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Supply Chain Management is basically broken down into two main concepts.
Supply Chain: To begin, every physical item that is purchased by the consumer goes through numerous channels to reach its end destination. For example, an everyday item such as Cow’s Milk, starts the supply chain process at the Dairy Farm and a sequence is then followed to allow the product to reach the retail outlet ready for consumption (see diagram). This procedure consists of multiple companies each playing their own part in the supply chain. The farmers to the milk hauler, the processor to the inspectors/testers before reaching the retailer.
Secondly, Supply Chain Management: This description refers to the organisation of the supply chain process which allows maximisation of consumer value and the ability of attaining a viable competitive stance within the market. All companies involved in the development of the supply chain procedure are mindful of introducing techniques that enhance and fulfil the process ensuring the most sustainable methods are utilised and further developed. The term supply chain covers all aspects from the manufacture and development of a product to product sourcing, production and logistics.
In order to achieve a resilient, sustainable supply chain, companies must work together using collaborative approaches. Problems with innovation, effectiveness, skill gaps as well as the economics of the business, need to receive full attention to ensure the complete supply chain benefits.
Considering the necessities and challenges involved in the supply chain, you could be forgiven for doubting if the pursuit of SCM capabilities is worthwhile. To the point, yes it is, due to the fact that companies depend on resilient supply chain competencies to successfully compete within their particular marketplace. The main aims for SCM should be to accomplish resourceful fulfilment of demand, determine outstanding consumer value, augment organisational receptiveness, build network pliability and aid monetary success.
To sum up – SCM is the control of resources, data and cash as they channel their way from supplier all the way through to consumer. All corporations involved need to synchronise and integrate the movements to ensure the process is streamlined. To attain an efficacious SCM system the desired result is to diminish stock levels whilst upholding availability. Companies involved in the supply chain process are now starting to incorporate innovative software systems with Web interfaces to run alongside, or indeed, replace the original Web-based application service providers (ASP) as a way of augmenting the future of the supply chain lifecycle.
Bio: The Whichwarehouse network consists of third party logistics providers who can assist companies with their supply chain requirements offering services such as (but not limited to) the receipt, handling, storage and distribution of their products ranging from foodstuff, chemicals through to merchandise.
Freight Matching and Consolidation tool for logistics industry!
Free accounts for shippers and carriers to post! Paid premium account for full access to all tech and tools. Cost effective, easy to use website – direct and to the point!
While most people know that freight claim management is time consuming, do you realize how much time you or your staff are really spending managing freight claims?
Here are the top 7 ways that freight claim management eats up your time. At the end, we’ll provide some free tips and resources to help you save time on freight claim management.
This is the obvious time factor. It typically takes 2 – 3 hours to manually file a freight claim. This includes the time spent entering the data and appending supporting documents, submitting the freight claim form to the carrier, and organizing the data in your own freight claim filing system. You probably also spend time looking for the proper form, since each carrier requires their own specific freight claim form.
This is the time that you spend on any of the following tasks:
• Calculating losses
• Finding repair quotes
• Looking for supporting documents (eg bill of lading, delivery receipt)
• Taking photographs of the damages
Have you ever submitted a freight claim only to have the carrier send it back due to missing information? Since it may have been a month or more since you last looked at the freight claim, you’ll need to spend additional time looking up the information in order to re-file the claim.
As much as everyone might like to send off their freight claims and have the money magically appear in their bank accounts, it doesn’t always work this way. Unfortunately, it is often necessary to follow up with the carrier to ensure that the freight claims get paid. Consider the time spent on these carrier follow-up tasks:
• Looking up what freight claims have gone unpaid
• Writing diplomatic freight claim reminder letters to the carrier
• Calling the carrier multiple times before you get a response
When a shipment comes in damaged, you’ll need to deal with it. Consider how much time you spend on the following:
• Sorting damaged product from the rest of the shipment
• Testing product to determine if it is damaged or not
• Repackaging product to be sent back to the shipper
• Disposing of damaged product
Once you file a freight claim, you’ll find yourself running off to extra errands and meetings, such as:
• Meeting with the carrier’s inspector
• Taking damaged product in for repair
• Having damaged product appraised for salvage value
If you shipped a product to a client and it was damaged by your carrier, your client may perceive this as poor service on your part. If it wasn’t just your internal team who was expecting the product, you’ll need to take the time to make things right with any unsatisfied clients.
Spending some amount of time on freight claims is inevitable. But here are some tips and free resources to make freight claim management easier:
• For some tasks, you can claim labor as a cost on your freight claim.
• Download a generic freight claim form so you can use one form that works for every carrier
• Download freight claim reminder letter templates so when you need to send a carrier a reminder, you don’t have to start from scratch
• Consider using freight claim software to streamline your filing processes, reducing filing time from 2-3 hours per claim, to 10 minutes per claim
About TranSolutions
TranSolutions Inc has been helping shippers and 3PLs more effectively and efficiently manage their freight claims since 1996. They pride themselves in providing cutting edge technology and exceptional customer service. They are also pleased to offer free freight claim filing tips, advice, and resources at www.transolutionsinc.com/blog
For more information about their software or for a free demo, visit www.transolutionsinc.com
By Vanessa Glavac – Logistics Writer for TranSolutions Inc.
Whether you are an independent truck operator or even work as part of maintaining a larger fleet, you are probably aware of some of the difficulties that are often involved in purchasing a new truck. This may be especially true if you are an independent driver and this is your first time attempting to buy a new truck for the first time. Often times, if you do not have a high credit score, it can be difficult or seem downright impossible to find a truck that will meet your needs and that you will be able to afford making monthly payments on. In some cases, you may be outright denied financing at all. Luckily for you, there are some steps you can take to better your chances of receiving reasonable truck financing so that you can drive that truck off the lot in no time.
For starters, what many truck owners decide to do is to find a cosigner. By finding a cosigner, you will be having another person or entity sign the financing paperwork, which makes them responsible for the loan in the event that you fail to make your payments. For this reason, finding a cosigners is not always an easy task, but if it is something you can do, then you can almost be guaranteed approval on a truck loan.
If you are unable to find one, however, you still have other options. For example, you may want to consider placing a larger down payment on the truck itself. This means that you will be borrowing less from the financing company and will, in turn, pay less in interest on the truck over time. Of course, this will mean forking up more money up front, but if this is something that you can afford to do, then it can really pay off over time.
Finally, if you do not have a lot of cash to put down on a vehicle but do have something else of value, then some dealerships or financing companies will allow you to put something down as collateral. This will essentially function as a down payments to guarantee that you will make the payments on your vehicle. If you fail to, then the financing company has the right to keep the collateral, whether it be another vehicle, piece of property, or other valuable possession.
By following the tips above, you can be sure to get approved for financing on a truck in no time. Good luck!
By Jason Dasher of Capital Solutions – a commercial truck financing company specializing in working with people with less than perfect credit.
Removal Customers
The RoadAhead offers removal customers a marketplace for finding rated removal companies. Every company that signs up is vetted to ensure they are who they say they are. It couldn’t be easier post your job by completing a very simple online quote form.
The system will automatically send the removal job through the system so it reaches any removal company that may be interested in offering a price. All of the messages and quotes are emailed directly to you. The only thing a removal customer has to do is ask any questions they may have and accept the quote once they have decided on the best removal company for them.
After a quote has been accepted, a small deposit is paid to the website and the remainder of the price quoted is paid to the removal company. Customers NEVER pay more than they have been quoted on the site.
Removal Companies
The RoadAhead can, in actual fact be used as a personal marketing tool for removal companies. There are features that allow a profile to look as professional as the company behind it. Such features as adding photographs, posting personal profile text and a feedback system are all standard with the website.
The team behind The RoadAhead have thought long and hard about how to help removal companies gain more business and have more of an online presence at the same time. On the homepage there are featured removal companies who gain this added extra when they have received some positive customer feedback from the site.
Any international & European removal company can sign up to the website and since the fee structure is based around the customer, it’s totally free for a removal company to use. All quotes made on the website are “closed” which means no-one else can see what has been quoted so unlike other sites we don’t work on the principal of driving prices down to unrealistic levels. Instead we try to achieve fair prices for both removal companies and removal customers!
The RoadAhead is a very simple but powerful concept which helps removal companies to gain more business whilst allowing customers to get an average of 5 quotes and make savings of up to 68%!
Author: Julie Coburn (G+)
You understand that managing your inventory by excel spreadsheets is no longer a solution. You understand that the costs of data entry errors are too much to overcome. As such, you’ve moved forward with investing in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and have started to barcode all inventory counts. You also understand that to properly manage your warehouse means you must continually keep track of your work-in-process, raw material and finished goods inventory. Doing away with spreadsheets was the first step, while the second included purchasing an inventory management software. The third and final step includes upgrading your warehouse with automated storage and retrieval systems. So what kind of benefits can you expect from this third and final step? More importantly, why have so many of today’s enterprises decided to install these automated storage systems?
Reducing Costs of Obsolescence, Damage and Theft
There are three costs of inventory that can be reduced by using automated storage systems: Inventory obsolescence, inventory damage and finally, inventory theft. All three have a direct impact on profit, and most importantly, a direct impact on a company’s bottom line. The reality is that manual processes don’t allow companies to capture, track or eliminate these costs at the source. They don’t allow enterprises to track their incidence in real-time. In fact, most only find out damage, obsolescence and theft is a problem long after it has occurred.
Barcoding inventory is but one solution to this aforementioned problem. However, barcoding alone won’t reduce the incidence of damage, obsolescence and theft. Barcoding alone won’t improve the accuracy and precision and upgrade your materials management processes. What’s required is an automated storage and retrieval system that tracks, stores and protects inventory at all times. Again, speed and accuracy are essential. However, it’s wrong to assume that all storage and retrieval systems are automated and computer-controlled. Here are two options with respect to the types of storage systems your company can use.
• Manually Controlled Storage Systems: Raw material allocation and order picking is simplified with manually controlled storage systems. These systems and storage units are functional, easy-to-manage and just as easy-to-control. While they are not fully computer-controlled or integrated, they still allow warehouse personnel to manage storage spaces, carousels and bins with ease.
• Automated and Integrated Storage Systems: Fully automated and integrated storage systems are the ultimate in warehouse management and efficiency. They allow for complete integration of the company’s ERP software with the warehouse retrieval storage system. Order picking is optimized and controlled via ERP-generated work orders. The entire system allows operators to easily pull inventory via direct and remote terminals.
Automated storage and retrieval systems will not only improve how you manage your warehouse, but they will also upgrade your entire supply chain. You’ll no longer have to concern yourself with damage and obsolescence. You’ll have better control of incoming and outgoing shipments. You’ll protect your inventory from theft by being able to segregate your inventory within vertical and horizontal storage carousels, thereby keeping your most valued inventory out of reach.
This has been a guest post by the Schaefer Shelving, helping customers improve their supply chain, logistics, storage and distribution processes.
A few years ago, the only way to buy or sell trucks was to list an ad in your local newspaper or place a sign in the windshield. These days, the Internet has made these methods almost obsolete. The Internet offers both buyers and sellers a number of advantages over more traditional marketing methods including offering a wider audience and keeping expenses low.
In order to be successful in finding the truck you want or selling one that you don’t, keep these tips in mind.
1. Global Audience: The Internet grows by leaps and bounds every single day. Thousands of new users make their way onto the World Wide Web daily, which means that the pool of potential buyers grows exponentially with each passing week. The main benefit of an online market for buyers is that the fierce competition and the lower cost of advertising tends to force prices down. This equates to better deals for both buyers and sellers.
The truth is that newspaper ads just don’t work anymore. Fewer and fewer people subscribe to local newspapers, which in turn bumps up the price for advertisers in order to keep the paper afloat. The pool of potential buyers is limited, which results in lower chances for success.
2. A picture is worth a thousand words: Sellers looking to truly reach their audience should be prepared to supply plenty of pictures in order to capture the attention of would-be buyers. Pictures of the exterior, interior, tires, tread wear, and engine are all essential to creating a successful advertisement. Studies have shown that ads with strong descriptions and plenty of ads have an 85% higher click through rate over their less illustrated counterparts.
3. Choose the right website for your application. There are literally thousands of websites aimed at helping you sell or buy a truck. Some are free, some are not, but just like in the real world, you get what you pay for when it comes to the options you have for making your advertisement stand out. While spending lots of money on your ad really doesn’t make sense, since it cuts into your profit, paying a small fee for extras such as listing standard and optional equipment is a great way to snag buyers looking for specific feature.
4. Shop from the comfort of your own home. For buyers, looking at trucks online is the best way to see the greatest number of trucks without spending a dime in gas. Buyers looking for a specific make or model can browse the Internet, view thousands of offerings and create a short list of sellers to contact in a matter of hours, a process that used to take days, weeks or even months. Most buyers are able to locate the specific vehicle they are looking for, in a price range that fits their budget, and make arrangements to view and test drive the vehicle(s) in the same day, saving time, money and effort.
Using the online marketplace is definitely the best and most efficient way to buy and sell trucks. The process is easy, low cost, and can reach the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time.