Qualities To Look For When Choosing Logistics Consultants In India

Logistics refers to the overall process of managing how resources are acquired, stored, and transported to their final destination.  For businesses that are expanding their operations or do not have the required infrastructure to handle the identifying of prospective distributors and suppliers, hiring logistic consultants would be the best option. 

A logistics consultant works closely with clients to evaluate their supply chain and identify areas where it can be improved. The continued growth of e-commerce has increased the need for logistics experts in India. Logistics consultants in India would help companies to improve their supply chain efficiency, reduce costs, and use these benefits to improve customer relationships.

What makes a good logistic consultant?

Top logistics company in India has logistics consultants on their payroll who are individuals with broad supply chain expertise and industry knowledge. They are responsible for coordinating and directing distribution, transportation, and warehouse activities for a company, manufacturer, or its clients. When considering hiring a good logistic consultant few qualities to look for are:

 

· Proven Project Management Record

 

Logistic consultants handle a lot of cross-functional work, as the supply chain is made up of many different departments. A good logistic consultant will be able to see the big picture instead of bending to meet internal demands from various departments. 

A good consultant should have a good track record and should be able to prove it. A logistic consultant is someone who has experience in fulfilling budget goals set by the client, meeting deadlines, and deliverables.

 

· Experience Across the Supply Chain

 

They are responsible for evaluating the supply chain operations of an organization, scrutinizing every stage of the logistics process hence direct experience across multiple areas of the supply chain would be helpful to provide appropriate solutions. The consultant should validate the recommendations with hard facts that can be gained only through experience.

 

· Tech Knowledge

 

Technology is playing an important role in supply chain management enabling companies to access information in real-time and making all processes transparent. A logistic consultant would be knowledgeable about the advancement in technology and would be able to guide you on the appropriate software required for your supply needs.   

 

·  Understanding of Your Company and Your Industry

 

Logistic consultants need to evaluate your company, ask the right questions to truly understand the problem, and ensure their recommendation will solve the problem. It would be smart to find a consultant that has experience in the same industry though.  A logistics consultant is not an employee of the company and therefore can approach the project more objectively and provide unbiased solutions for the various issues.

 

Top logistics company in India is definitely in demand as more and more companies need to engage with experts to deal with their supply chain issues. Safexpress, one of the leading supply chain and logistics providers, has over 3000+ professional in their organization to guide and support companies which require consulting services. 

Their logistics consultancy team has in-depth knowledge and experience in building and executing supply chain solutions for multiple industries. Their subject matter expertise involves fields like warehouse requirement planning, labor resource planning, supply chain optimization, and much more. Their consultants can design supply chain solutions uniquely designed for your business to provide the most optimal strategic solution.

 

In Conclusion

 

A logistic consultant can provide solutions that can have a positive impact on your bottom line. Logistics consultants in India will help your company to choose, or build, the right process to streamline your logistics.

 

Growing Demand Of Pharma Logistics Company In India

India is the largest provider of generic drugs and ranks third in terms of pharmaceutical production by volume. The domestic pharmaceutical industry includes a network of drug companies and manufacturing units. With India’s domestic pharmaceutical market estimated at US$ 42 billion in 2021 and likely to reach US$ 65 billion by 2024,  pharma logistics play an important role in ensuring safe and timely supply chain management. 

Pharma logistics company in India needs to provide traceable, secure, and compliant supply chains with end to end visibility to the pharma industry. The growth of the market for pharma logistics is also attributed to the increasing demand for Over-The-Counter (OTC) medicines such as vitamins, minerals, supplements, drugs, and other medicinal products.  

Outsourcing has been a popular way for pharma companies to enhance their operational efficiencies, expand their geographical presence, and increase diagnostic expertise and on-demand services. Pharma logistics management plays a very important role to ensure medical supplies are always adequate and wastage can be avoided. 

The pharmaceutical manufacturing companies are increasingly outsourcing logistics management to healthcare logistics company due to which pharma companies can utilize state-of-the-art technologies such as telematics and remote monitoring to provide safety and convenience during transportation operations.

Pharmaceuticals are invaluable, often expensive, and sometimes lifesaving products, so the pharma logistics services are tremendously important. These products need to get to their destination, and they need to get there quickly and safely.

Safexpress, a leading tech-based logistics service provider with its multimodal network across India are well equipped for the unique requirements of the pharmaceutical industry. A wide range of services that include storage, reverse logistics, advanced tracking, and tracing technologies ensure complete supply chain visibility and reporting. 

With advanced planning, innovative strategies, and a professional team, Safexpress pharma logistics solutions are designed to adhere to standard quality norms and regulations to facilitate the smooth and efficient shipping of cargo.

Few benefits of outsourcing to a pharma logistics company in India are:

 · Transparency and visibility

The supply chain in healthcare is complex and time-sensitive as it involves proper measures to be maintained along the entire supply chain process.  As multiple stakeholders are involved in the supply chain, the visibility and traceability of the cargo becomes difficult to maintain leading to loss and damage of cargo. With the help of the latest technologies communication and transparency along the entire supply chain ensures proper control over the movement of products. 

It also helps to prevent the distribution of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in the market. Logistics monitoring at every stage of the supply chain provides visibility and services can be tailored to meet the complex needs of the healthcare market.

 · Warehouse management

With the pharmaceutical market growing, the need for proper warehouse management is very essential to avoid counterfeiting, maintain proper stock management and avoid wastage of products. The pharmaceutical industry relies heavily on logistics services for this task.

 · Adhering quickly to new legislation and regulations

With regulations constantly changing and different in other countries, it can be very difficult for any company to keep track of the same. Healthcare logistics company  would be able to guide pharma companies regarding the safety and packaging requirements to follow to maintain the environmental and policy regulations set by the governments.

 In Conclusion

The technology that can be used to track pharma shipments is ever-changing and pharma logistics company in India can help pharma companies to monitor shipments, recognize if a problem is taking place, and be able to intercede quickly to thwart potential threats. 

Source - https://www.reddit.com/user/safexpress1/comments/onv7jf/growing_demand_of_pharma_logistics_company_in/

Is There a Demand for Virtual Warehousing Services in India?

The constantly evolving product demand has made suppliers choose virtual warehousing to deliver orders to customers as soon as possible. Decentralization of the supply chain is the key to meeting increasing consumer demand. Virtual warehousing allows inventory to be physically housed anywhere such as a distribution center, a temporary facility, or the back room of a store, and then distributed on an as-needed basis. 

Virtual warehouses are a type of distribution and fulfillment center. Distribution of products stored in these virtual warehouses is done through 3PL services to fulfill orders faster and meet customer expectations.

 

With virtual warehousing, all your distribution centers or fulfillment centers are considered as a network and this network is then considered for fulfillment. So, when an order arrives, the network is consulted, irrespective of where the product is stored to identify the best possible way to fulfill the order based on the geographical location of the customer, as quickly as possible. 

 

A virtual warehouse is made more efficient with the use of a platform that provides visibility to inventory assets in real-time. A virtual warehouse can be used to serve omni-channels and create a more efficient supply chain network. This helps to increase profit margins while reducing business costs.

 

Advantages of using virtual warehousing services

The warehouse is an integral part of any retail supply chain and its retail operations. The Indian Warehousing Market is expected to be an estimated $12.2 billion in 2020, growing to $19.5 billion by 2025.

·         Cost-reduction

The location of a warehouse is becoming increasingly important to facilitate free cargo movement and to ensure time-bound operations. By outsourcing to 3PL services, the need to maintain a physical structure, security, maintenance, permits, and many other costs, are avoided.

·         Efficient Logistics Supply

The shipping time and cost associated with a traditional physical warehouse are in efficient and expensive. Virtual warehousing enables faster fulfillment of customer orders because distribution centers can be built closer to customers. These methods reduce costs and ensure faster delivery times that customers expect from retailers.

·         Avoid Dependency on a Single Distribution Center

With virtual warehousing built on an inherently distributed network of inventory, retailers can avoid having a single point of failure. Retailers can, therefore, increase the pool of inventory available to them without the costly process of investing in more warehouses and buying more stock.

·         Inventory Flexibility

Frequent changes in product demand often lead to insufficiencies in available inventory. A virtual warehouse provides flexibility to access multiple distribution centers for the same type of inventory. With a virtual warehouse, it becomes easier to cope with fluctuating customer demands because you don't have to stock more than what is needed.

·         Sustainability

Virtual warehousing ensures an optimized supply chain by not holding unnecessary stock that may go out of season quickly, thus reducing waste. This is beneficial for the environment and to promote sustainability. With visibility and accurate inventory by location provided through virtual warehousing, decisions can be made for effective forecasting of inventory to counter erratic and seasonal demands.

Safexpress, one of the largest and fastest logistics companies in India, with its existing 42 3PL locations, is well-equipped to cater to the need for fast and efficient delivery fulfillment for their customers. With its multi-state warehouse and robust IT systems, operational efficiency and inventory visibility are easily achievable to promote fast last-mile delivery and order fulfillment.

In Conclusion

The Indian government, with its supportive policies, such as the establishment of logistic parks and free trade warehouse zones, is expected to spur the market growth for virtual warehousing services in India.

Is Reverse Logistics Becoming the Need of the Hour in India?

The growth of the e-commerce industry has led to an increase in the demand for reverse logistics. With customers expecting quick and easy return policies for their products, a strong and viable reverse logistics system needs to be put in place to ensure customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. Reverse logistics deals with the movement of goods from the customer to the seller or manufacturer. 

Reverse logistics is used when goods are moved from their final destination to another location to recapture value or for final disposal. With the booming growth of the Indian e-commerce industry, reverse logistics in India has become even more relevant due to real-time feedback and returns initiated by customers.

The Five Rs of Reverse Logistics

Customer satisfaction involves both deliveries of goods and also the return of goods from the customer in a timely and speedy manner. It would not be wise to keep customers waiting for the pick-up of returned goods. Reverse logistics can be categorised into five areas:

1. Returns

Returns are the first stage of the reverse logistics flow process. Products may be returned for a variety of reasons and a process needs to be in place to receive, inspect and test the products returned by the customers.

2. Recalls

Recalls involve removing a product from the market due to a defect or potential hazard. Recalls need to be handled quickly and delicately to avoid accident or liability concerns. Although recalls create a negative customer experience, a business’s initiative to remove bad goods from the market eventually increases brand trust among customers.

3. Recycling

Recycling of products enables companies to implement minimal wastage of resources and also focus on sustainability. Customers are becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues and care if a product is eco-friendly or not. Now, people are even willing to pay more for eco-friendly products.

4. Repackaging

After a returned product is tested and found to be in perfect working condition, it can be repackaged and returned to stock.

5. Repair

Products that are returned due to small faults or damages are repaired or their functional parts are harvested for re-use. Repaired products can be repackaged and sold in secondary markets.

Advantages of Reverse Logistics

Increased online buying leads to higher product returns for which businesses need to establish a framework for reverse logistics. Logistic services in India are coming up with new approaches to implement reverse logistics. The majority of businesses have started to share the cost of reverse logistics with their logistics partners to retain brand support and ensure sustainability.

Safexpress, a market leader in supply chain and logistics, has expertise in effective management of reverse logistics through their various processes and REVLOG system designed to automate the process thus ensuring reverse logistics to be easy and timely. Safexpress have process set in place to handle procedures like returns, documentation and taxation requirements, repacking and redistribution of products effectively.

 Some advantages of reverse logistics are:

· Better profit margins and reduced wastage as the returned product can be recycled and resold.

· Increased customer satisfaction and a better brand image.

· Availability of product data to correct issues that might have caused the return of the product.

· Opportunity to implement environment-friendly sustainable practices.

Conclusion

Reverse logistics in India is becoming more relevant due to the exponential growth of the e-commerce market in the country. With the Indian government giving importance to sustainability and minimization of e-waste, reverse logistics is fast becoming a crucial element in supply chain management.

Source:-https://www.reddit.com/user/safexpress1/comments/mnz4qd/is_reverse_logistics_becoming_the_need_of_the/

Growth of Third Party Logistics Companies In India

A majority of businesses depend on their supply chain management (SCM) to implement cost-effective and timely deliverables. While an effective SCM is a solution, most businesses are not able to dedicate their resources or manpower to do so, which invariably affects their business. 

Third-party logistics (3PL) refers to outsourcing logistics processes including inventory management, warehousing and fulfillment.  The expansion of e-commerce, manufacturing, FMCG and retail has estimated a growth rate of over 11.5% during the forecast period of 2020-2025 for 3PL logistics companies in India.

Importance of 3PL Logistics in SCM

An efficient SCM enables a business to maximise customer value and achieve a competitive advantage over its competitors. By collaborating with 3PL logistic companies, a business can take advantage of its expertise and technology to identify loopholes and effectively create an efficient SCM. Safexpress, a 3PL and inventory management provider, helps in meeting their clients’ needs to the fullest with the usage of technology and strict adherence to standards. 

Safexpress 3PL services include warehousing solutions which provide services to identify strategic warehouse locations, design rack layout and required stocking levels. It also involves monitoring and controlling all critical warehouse processes. Safexpress’s warehouse management system are able to integrate with the existing ERP system of clients thus helping to maintain data integrity.

Advantages of Using a 3PL Logistic Company

A business using 3PLs can utilise the most cost-effective services that may include return processing services as well. A 3PL logistic company’s services can be tailored to meet individual business requirements including inventory management to last-mile delivery services.

· Less Overhead Costs with Increased Resources

A 3PL logistic company can provide an extensive logistic network as compared to the existing network of business. Since they specialise in logistics and usually have tie-ups with other service providers, they are in a better position to negotiate and finalise better pricing for a business. 

With the help of 3PL logistics, businesses can avoid infrastructure investments such as additional fleets, warehouse space, manpower and investment in tracking technology.

· Reach Out to a Larger Market

A 3PL logistics company can provide business access to national and international markets, and help businesses to establish their brand presence. With the help of a 3PL logistic company’s resources such as warehouse, manpower and distribution centres, businesses can venture into new markets without incurring additional infrastructure costs. A larger customer base can be catered to with the help of a 3PL logistic company.

· Availability of Resources to Focus on Core Competencies

By outsourcing services to a 3PL logistic company, resources such as time, money and most importantly people can be utilised for the business’s core competencies.  The hassle of warehouse management, transportation, paperwork, customs and billing would be handled by the 3PL logistic company.

· Access to 3PL Expertise and Experience

A 3PL logistic company’s offering to businesses includes best rates, knowledge in matters such as transport documentation, import and export, international compliance and economic regulations, thus making their expansion journey to new markets a smooth process. 

With a 3PL logistic company in-charge of logistic activities, order fulfillment and returns can be done in a fast and cost-effective manner, ensuring customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.  

Conclusion

Third-party logistics companies in India help in providing cost-effective logistic services to businesses who wish to outsource their 3PL activities such as inventory management, warehouse management and delivery fulfillment. 

With the Indian government implementing reforms in the transportation industry to reduce logistics costs from 14% to 9%, 3PL logistic companies in India have great growth potential.

Source:- https://www.reddit.com/user/safexpress1/comments/mb6tut/growth_of_third_party_logistics_companies_in_india/