operating cost.
  • Reorganizing the process to advance the reliability, steadiness and teamwork of the organisation.
  • Improve customer service; give value to customers.
  •  Also help in acquirement of new customers, meaning potential customers getting turned to real customers.
  • Increase flexibility and improves responsiveness in accordance with the changing demands of the market.
  • Terrific technical expertise to sail your business through in delivering the ultimate quality products.
Warehousing is also one of the methods that outsource to third party logistics. This service is used by those businesses that want their valuable time to be spent on other important stuff like product designing, sales, manufacturing etc. chiefly, a third party warehousing service decreases the number of employees required and also the amount of space needed for a business to function. One of the major advantages of this mechanism is transportation of goods and products along the supply chain. It includes right shipping of goods and plus the correct handling of related paperwork. Another advantage is that because it is third party logistic, the company saves much on many factors. It leads to an improvisation in product designs and product manufacturing.

They focus on delivering competitive logistic operations that offer cost effective and value added services to improve customer satisfaction.

Thursday 21 August 2014

Benefits of hiring 3PL Company

Do you run a company that needs proper storage and distribution? Have you ever heard of a logistics company? Have you ever thought of hiring it? Do you want to know the benefits of hiring the professionals from such a company? If the answers to the questions asked above are positive, you are probably at the right place

This is going to be really interesting for you if you are confused whether you need to hire a company that provides the logistics management services or not. In this fast paced world, where all the similar businesses consider each other as their competitors, every one want to stand out the crowd. 

If you want to prosper in your business, you need to hire a supply chain management company that deals with such works, so that you need not get worried about it. With the increase in demand, there are a lot of people who have started such business, so it is daunting task to choose the right company.

There are a lot of benefits of choosing a supply chain management company. So, out of several advantages that we can get out of it, let us discuss some of the most important ones now. Here we go...

All the benefits end up stating that it is one of the most cost effective ways to run a business. For all those who are thinking that it is not wise to spend money in hiring the 3PL company, here is the answer for you. It is like a one-time investment, as once you hire the company, you save a lot of amount of money. You do not have to hire employees for the shipping and delivery. So, you the salary you would have to pay them is saved. Apart from the saving money, you save a lot of time. IT saves the time that you would have to spend in screening the best drivers for delivery. After choosing them, you would have to explain the routes to the destination which takes a lot of time. Apart from all the above mentioned benefits, it reduces the liability issues to the some extent.

Now that you know the benefits of hiring a company that provides services like storage and distribution, it is advisable for you to hire the professionals as soon as possible. 

There are several logistics management companies in the UK to hire from, so make sure you choose the correct one. Good luck with that!

Wednesday 16 July 2014

A guide to warehouse management

Distribution logistics system encompasses a broad range of activities concerned with the efficient movement of finished products from the end of production line to the consumer. There are two main areas under this, these are: Order fulfilment and Warehouse management. 

Let’s understand what is warehouse management and it’s importance. 

Warehouse management has lots of inbound functions that prepare items for storage and outbound functions that secure, pack and ship orders. These provide important economic and service benefits to both the business and its customers. A warehouse and storage provides a central location for receiving, storing and distributing products. As the inbound shipment arrives, products are identified, sorted and dispatched to their temporary storage location.

Transport and Logistics
 
Warehouse and storage is not a static thing, but rather a process that includes security measures and maintaining an environment that preserves the integrity and usefulness of the items. Each order is first retrieved, grouped, packaged and checked. Once they are done with this process then the product gets dispatched.  It is a part of logistics management system and a component of supply chain management.
Tracking systems and communication between product stations is involved in the warehouse management process. This second main area of distribution logistics system, deals with the receipt, storage and movement of goods to the final customer. 

Value adding operation:  
The objective of logistics management system is to reduce cycle times and over all inventories, lower costs and most importantly, improve customer service. Warehousing provides a means to have the right product available at the right place in the right time, doing these increases the utility value of goods. Operations such as order consolidation, order assembly, product mixing and cross docking that take place within the warehouse structure also add value to the overall logistics system. 

Economic advantage:
Through consolidation operations, outbound delivery costs are cut for both the business and its customers. Instead of shipping items individually from multiple sources, items are delivered to a central warehouse, packaged together and shipped back out as a complete order, thus economic benefits are realised.

Thursday 19 June 2014

Do you desire to have the best fashion logistics?

Logistics Management company is a service provider where superior quality logistics are delivered to the customers at competitive rates. It has a lot of experience in warehousing and distributing a massive range of products. It comprises of some diversified sectors:
  • Food logistics
  • Fashion logistics
  • Bulk liquids
  • FMCG
  • Other types of network solutions
Experience matters a lot
The experience with the clients had made them grow to a greater extend. And, that has made the company to an expertise level. A chain of solutions is provided to all the business issues which include the outbound logistics and national warehousing. Logistics and distribution services are delivered with an excellent quality and they are in turn assured with a long term relationship with the clients.

fashion distribution solutions

It has clients all over the globe and each client is happily satisfied with the service provided to them. This implies that they are so keen in satisfying all the desires of the clients. Food logistics are something which should be taken a lot of care because when they are dealing directly with the health issues. Fashion logistics provide with the best fashion outfits and distributes them to provide the retailers with a range of comprehensive solutions.


Taking a close look on the logistics
When a close look is glued on the fashion distributors, then around 50-100 garments have been delivered to multiple locations in the country. The solutions offer with a labelling and re-packaging facility. Reverse logistics and garment inspection are yet other services which are provided by the warehouse rugby. This service has been done by the company for more than 10 years. The extensive experience with wide coverage of networks have made the company grow to this extend. Garments are made of high quality and inspected for the quality twice or thrice. It is widely used by many people for the logistics in fashion. 

Saturday 17 May 2014

Things To Consider While Choosing Warehouse Services

Are you looking for a warehouse? Do you want the best place to store your goods? Do you want the place that ensures your products are safe? If the answers to the above mentioned questions are yes, you are in the right place at the right time. 
 
There is a lot of warehouse space in Rugby and a lot of people have started storage and distribution business. Out of so many warehouses available in the market, choosing the best one can be sometimes tedious and difficult. To make this daunting process easy, you need to consider a few points while making a choice. 
 
To select the best one that suits your needs and requirements, there are some points that you should take into the consideration. Out of those points that you should take care of while finding them, let us have a look at some of the most important points that will provide you the best fit to your business. Here we go...
  • Choose the warehouse that specialises in storing only your industry products. They will have the safety measures for all kind of climatic conditions. For example: you have a food items business in Rugby, you need to find the food logistics company that has got a food grade warehouse in Rugby.
  • Make sure you ask about the storage area that is available in their warehouse, and also that out of that area, how much they will provide it to you for your goods.
  • Try to find out their clients or ask the total number of clients, the area of their warehouse as well as the area that is free now. This will let you know the amount of area they have provided to each company which will let you know if they take orders from the large companies.
  • It is important to consider budget, but don’t get carried away by low prices. Check the other important details too.
I hope that the above mentioned points help you to pick the right warehouse for your business. Good luck with that!

Tips For Increasing Warehouse Efficiency

Have you started your own warehouse? Do you want all the operations performed well? Do you want to bring out the increased efficiency? If the answers to all the above mentioned questions are yes, you are in the right place at the right time.

In this competitive world, everyone wants to bring the high productivity and grow their business. People have realised the importance of safe warehousing and distribution. The business of transport and logistics is increasing big time. There are several people who have started the 3PL company.

There are a lot of points that should be taken into the consideration if you want to increase the efficiency of your warehouse. Out of those several points, let us have a look at some of the most important ones. Here we go...
  • One of the most important tips that contribute a lot in bringing out the productivity is to clean the place regularly. Even if you clean your warehouse once in a week, you will save yourself from the mess and loosing the things. This systematic work environment will save you time as well as resources and the staff members will feel a sense of pride for working there.
  • Giving all the employees shirts that has written the name of the department they work in has several benefits. It will be easy for you; it will be easy to identify the people who belong to the warehouse and will give the staff members a sense of importance of the work they do.
  • Mistakes in receiving create a huge mess. Put the experienced staff in the receiving section. Pay them well and encourage them to be on their position.
I hope that the above mentioned points help you to increase the efficiency of your warehouse and help your business to grow. Good luck with that!

Friday 18 April 2014

Tips to manage logistics efficiently

It is extremely difficult to manage the logistics services and the entire supply chain unless you are through, ready to face all the problems and have several years of experience. The entire journey is stressful and it takes a lot of effort, hard work and confidence to get the work done efficiently. It is always good to hone your skills and keep yourself alert all the time, when it comes to logistics management. There are lot of questions that arises into it; what, how, when, where, which and how. Answering all of them and implementing is sometimes daunting. So, the logistics managers should follow the best practices to excel in their jobs. There are a lot of points to be taken into consideration while managing the logistics efficiently. Let us have a look at some of those points. Here we go...

1. Planning:
It becomes essential to plan when it comes to logistics services. The success and the failure of the entire chain depend upon planning. If you have got a full proof plan, there is hardly any chance you will fail.

2. No overconfidence:
Do not become over confident and rely on just one supplier or plan. It is always advisable to keep back up, especially when it comes to warehousing and distribution.

3. Do not panic:
Logistics management is one thing which is never a success if you panic. In fact, the situation will become worse if you over stress. Keep your head cool and deal with the work patiently.

4. Develop strong relationships:
Always develop honest and strong relationships with vendors, suppliers and customers. Out of everyone, even if you have a bad relationship with any supplier in warehousing and distribution, it affects the entire process of supply chain which will cause failure. 

5. Learn from past blunders:
Accept your mistake and make sure you do not repeat it again. Learn from your mistakes so that you can streamline your work from the next project.

I hope the above mentioned points help you to manage your logistics efficiently. Good luck with that!

Tuesday 18 March 2014

How to select a third party logistic company?

There is a rise in the third party logistics and supply chain management because most of the businesses want to focus on the core business process, reducing their assets and other responsibilities. Most logistics in the U.K. provide a wide range of services for the delivery of the products to the retail distribution. The growth of such companies depend upon how reliable they are and what services they provide, It is a little difficult task to choose a third party logistic provider. There are few points to be taken into consideration while selecting a 3PL provider. Let us have a look at some of those points. Here we go...

The first task is to prepare a detailed RFI (Request for Information) which should contain the details like scope of the contract, locations, information about deliveries and warehouse, number of items, logistic tasks and the level of performance required. Once this is done, check the following details about that 3PL provider and logistics in the U.K.
  • First, check if the 3PL provider gives the services that you require or not. If it provides, then enquire further.
  • Secondly, check out if the logistic company has got the technologies that are required to carry out the services that you need.
  • Once you know that the logistics solutions provide the services that you need as well as they have got the tools and technologies needed for that, check if they have got the space to perform the tasks, like warehouse or a dock.
  • Enquire if they have more than enough fund to execute the tasks you have asked them to do. The financial condition will tell you all about the company.
  • Also, check where the company is located and if it will be able to cover the locations of the retail distribution you have asked for according to the weather conditions.
  • The last but not the least, it is advisable to check if the company has a suitable number of years of experience in the logistics industry.
I hope that the above mentioned points related to logistics and supply chain management help you in choosing the right logistic solutions in accordance to your needs. Good luck with that!

Monday 17 February 2014

Logistics Management

What is logistics?
Logistics means organisation. For better understanding if we elaborate it then, we can say that it is organisation of materials and resources from the manufacturing unit till the delivery of the final goods. Logistic is very crucial part of the industry. Managing of logistics is known as logistics management.
 
Various aspects of logistics management
Logistic management includes lot many operations, which are needed by the business. These are mentioned as follows:
  • Supplying raw materials to the manufacturing units of production.
  • Effective management of the inventory of raw materials, finished goods and consumables.
  • Warehouse facilities by the Logistic Solutions should be safe and secure and proper recording keeping of the goods should be maintained.
  • Packaging of goods should be done in a manner to keep the them safe and to avoid damages.
  • Transportation by the logistics and distribution firm should be of high standards so as to provide on time delivery of the goods.
Apart from all this the logistics management services also reduce the cost of transportation and storages for a business. The optimize your business revenues by providing on time reliable transportation services of your goods. You can hire the services of firms like Lloyd Fraser for your logistics solutions.

The importance of choosing the right logistic solution for your business

When business it initiated it can be carried on without much planning since the operations are at a lower level and have humble beginnings. When you start you stock up your goods and materials in bedroom or loft within your house. In beginning working in such manner is ok as you do not have much load and it is easier to keep a track of all the products that are sent out by you. But as your business grows, it needs a better management and timely delivery of goods.

For successful business warehousing and distribution services are a necessity. It is not possible manage right from manufacturing to the delivery of goods. Instead offloading the logistics to a third party logistics company would sort out out your business to a great extent. Distribution logistics company supports you right from delivery of materials to the supplying of finished goods to the distribution centres. They ensure safe and timely delivery of goods.

Lloyd Fraser is one such firm that provides a storage and distribution facility for a wide range of sectors including Food Distribution. They analyse the needs of the customers and offer them customised solutions as per their needs. They help the businesses flourish by supporting them with their high quality services.

Thursday 9 January 2014

Storage and Distribution Solutions

Are you looking for better supply chain management solutions for your business or firm? Well, anyone who owns a manufacturing business always needs a good logistics management which minimises their costs of transport, provides better storage facilities and of course increases their revenues. Lloyd Fraser a leading logistics company provides transportation and distribution services to the customers. 
At Lloyd Fraser they make use of advanced technologies  for warehousing and distribution of a wide range of products across several places. The firm guarantees you to provide high quality services for your warehouse, transportation and distribution needs. The firm focuses on to provide you maximum advantage with their services.

Since there are several logistic companies in the market, the solutions offered by Lloyd Fraser are affordable and reliable. They offer their services for for various sectors such as FMCG, bulk liquids, food logistics, fashion, and various other sectors that require network solutions.

This 3PL firm manages cargos that move from the manufacturing unit till the distribution centre. The firm has its own cargoes for delivering the materials and goods. For any logistic related service you can contact them and they would provide you with the best solutions as per your business needs.