We often forget, but logistics are a big part of what we do in the modern economy. It’s how we get goods from point A to point B in the most cost-effective way possible. It almost goes without saying, but there are plenty of opportunities to win big in logistics. It’s just question of how.
The key to the logistics chain is to keep the whole process moving as smoothly as possible. That means that you need to prepare for and deal with problems as they arise. If you want to win big in the logistics industry, you need to do the following:
Cultivate Strong Relationships
Logistics professionals know that they’re only as strong as the weakest link in their supply chain. That means that it’s essential for them to build up close relationships with all their suppliers. By building up healthy relationships, logistics professions can earn goodwill and priority treatment. Often suppliers are torn between different clients and delivering on time can be a real hassle. But with the right relationships, you can make sure that you remain at the top of the pile.
We see this type of thing all the time over the industry. Just look at the semi-conducting industry, for instance. Even though AMD is a much smaller supplier than nVidia, it’s first in line for new memory tech from wholesalers. And it’s all down to their cordial relationships with them.
Use The Right Equipment
Logistics companies rely on the right products to get the job done. But all too often, they try to cut corners to save on costs. A story on www.1800scales.com warns that firms are being conned into buying cheap, Chinese products. These products are low quality, prone to breaking and dangerous for employees.
People who want to do well in the logistics equipment need to have the right equipment. That means having the right scales, forklifts and load cells at every stage of the process.
Learn From Mistakes
Great leaders in logistics know a lot about complexity and how it can lead to mistakes. Complexity has a fundamentally different meaning from complicated. When something is complicated, it can be broken down into its parts. Then each element can be reassembled into a system that works predictably. Think of an airplane, for example.
Complexity is different. Complexity is where you can’t predict the behavior of a system based on its parts. That’s because the systems themselves are affected by so many variables. (You can find an excellent explanation of the difference on larrycuban.wordpress.com).
People in logistics know the difference between the two well. That’s why they make mistakes and learn through intuition what to do better next time. There are no hard and fast rules.
Plan
Planning is the key that allows people to win big in the logistics industry. Planning is what allows logistics professionals to keep the whole system working smoothly. They need to time their operations to match up precisely to their client’s needs. And they need to make sure that they have systems in place that are flexible if something goes wrong in the supply chain.
