subject: Ways To Improve Supply Chain Profitability [print this page] You can do a fantastic job of optimizing your supply chain logistics through just a bit of strategic planning. You can increase profitability throughout your supply chain by understanding the unique relationship between vendors and customers. There are a number of ways to promote profitability. With just a little bit of planning and research, you can reduce the amount of money and time you are wasting.
To begin, try to find out what you have done in the past and created a detailed operational history of your business. Doing so will give you a better idea of how you have been handling customers needs and operating internally. Once you have this up-to-date, you should do an analysis and determine which of your customers offer the best return on investment. That is, determine gross profit across time for all of your customers. This will give you an idea of what customers should be your top priority.
Next, you will want to standardize your operations. By creating streamlined operations, you will ensure that your team is aware of their expected roles. These operational standards should be designed to reduce cost and increase efficiency. Likewise, these standard procedures will ensure a safe and profitable environment. Setting up checks and balances within the system will help create internal controls that will positively impact your business.
After that, set assigned roles for all employees and teams. Once your staff is aware of exactly what they are responsible for, they will be able to communicate better with clients and each other. You should be willing to listen to them. Your customer service associates may not have the same access to information and experiences as your drivers. Listening to everyone will allow you to gather information necessary for creating operational standards.
Reward team members that show dedication and initiative in improving operations. Your team may find more efficient methods once you have trained them on existing standards. If your staff has more knowledge on the entire process, they will be able to provide more valuable feedback.
Lastly, you should consider new processes to invest in. The logistics and transportation industry is seeing relatively stable growth. Much of this growth has been influenced by technological solutions. If you can find mutually beneficial solutions though a freight broker or agent, you may be able to save costs.
