Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, emphasizes we should, “Begin with the end in mind.”
If your end goal is satisfied customers, logistics offers the solutions and technologies to manage supply chains while supporting multiple business functions, all in an effort to achieve that outcome.
Where to begin? With Purchasing, of course!
Whether sourcing domestically or overseas, logistics assists your purchasing department by ensuring uninterrupted supplies, managing inventory levels, and contributing to a lower cost of goods.
Purchase-order visibility and management also enables greater control further back into the supply chain. This leads to better compliance from your suppliers. It also may uncover opportunities to consolidate shipments from one supplier or many, which lowers transportation costs. Read more.
Accounting and Finance click on the information highway.
When logistics automates transportation operations, it centralizes shipping processes across all modes and electronically captures an abundance of information about cargo, carriers, routing and deliveries. Read more.
This information can feed other functions in your company. For example, it allows your accounts payable to quickly match carrier invoices to your contracted rates. Should a discrepancy appear on the carrier’s invoice, the bill is corrected before it’s paid. Unmatched invoices are sent back to the carrier. And system-generated account accruals are available at the close of the month.
In the billing department, this shortens billing cycle times. Bills go out sooner and with fewer errors. You get your money faster.
In the end, it’s all about customer satisfaction.
Customers want two things: What you promised, when you promised it. What customers don’t want are surprises.
Logistics can calculate total-landed-costs to support your pricing practices. With shipment visibility, you identify issues early on, respond quickly to market dynamics, and build better relationships with your customers. And system rules, which are based on your key performance indicators and other objectives, aid in exception management.
Sales and customer service are the face of your company. Logistics helps make sure they’re looking good! Read more.
Get more value from your supply chain; contact us at miq.com or let us develop a supply chain analysis for you.