3 Ways To Improve Your Shipping And Packaging Processes

Meghan Belnap

December 01, 2016


	4.0/5.0 (1 votes total)
	Rate:

Many companies that ship regionally or nationally spend quite a bit of time working on logistics and order fulfillment, leaving them with really busy times and really slow times during the course of a work week. As an alternative, one popular way to augment your capabilities and improve your processes is to consider using a supply chain services partner that can provide ala carte or managed services for any of the shipping and packing that you do.

Here are three ways that you can improve your shipping and packaging products using supply chain management:

Perfect Pick and Pack

The busier the warehouse, the more likely it is that there can be damage, loss, and mistakes in order pulling. When you work with a supply chain management firm that hosts some or all of your inventory, their emphasis on perfect pick and pack processes can combine with some of their automated systems to make your order pulling more efficient and cost-effective.

Find a partner that is focused on providing full line shipping and packaging services and optimizes their processes for a more affordable option than if you did it yourself. You can therefore expect features that enhance your lead time, such as warehouse automation software and the latest quality processes.

Professional Fitting and Assembly

Some products require assembly before they ship. If your supply management partner is integrated, they can normally provide temporary labor, assembly workers, and kit creation teams. In addition, if your products normally ship in a fragile condition, repackaging and crating services are also available for prices that likely beat what you could do in-house.

One of the most delicate parts of successfully assembling and shipping products is ensuring that the process is visually documented so that you can see that each product is perfect when it goes out the door: a service that several supply management chain vendors offer. If you decide that you need labor to help out, one consideration that you might make in order to improve efficiency is to create an assembly video that contractors can watch so that they can build your product to your specifications every time.

Cost-effective Storage and Shipping

One interesting way to see if your firm may be more efficient by outsourcing is to take your warehouse storage space and figure out your cost of operation per square foot and then compare it to the quotations that you receive from your potential warehouse partners. Several companies have realized that providing local warehouse storage in major metropolitan areas means that your orders will be closer to your customers when they get pulled for shipment. That in turn tends to lower your overall shipping costs- warehouse to client.

Another thing that lowers your shipping costs is to piggyback on the rates that a supply management partner can offer you. Competitive shipping rates with major carriers are ideal. Companies that ship a large volume of products each week on behalf of their customers will be more cost effective in the long run. Of course, you are also able to take advantage of a larger number of carriers globally, giving you options that you may not automatically have when you ship from your own factory.

Overall, using a supply management partner can be more efficient than shipping in-house. Take advantage of partners that offer warehouse automation and other specialized tools that lower your costs. Other benefits can include on-the-fly assembly or kitting services done professionally on your behalf. If you have a need to lower logistic costs and shipping rates, don’t hesitate to invest in a business partner that can help you reach your quarterly goals.