In the competitive world of third-party logistics, speed and efficiency are critical factors that can make or break a business. With increasing demand to reduce costs and time constraints in delivering and shipping customer orders, there is pressure from all angles.
Creating efficient processes is key to getting orders out on time and within KPI restrictions for any business that relies on logistics and assembly. That process involves organizing and streamlining operations to ensure efficiency, accuracy, and customer satisfaction.
In this blog, we’ll dive into the optimal processes associated with assembly and logistics. We’ll examine the four steps to improving processes, and conclude by looking at how businesses can reduce operational burdens by allowing ISTEC to handle inventory and logistics management.
The Role of Assembly and Logistics in 3PL Businesses
A third-party logistics (3PL) company is a service provider that offers logistics and supply chain management solutions. It usually handles the complex aspects of logistics, such as warehousing, transportation, and distribution, allowing the client’s business to focus on selling its products.
For the client business, working with a 3PL partner brings significant advantages. This includes increased efficiency, access to specialized workflows and technology, and reduced costs. For example, an e-commerce company that sells small tools may find that working with ISTEC can reduce logistics costs per unit. ISTEC’s specialized team can assemble and store the tools in our warehousing facilities, reducing storage and warehousing costs for our clients. Then, our specialized logistics team can dispatch to the end customer wherever they may be in the world. This reduces our client’s need to get involved in the logistics process. Our client can focus on their core competencies while outsourcing non-core logistics functions.
However, these efficiencies and cost savings are only accessible when assembly and logistics processes are efficient and streamlined. Inefficiencies in these processes can mean higher costs (especially critical when profit margins are tight, as in the small tools industry) and poor customer experiences. As a result, choosing the correct 3PL provider is essential for businesses looking to take advantage of a 3PL service.
Four Steps to Efficient 3PL Processes
So, how can businesses ensure a streamlined process in assembly and logistics? Our expert team recommends the following four-step analysis.
1. Manage Inbound Logistics and Inventory
The first step of any logistics process is the inbound receiving process. At this stage, it’s critical to ensure the quality of goods or raw materials, manage communications with suppliers, and store your inventory.
- Receiving Shipments: When you receive shipments, handle them with the utmost care and attention. Establish clear protocols for receiving goods to guarantee their quality. This includes inspection, verification, and documentation
- Inventory Management: Now, implement a robust inventory management system to track stock levels, manage warehouses efficiently, and predict inventory needs. At this stage, best practice dictates using technology like RFID or barcode scanning, which have been proven to significantly improve accuracy and efficiency
- Storage and Warehousing: A 3PL provider should manage its inventory to optimize space and accessibility, considering factors like product type, turnover rate, and handling requirements. This is critical to taking advantage of cost savings associated with sharing warehousing space via a 3PL partner. Inefficiencies in this stage can eat into any cost reduction.
Do you need help streamlining inbound logistics and inventory in your business? Partnering with ISTEC can help.
Contact us now.
2. Ensure Seamless Order Processing and Assembly
Once your stock is received and put away, it’s time to receive and process orders. ISTEC provides streamlined order and assembly processes with well-oiled workflows and easy-to-use software integration.
The hallmarks of successful order processing are fast and accurate assembly workflows, allowing the company to benefit from cost savings and minimize waste. Correcting this step of the process is critical to customer satisfaction and delivering a product that exceeds customer expectations
- Order Management: Unsurprisingly, the order processing process begins when an ‘order received’. Businesses should work with their 3PL partner to develop a seamless order management system that integrates customer orders with their inventory management system to automatically update stock levels and process orders efficiently. Then, work orders should be generated based on the actions necessary for assembly and allocated to the correct team.
- Assembly Operations: Now, it’s time for assembly work to begin. At ISTEC, we’ve designed our signature flexible assembly line process that can be adapted to different products or order sizes tailored to your inventory. This allows us to guarantee a streamlined process when working as an assembly and logistics team in a client’s business operations.
- Employee Efficiency Processes: A great 3PL provider should ensure that their employees are adequately trained in both the assembly process and quality control measures to minimise errors and defects. This helps deliver a seamless workflow across industries, where every employee understands their role and actions work orders promptly.
3. Implement Quality Control and Assurance
Before the final shipment, businesses must implement a quality assurance process that adequately checks and improves the quality of products issued.
- Regular Quality Checks: At ISTEC, we pride ourselves on our rigorous quality control checkpoints throughout the assembly process, which identify and rectify defects early. This includes visual inspections, functionality tests, and random sampling, which help us reduce waste and improve work throughout the assembly process.
- Final Checks: The product must pass its final inspection before the shipment is issued to the customer. This helps us guarantee the standard of the work that leaves the assembly line, offering a quality experience to every customer.
- Continuous Improvement: Finally, continuous improvement is key, and we use feedback from quality control processes to take action that refines assembly operations and reduces waste. This feedback lets us streamline our processes over time and continually reduce our costs and savings, which we then pass on to our 3PL customers.
Are you looking for ways to improve your quality control and assurance processes? Our team can help. Contact us here.
4. Outbound Logistics
- Picking: At ISTEC, we pride ourselves on our rigorous quality control checkpoints throughout the assembly process, which identify and rectify defects early. This includes visual inspections, functionality tests, and random sampling, which help us reduce waste and improve work throughout the assembly process.
- Packing: Now, it’s time to ensure the products are packaged securely and appropriately, taking into account their size, shape, and fragility, as well as any specific requirements or branding. Our packers ensure the correct shipping label is on each package for accuracy and returns.
- Shipping Coordination: Our shipping system allows for efficient shipping coordination, including selecting optimal carriers based on cost, reliability, and speed. We then implement tracking systems to provide visibility to our client and the end customer, allowing accurate delivery timelines and rescheduling windows.
