Cómo reducir los costos de logística:19 expertos revelan formas en que las organizaciones pueden reducir sus costos de transporte y logística

Reducir los costos logísticos es a menudo la prioridad número uno para los resultados de una empresa. Hay muchos métodos que pueden ayudar a mejorar los procesos de la cadena de suministro y, a su vez, ahorrar dinero a la empresa. Los métodos para reducir los costos logísticos pueden variar desde la optimización de los niveles de inventario hasta la creación de mejores procesos, la mejora de las relaciones con proveedores/terceros, etc. expertos la siguiente pregunta:
“¿Cuál es su consejo n.° 1 sobre cómo las empresas pueden reducir los costos de logística (costos de transporte, costos de transporte o costos de almacenamiento, etc.)?”
Vea lo que dijeron nuestros expertos:

Conozca a nuestro panel de expertos en logística:

David Martinelli Brian Stutzman Romy Taormina Tom Wilkins Bryan Mattimore Piedra de Scott Lisa Henthorn Brian Sutter Olivier Larue Shel Horowitz

Andrea Stroud Dennis Maliani Richard McGirr Bob Shirilla Chuck Intrieri Martin Murray Suresh Iyer y Advait Rahalkar Rob O'Byrne Alex Stark

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David Martinelli

David Martinelli David es director independiente de Blossom Growth y se especializa en:eficiencia operativa y de fabricación, eficacia de la cadena de suministro, implementación y mejora de ERP y software, due diligence transaccional e integración de fusiones. David no solo apoya a Blossom Growth, sino que también es un emprendedor y está en desarrollo con su segunda empresa emergente, Hydrate Technologies, donde se desempeña como fundador y presidente. Antes de trabajar en Blossom and Hydrate, David trabajó como ejecutivo de software en NEWSCYCLE Solutions &Vista Equity Partners y como gerente en Alvarez &Marsal. David tiene un MBA de la Universidad de Chicago, Booth School of Business y un B.S. en Ingeniería Química de la Universidad de Illinois en Champaign, IL. También obtuvo certificaciones como Six Sigma Black-Belt, en Lean Manufacturing y como socorrista médico capacitado.
El consejo n.º 1 sobre cómo las empresas pueden reducir los costos de logística es...
“Identificar y eliminar los espacios abiertos de manera organizada y diligente. Esta simple declaración, cuando se ejecuta, genera los siguientes resultados comerciales:
1. Aumenta la densidad de almacenamiento en contenedores y estantes al mejorar la utilización del espacio vertical o el rediseño del contenedor como un medio para lograrlo2. Disminuye los costos de flete a través de una mejor utilización del camión tanto en su totalidad.
2. Disminuye los costos de flete a través de una mejor utilización de los camiones en envíos de camiones completos (FTL) y menos de (LTL).
3. Reduce el daño a las paletas recogidas en cajas al eliminar el movimiento en tránsito.
4. Utiliza mejor el espacio disponible para aumentar la densidad de almacenamiento.
5. Fomenta las operaciones organizadas, que están directamente relacionadas con la mano de obra.
eficiencia, utilización de activos y precisión de inventario.

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Brian Stutzman

Brian invirtió recientemente en la propiedad de una franquicia con BlueGrace Logistics. Con una ubicación de operaciones en Indianápolis, IN pero con un alcance mundial, Brian y su equipo están enfocados en convertirse en parte de un nuevo estándar en la industria de logística de terceros. A través de una comunicación transparente, brindando una variedad de opciones y tecnología de primera clase, BlueGrace Logistics Indy está preparada para consultar verdaderamente a sus clientes y brindar beneficios reales a su servicio.
El consejo n.º 1 sobre cómo las empresas pueden reducir los costos de logística son…
Hay varias cosas que vienen a la mente al pensar en cómo las empresas pueden ahorrar dinero en costos de logística. Como proveedor de logística externo, escuchamos una variedad de razones por las que los clientes potenciales no desean utilizar soluciones reales para ayudarlos a ahorrar dinero. Pero, con mucho, la única respuesta que realmente le cuesta dinero a las empresas a diario es que siempre lo hemos hecho de esa manera o que ya tenemos excelentes precios establecidos. En algunos casos, sí, sus operaciones y acuerdos actuales son grandes negocios, pero en muchos casos estas declaraciones están mal informadas y ensayadas. Sí, el mercado tiene una gran cantidad de empresas que ayudan en las necesidades logísticas, pero lo que algunos no se dan cuenta es que hay más ahorros reales que en la carga real que se mueve o almacena. Se ha demostrado que ser capaz de implementar procesos o informes más optimizados que ahorre tiempo a sus equipos de transporte y contabilidad ahorra dinero. Si mensualmente, al implementar estos procesos, las empresas podrían ahorrar tiempo a sus equipos en tareas operativas, lo que les permitiría dedicar más tiempo de calidad a otras tareas. Ese es solo un ejemplo de cómo los procesos optimizados ahorran costos generales en lugar de solo costos de flete o almacenamiento”.

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Romy Taormina

Romy Taormina es la directora ejecutiva/jefe de alivio de náuseas de Psi Bands. Las bandas Psi se venden en más de 10 000 ubicaciones en los EE. UU., incluidas CVS, Target, Babies R Us, REI, etc. Importamos nuestro producto. Con todos los retrasos en el puerto, la planificación del inventario de seguridad se ha convertido en un componente mucho más importante para reducir los costos de cumplimiento, los errores de almacenamiento y el estrés. Romy es coautora de un blog con Vanessa Ting, excompradora de Target, llamado Ambos lados de la mesa minorista, donde brindamos a los empresarios consejos y recursos sobre cómo obtener y mantener su producto en los estantes minoristas. Hace poco destacamos la necesidad de existencias de seguridad como un componente crítico para mantener bajos los costos, ¡y por qué!
El consejo n.º 1 sobre cómo las empresas pueden reducir los costos de logística es...
“Se podría argumentar que llevar existencias de seguridad aumentará los costos del almacén. Sí. Pero considere la alternativa y cómo se pueden ahorrar dinero, tiempo y relaciones:
* NO pasará horas al día tratando de averiguar qué minoristas recibirán sus productos limitados y cuáles no. Por lo tanto, está ahorrando tiempo al NO tener que ponerse en contacto con sus minoristas para tratar de justificar por qué no les envía las cantidades deseadas y pedirles que vuelvan a emitir órdenes de compra con nuevas fechas de entrega.
* NO está poniendo en peligro las relaciones con sus compradores, y arriesgándose a que terminen su negocio con usted.
* NO incurre en tarifas de incumplimiento de minoristas por pedidos de compra que no se pueden entregar.
* NO tiene que acelerar los envíos a su almacén desde su fabricante a costos aéreos precios de flete porque tiene los productos a mano.
* NO tiene que acelerar los envíos desde su almacén a sus minoristas a las costosas tarifas de envío de 2 o 3 días en comparación con las tarifas terrestres estándar. ”

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Tom Wilkins

Tom Wilkins es el propietario de Metano IBC Services, Inc. Metano suministra contenedores a granel intermedios (IBC) a empresas de productos de consumo, químicas y otras empresas manufactureras que necesitan mover líquidos a granel en su proceso de producción.
El #1 Un consejo sobre cómo reducir los costos de logística es…
“Para los fabricantes que necesitan mover líquidos a granel, los contenedores a granel intermedios (IBC) son una solución de transporte económica y eficiente en comparación con los tambores estándar. Un IBC tiene capacidad para el equivalente a 6 tambores, pero ocupa un espacio un 33 % más pequeño. Al elegir IBC cuadrados en lugar de tambores redondos, puede mover más líquidos en menos contenedores y obtener ahorros sustanciales en costos de mano de obra, almacenamiento y envío. Los IBC de acero inoxidable también se pueden alquilar para obtener mayor flexibilidad y ahorro”.

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Bryan Mattimore

Bryan Mattimore es el cofundador y jefe de ideas de Growth Engine, Innovation Agency. Es el autor de "Idea Stormers, How to Lead and Inspire Creative Breakthroughs (Wiley Jossey-Bass)".
El consejo n.º 1 sobre cómo las empresas pueden reducir los costos de logística es...
“Nuestro mejor consejo de logística/cadena de suministro es este:use proveedores para ayudar a reducir costos. Los proveedores a veces pueden absorber los costos directos de logística, pero también pueden ser socios en la reducción de costos. Una idea, por ejemplo, es crear un consorcio de compradores (nuestro cliente y varios de sus proveedores) para comprar suministros logísticos necesarios (es decir, combustible para el transporte) a un costo reducido que viene con la compra en grandes cantidades. ”

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Lisa Henthorn

Lisa Henthorn es Lisa Henthorn; VP, MarketingCommunications en Eyefreight. Lisa Henthorn es una profesional experimentada en marketing y recursos humanos con más de 16 años de experiencia en ventas, marketing y consultoría. Como vicepresidenta de comunicaciones de marketing, Lisa guía las comunicaciones corporativas
en Eyefreight, donde es responsable de la estrategia y la planificación de marketing. Antes de Eyefreight, Lisa fue vicepresidenta de marketing y recursos humanos en PartnerData. Allí ejecutó la estrategia de crecimiento de la organización a través de la comercialización de los productos y servicios de PartnerData, así como el diseño e implementación de todas las estrategias, políticas y procesos de recursos humanos. Lisa actualmente vive en Evanston, IL con sus tres hijas. Es una ávida escritora y colaboradora de blogs.
El consejo n.º 1 sobre cómo las empresas pueden reducir los costos de logística es...
“Para que las empresas reduzcan los costos de logística, la automatización es clave. La regulación, automatización y optimización de los procesos manuales puede reducir los requisitos de personal, centralizar las operaciones de producción en áreas de menor costo y crear un enfoque más proactivo para garantizar la satisfacción del cliente, todo mientras proporciona escala y controla los costos. Con un sistema de transporte y logística rentable y automatizado, una empresa puede implementar importantes cambios estratégicos para brindar visibilidad, reducir costos y aumentar los niveles de servicio al cliente. Además, la aparición de tecnologías basadas en la nube ha hecho que esto sea considerablemente más fácil y asequible que nunca; por lo tanto, incluso las pequeñas empresas pueden aprovecharlo.
Mantener bajo el costo por pedido del soporte logístico requiere mantener contentos a los clientes (para que las empresas los mantengan como clientes). Al mantener la satisfacción de los clientes, las empresas pueden mantener el negocio y, por lo tanto, distribuir el costo del soporte logístico entre una mayor cantidad de pedidos/clientes. Debido a esta correlación directa entre la satisfacción del cliente y la reducción general de costos, el servicio al cliente debe tenerse en cuenta en cualquier medición de los cambios en los costos de logística en consecuencia.
Cuando se implementan las herramientas adecuadas para administrar la complejidad y garantizar la visibilidad, las organizaciones tienen mayores oportunidades para crear continuamente eficiencias operativas, mantener contentos a los clientes y mejorar los resultados”.

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Piedra de Scott

Scott Stone es el director de marketing de Cisco-Eagle, un proveedor de sistemas integrados de manejo de materiales para operaciones industriales. Scott tiene más de 23 años de experiencia en operaciones industriales y marketing.
El consejo n.º 1 sobre cómo las empresas pueden reducir los costos de logística es...
“Lo primero que debe hacer cualquier empresa es esforzarse por comprender verdaderamente
sus costos:por palet, por sku, por pedido enviado, etc. Suponiendo que se comprenda, las respuestas a esta pregunta pueden ser más sencillas. Sin embargo, en general, el costo de la mano de obra es siempre el más alto o casi el más alto para cualquier operación de almacenamiento. Cada proyecto debe verse a través del prisma de los costos laborales que pueden abordarse de múltiples maneras. Los programas de incentivos para los empleados de almacenamiento, si están bien estructurados, realmente funcionan. Lo mismo ocurre con los proyectos que automatizan tareas estructuradas repetitivas, como selección dirigida por luz o voz,
almacenamiento en carrusel, robótica, etc. Una respuesta mucho menos elaborada es revisar la ubicación de productos para reducir el costo de selección y almacenamiento. Cualquier cosa que reduzca los rendimientos también puede tener un impacto real”.

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Brian Sutter

Brian Sutter es el director de marketing de Wasp Barcode Technologies.
El consejo n.º 1 sobre cómo las empresas pueden reducir los costos de logística es...
“El costo de inventario se define como el costo de mantener los bienes en stock. Si está buscando una manera de reducir el costo de su inventario, es probable que esté almacenando demasiado inventario. Demasiado inventario disponible aumenta sus costos de almacenamiento, por lo tanto, el costo de los bienes vendidos, y bloquea el efectivo líquido.
Aquí hay tres formas de recuperar ese efectivo y reducir el costo de su inventario:
Conozca su Up- Niveles de inventario actualizados:
Hacer un seguimiento de sus niveles de inventario es la forma más sencilla de evitar el exceso de inventario y, como resultado, reducir el costo del inventario. Aunque un sistema de gestión de inventario basado en una hoja de cálculo puede darle una idea general de cuánto inventario tiene en un momento dado, las soluciones como los sistemas de gestión de inventario y software de Wasp ayudan a mantener esa información automáticamente actualizada; permitiendo a las pequeñas empresas tomar decisiones rápidas y estratégicas sobre cuánto inventario tener disponible.
Evaluar sus SKU:
En pocas palabras, la intensidad de SKU es la cantidad de SKU que tiene su empresa por unidad. Si su empresa vende artículos como regalos, es posible que solo tenga un SKU por artículo. Sin embargo, si su empresa vende artículos como ropa, que puede venir en varios colores y tamaños, un artículo puede tener varios SKU, lo que puede conducir a una mayor intensidad de SKU. ¿No vende vestidos de ninguna talla porque no hay demanda de tallas? dos vestidos o porque no tienes vestidos de la talla dos? Saber la diferencia ayudará a su empresa no solo a evitar
agotamiento de existencias, sino también a evitar el exceso de existencias de artículos que no se venden. La información necesaria para comprender la intensidad de su SKU está disponible en el archivo de historial de su sistema de inventario, pero también necesita comprender lo que le dice su sistema. Adapte su intensidad de SKU reuniendo información de ventas e inventario para averiguar exactamente qué está pasando con su inventario.
Haga un seguimiento de los movimientos de inventario para volver a pedir automáticamente:
Con qué rapidez puede obtener mercancía de reemplazo cuando se está agotando ? The longer it takes, the more items you must keep on hand and, as a result, the higher your costs. Implementing a perpetual inventory system will allow you to track sales and inventory movements in real-time—allowing you to automatically re-order stock when it makes the most sense for your business..

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Olivier Larue

Olivier Larue has 20 years of experience in the hands-on implementation of Lean/TPS
(Toyota Production System). He joined the Toyota Supplier Support Center (TSSC, Inc.) following a successful consulting career in California’s Silicon Valley. Eventually, Olivier decided to fuse his unique style of shop floor-based teaching with his proficiency in TPS to create Ydatum Operations Management Engineering, Inc. Olivier is a guest lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley School of Engineering and has been a presenter for SME. His expertise also includes Six-Sigma, Hoshin Kanri, and a proven ability to help companies achieve sustainable, system-wide improvements and customer satisfaction that is measured in terms of improved quality, cost and lead time.
The #1 tip on how companies can reduce logistics costs is…
“The best thing companies can do to reduce warehouse inventory is to make a choice between fixing quantity or fixing time — not both. Let me explain:One purpose of the pull system is to act as a
countermeasure against the effects of processes that can’t be located near each other. Ideally, there is no need for inventory due to conveyance because processes are co-located and they work at the same pace. But in those instances when processes are actually far apart and conveyance is required, if the pace of
conveyance is equal to the pace of production, then all the material will in route and the quantity of material transported will be determined by the conveyance time divided by the rate of pull.
However, batch conveyance might be necessary to reduce the cost, and the rate of supply will not equal to the rate of pull. In this case, some inventory will be in the stock and in the store.
*Fix quantity, variable time*
There are two methods used to trigger the conveyance of parts from a process that is far away. One is to deliver a fixed quantity, but at variable intervals. The trigger is when the quantity left in the stock gets
down to a certain point, whether that’s tomorrow or next month. The timing depends on the rate of consumption of the following process. The ideal demand quantity is one part, with one kanban for every part.
*Fix time, variable quantity*
The other method is to deliver at a regular interval but in variable quantities. The choice depends on the situation, as supply chains involve too many variables — cost and size of parts, distance, shared processes, transportation method, and so on — to allow for a general solution. However, the closer we come to the ideal condition, the less difference there is between the two methods.
But even when one-by-one is not achieved, there are some basic rules to follow and basic errors to avoid.
For example, it is a mistake to fix both time and quantity. This is an error we often see with automated material replenishment process such as MRP and other IT-based solutions. Fixing time and quantity may be practical, but it falsely assumes that over time there are no changes in customer demand. This invites —actually, it begs for —both overproduction and shortages. These, in turn, will later necessitate large adjustments. Not only are large adjustments a pain, but they violate Toyota Production System thinking, which seeks to reduce fluctuations through frequent small adjustments.
Here’s a simple example that will illustrate the difference:If you live close to the grocery store, you are likely to choose a fixed quantity/variable time method of shopping, since it’s so easy to just go
get something when you need it. If you live far away from the grocery store, you are likely to choose a fixed time/variable quantity method, so you can combine your grocery shopping with other errands in town, saving on time and gas. Once you have chosen the correct method for your situation, you need to calculate the lead-time in order to have the correct inventory to support it.

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Shel Horowitz

Shel Horowitz is a green business profitability consultant, copywriter, speaker, and author, currently introducing a new aspect to his work:showing businesses how they can profit while making a difference on such issues as turning hunger and poverty into sufficiency, war into peace, and catastrophic climate change into planetary balance–and going beyond sustainability to the world we all want.
The best way to lower an organization’s logistics costs is…
“As a green profitability consultant, I always look at how to cut costs by going greener. For logistics, I’d look at the overall area of fuel costs and examine reducing fuel consumption–by streamlining routes, making vehicles more aerodynamic, changing bad driver habits (like long idles), and perhaps fuel remixes that include vegetable oil.”

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Andrea Stroud

Andrea Stroud is the Research Program Manager for APQC’s supply chain management, product development, and innovation research. She conducts research and publishes relevant, meaningful content for APQC members and other clients.
The #1 tip on how companies can cut logistics costs is…
“The #1 way to reduce warehouse inventory/carry costs is to improve inventory accuracy and visibility throughout the supply chain. Here are some of her findings and insights from her research (it’s a bit long but has great data points in it):This is an important part of supply chain management because organizations that allow their inventory accuracy to drop run several risks. Misleading inventory levels may make it seem that these organizations have more inventory than they actually do, which leads the organizations to sell stock that is not there and can result in dissatisfied customers. Inaccurate inventory data may also mask inventory that is actually there, which can lead to stock remaining in a warehouse until it becomes obsolete.
A related issue is increased inventory carrying cost. To get a better idea of how much additional cost can be related to carrying inventory, APQC reviewed data from its Open Standards Benchmarking(r) in logistics. The data shows a $101 difference between top-performing ($51.89) and bottom-performing ($153.33) organizations regarding inventory value per $1,000 in revenue. For an organization with $5 billion in revenue, this difference translates into $505 million worth of inventory stored in warehouses.
Aside from lower inventory value and more satisfied customers, higher inventory accuracy can lead to improved performance in other logistics processes.. APQC’s Open Standards Benchmarking(r) data indicates that an increase in inventory accuracy from 98 percent to 99 percent is associated with a decrease in the pick-to-ship cycle time for customer orders, a decrease in the percentage of orders expedited, and an increase in the amount of sales orders delivered on time. When the organization spends less time picking materials ordered by customers it needs to expedite fewer orders. Faster processing and delivery of products leads to more satisfied customers and lower inventory carrying cost.”

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Dennis Maliani

Dennis Maliani is a Business/Technology Executive who is innovative and results-oriented leader with extensive experience defining business strategies and developing transformative solutions that deliver immediate results and improvements across enterprise-level environments. Proven track record of designing and executing new initiatives that optimize IT operations, elevate service and support delivery, and strengthen technology capabilities. He’s an exemplary leader with a tactical background in lean business processes, system infrastructure, and technical support. He holds MBA with dual emphasis in International Business and Information Technology from University of LaVerne.
The #1 tip on how companies can reduce logistics transportation and carry costs is…
“The number one thing companies can do to reduce warehouse inventory errors (transportation costs or carry costs or warehousing costs etc.) organizations as a whole have to adopt and apply lean principles to their company’s business and workflow processes. The principles include:
1. Value:Solicit feedback from their clients or tap into their company’s’ knowledge base. Based on their past business demands and supply needs define what is of most value to their customers.
Ex:If its product quality issues based on their customers feedback then they have to work on their Quality assurance and quality control standards to ensure they produce a superior product. Customer loyalty is critical, on average it costs five times more to acquire a customer than to retain a customer.
2. Value Stream:Work with their teams to identify the company’s value and eliminate waste. Analyze their processes against the types of wastes below and remove them.
a. Transport – unnecessary movement of materials from one location to another.
b. Inventory – over production of goods which might require huge costs in storage, space consumption, packaging costs etc.
c. Motion – unnecessary movement if workers have to access equipment or tools in various locations of the company to do their job – time and money wasted. At times, it requires to redesign the warehouse floor plans and have everything thing at their disposal in one location.
d. Waiting – Due to un-synchronized or breakdown in interdependent processes, poor technical support etc. leads to loss of time and missed opportunities.
e. Over-Processing – Caused at times by lack of standard operating procedures every employee performing a task as they see fit or using wrong equipment for a task.
f. Overproduction – Too much inventory causing inventory costs due to lack of demand &supply data.
g. Defects – Due to poor quality control and quality assurance measures results in defective products, returns, law suites.
3. Flow:Create constant flow and strive to a attain balance between their supply and demand needs.
4. Pull:A company should produce based on demand. This in most cases requires having a supply chain management system that’s well integrated with their back-end warehouse, suppliers/vendors and their front eCommerce for their clients. With all those integration points in place when a customer places an order the entire works are just in time.
5. Perfection:Continuous mechanics or tools must be put in place like the PDCA (plan–do–check–act or plan–do–check–adjust) the Deming cycle.”

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Richard McGirr

Richard McGirr is the marketing manager at floship, an e-commerce logistics company based in Hong Kong. I have worked in venture capital and venture backed start-ups for the past 4 years.
The #1 tip on how companies can reduce logistics costs is…

“In our experience one of the best things companies can do to reduce the cost, complexity, and logistics headaches in general is centralizing their distribution.
Oftentimes companies have products in an unnecessarily high number of warehouses. This makes inventory management much more complicated due to constantly having to manage and transfer stock between warehouses around the globe. It is better to have one distribution center in a major logistics hub, such as Hong Kong, that can service a very large area or possibly even the entire world from one location.
For example, a company that manufactures in China only has to send their goods to a Hong Kong warehouse and from there can effectively handle most if not all B2C and B2B shipments worldwide quickly and cost-effectively. This leads to a simpler supply chain and having inventory on the books for only a few days in transit compared to having their inventory in an ocean container for a month, and then waiting another 2 or 3 weeks to clear customs.”

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Bob Shirilla

Bob Shirilla is the Owner / Manager – Simply Bags – Leading US distributor of personalized and custom tote bags.
The #1 tip on how companies can reduce logistics costs is…
Consider Supplier Location:Our marketing starts with an analysis of supplier locations and potential clients in the same region. For example, we are doing a marketing campaign targeting Beach Wedding Planners and have developed a business relationship with two manufactures in Florida. This gives us a competitive price advantage over other suppliers that have higher shipping cost.

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Chuck Intrieri

@cmiconsulting93
Chuck is a management consultant at Charles M. Intrieri Consulting. A highly experienced supply chain professional, Chuck is recognized as a thought leader and innovator in supply chain optimization, 3PL, international purchasing and importing, requests for quotation (RFQ) generation, and inventory and management, among other areas of the field. Chuck focuses on cost reduction and continuous improvement in the supply chain and logistics, with an eye toward lean initiatives.
NOTE:The following information is excerpted from Logistics Cost Reduction:6 Focuses to Create More Profit via Cerasis.
An essential ingredient to logistics is cost reduction:‘Treat people well and profits will follow.’ Listen to your people. They have great ideas…
The best supply chain or logistics cost reduction tip is this:Collaborate and partner with Suppliers to help reduce costs. Suppliers can sometimes absorb direct logistics costs. Create a consortium of buyers (a client and several of their suppliers) to buy needed logistics supplies (i.e. transportation fuel) at a reduced cost that comes with buying in greater quantities.
Be bold and try the Supplier Day Conference:invite suppliers to your facility with a structured agenda. One topic is to Value Analyze your products and for all involved to submit logistics cost reduction ideas. The Supplier is the specialist in their area of expertise. They can help by working with you and being creative in a win-win cost reduction program. Retain the function of a part, but reduce the costs of components, never jeopardizing quality.

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Martin Murray

@AboutLogistics
A senior supply chain management consultant and author of several books on supply chain using enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, Martin Murray has been the About.com expert for logistics and supply chain since 2008. Over the course of twenty years in supply chain, Martin has managed multi-national supply chain and ERP implementation projects in a number of industries, published eight books, and written articles that have appeared in several publications including SCM Expert and Maritime Gateway.
NOTE:The following information is excerpted from Reducing Supply Chain Transportation Logistics Costs via The Balance.
Transportation costs can be a significant part of a company’s overall logistics spend…
Some companies believe that the best negotiated prices can be achieved when they use a single source for all their transportation. This is fairly common for purchasing departments to use a single source for a range of products that a single vendor can provide.
The same can be achieved for transportation. By offering all transportation out to bid, via a RFQ (Request for Quotation), a company can provide carriers with a detailed explanation of what they require, which may fall outside of what is normally provided by a common carrier.
If they wanted to use a single source, a company would have to thoroughly evaluate a bidder’s ability to provide the service and whether the carrier has the stability not fall into bankruptcy within the timeline of the contract. If the winning bidder fulfills the needs of the company, and has been fully evaluated, a company could gain significant transportation savings using a single carrier.
To ensure you have an optimized supply chain, you want to make sure you’re delivering what your customers want, when they want it. And you’re achieving that goal by spending as little money as possible. Reducing your transportation costs can be a significant way to spend less money, without impacting customer service.

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Suresh Iyer and Advait Rahalkar

@Genpact
Suresh Iyer is vice president and global practice leader for engineering and supply chain services at Genpact. He is responsible for strategy development, new capability acquisition, and execution. Suresh is an expert in the field of supply chain and engineering design.



Advait Rahalkar is assistant vice president with the supply chain practice at Genpact, where he builds solutions for supply chain management. He is serving as project manager of business process re-engineering and transformation services and has been operations leader for the engineering design and analysis services for energy, oil, and gas clients.
NOTE:The following information is excerpted from Smart Strategies for Logistics Cost Optimization via Industry Week.
In a world where logistical expenses typically comprise up to four to five percent of total costs for a manufacturing firm, the increasing complexity of the global supply chain applies increased pressure on margins…
Most organizations try to tame complex supply chains by deploying expensive technology tools, hiring consultants for business process re-engineering, or, more recently, deploying exotic analytics frameworks.
Alone, none of these solutions can produce the type of savings needed to outcompete in this new, more complex and more competitive economy. What is required is a smart mix of process, analytics and technology to simplify the logistics networks, mitigate logistics risk and optimize the associated costs. We call this a three-pronged holistic approach:

1. Process Design and Development
2. Analytics
3. Enabling Technology

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Rob O’Byrne

@LogisticsBureau
Rob O’Byrne is owner and group managing director of specialist management consulting firm Logistics Bureau, based in Australia and southeast Asia. Rob has a passion for helping people and businesses improve performance, and he has a reputation as a no-nonsense consultant who delivers results. Rob oversees the operations of Logistics Bureau Group including Logistics Bureau, Dawson Consulting, Benchmarking Services, Supply Chain Leaders Academy, and a social enterprise called Virtual Well Done. Rob has overseen more than 1,400 projects across a wide range of industries.
NOTE:The following information is excerpted from Logistics and Distribution Cost Reduction Techniques via Logistics Bureau.
Cost reduction is a challenging subject in logistics and distribution and too often we’ve seen companies just try to cut headcount in order to achieve quick cost reductions. This is often completely the wrong strategy…
Cost reduction starts with fully understanding all costs and separating them into variable and fixed costs.
Variable costs fluctuate with volume (truck fuel, direct labour, packaging, etc.) while fixed costs don’t (rent).
Some costs, such as electricity and management overhead may be mostly fixed, but with a variable component if volume changes significantly (e.g. adding an additional shift).
As we have seen in previous classes, it is critical to measure the right parameters and processes and ensure that measurements are meaningful and pegged against appropriate volume indicators.
Start with the big picture and then gradually work down to more detail. The major cost components we will review in this class include:

• labor (direct, indirect and temporary staff vs. permanent staff)
• stock loss
• distribution
• packaging
• the cost of low productivity
• the cost of poor quality
• utilities (electricity, heat, water)

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Alex Stark

@kaneisableinc
Alex Stark is a Modern Marketing Expert and Supply Chain Collaboration Evangelist for ‎Kane Is Able, Inc.
NOTE:The following information is excerpted from 5 ways to reduce logistics costs in consumer goods distribution via Kane is Able, Inc.
One of the best ways to reduce logistics costs is to…
Integrate data from sales and fulfillment systems.
Allocating available inventory against current orders creates problems. There’s no algorithm to automate this subjective decision process. The allocation decision also invites personal bias, as customer service and sales representatives may steer available inventory to their own customers.
One solution is better integration of sales and inventory data. While this could be a barrier for smaller companies with limited systems resources, many 3PLs have the experience and resources to integrate data from multiple systems to facilitate decisions. When combined with the company’s unique knowledge of the retail customer, decisions can made based on customer priority, not a “first-in, first-out” model that risks disappointing key customers.
Asset Tracking Solutions from Camcode:

• Etiqueta UID
• Mil Std 130
• Security Labels
• Magnetic Labels
• Señales de pasillo de almacén
• Etiquetas de acero inoxidable
• Etiquetas de piso
• Control de inventario
• Inventory Management Methods