5 Reasons Why Businesses Hire Logistics Consultants in India

An effectively organized logistics system is the key for any business to keep pace with changing consumer demands, and to retain a competitive edge among competitors.  It helps reduce time and cost spent to move products from one point to another. For this reason, logistics is one of the most crucial factors when it comes to maintaining the quality of any supply chain. 

It requires a lot of special knowledge, skills, and professional management to establish a good logistics system. Logistics consultants in India play an important role by helping various businesses fine-tune their supply chain to improve efficiency, by providing faster delivery of the product.

A logistics consultant works closely with clients to evaluate their supply chain and identify areas where it can be improved. They are also able to recommend solutions to help businesses optimize their supply chain and work with them to implement those solutions.  They make use of advances in information technology, strategic planning, and process re-engineering to improve the performance of the supply chain.

 

So, here are 5 different ways in which a logistics company in India helps clients:

 

1. Right expertise

 

A consultant can provide the right expertise as they are well-versed in their chosen field and also has varied experiences and solutions available to solve your logistic problems. A consultant is up to date with the developments in their field of expertise, and so, they are always ready to guide clients with what they need to stay competitive.

 

2. Unbiased opinion

 

When a consultant is hired to identify the bottlenecks in your supply chain, they can provide an unbiased solution for the problems, as employees might be too close to a problem inside a business to identify it. A consultant provides an objective, fresh viewpoint without worrying about what people in the business might think about the results and how they were achieved.

 

3. Availability of additional resources

 

A logistics consultant is hired as and when they are needed rather than hiring full-time employees, and thereby, money is saved as you don’t have to pay any additional benefits to consultants. Hence, a consultant can supplement the staff and it makes good economic sense to hire them.

 

4. Catalyst for change

 

Change is inevitable if you want to grow. But bringing about changes in businesses is difficult without worrying about the corporate culture, employee morale, or other issues that get in the way when trying to introduce a change. A consultant can act as a catalyst for change as they can do things without prejudice.

 

5. Improve Customer Service

 

A logistics consultant helps improve customer service operations and develop cost-effective solutions to help you handle your supply chain, warehousing, material handling, and distribution. A consultant can lend new life to a business as they are good at coming up with ideas that work.

 

Safexpress, one of the leading logistics company in India, with more than 24 years of experience and knowledge of best practices, is the right choice if you need the best quality service and logistics assistance for your business. Safexpress offers specialized consulting services tailored to the needs of customers that are targeted to strengthen the end-to-end logistics performance of their supply chains. You receive reliable expert advice, not just from a single consultant, but from 3000+ highly experienced professionals.

 

In Conclusion

 

Logistics consultants in India helps optimize supply chains by providing guidance and milestones along the way. The greatest value addition from a consultant is their proven problem-solving ability when faced with challenges in the supply chain.

 

Third Party Logistics Service Provider in India

Traditional business model is built on in-house management of all operations which included sourcing, manufacturing, warehousing with assorted activities, and distribution. This was traditional because they operated in a limited expanse, had limited reach and clientele, and lacked diversity in their range of products and operation. With the expansion in market economy and global inter-connectedness, the traditional model of in-house operation gave way to delegation. 

In the field of logistics, this led to the birth and growth of third party logistics. Third party logistics or 3PL as it is interchangeably known is in vogue since 1970s. It, however, has gained currency in 1990s when national economies across the world liberalized and “contracting out” for products and services evolved as the buzz word. In the context of logistics, third party logistics simply refers to the involvement of a third party in Company’s logistics operations other than the producer/consumer and the transporter. The Third Party doesn’t have the ownership of the product it stores and/or transports but it acts as a vital link between manufacturing operations and the consumers.

Any company that offers some form of logistics service for hire is known as a 3PL company. A 3PL company may or may not have its own assets, such as trucks and warehouses. Companies which have these assets are in a position to provide an integrated 3PL solution. In cases they have not, they again contract out and hire such services depending upon the nature of agreement with the supplier. Most 3PL companies own or lease warehousing spaces for their client. Generally, they don’t have their own fleet of trucks or fleets for which they contract with other carriers for distribution.

In varying degrees, 3PL companies offer the following services:

· Primary distribution or Inbound Transportation (movement of raw materials or part goods to Manufacturing Units): Sourcing

· Warehousing

· Inventory Management

· Picking, Packing, Kitting & Customization

· FTL & PTL

· Stock Management

· Reverse Logistics

The rise and rise of online retail businesses in India, the need for third party logistics is reinforced even further. The marketplace operators especially do not have sufficient space or capital either to invest in their own warehouses or the wherewithal to meet the shocks of rising and declining demands. A 3PL partners or a Fulfillment Centre for them becomes all the more important.

3PL partners have many advantages over the traditional model of in-house operation management. First, it allows companies to scale up production, enlarge its product reach and focus on marketing by leaving the task of sourcing, inventory management and distribution in the hands of the specialists, i.e., 3PL partners. 

Second, it doesn’t have to scout for warehouses across the country and employ distribution partners. Third & most importantly, it doesn’t have to employee and spend a big deal on the manpower to manage its sourcing, warehousing and distribution needs. 3PL partners offer a lot in terms of cost, time and energy required to maintain warehousing, distribution and manpower management and a range of associated activities they entail.

Safexpress Pvt. Ltd. is the premium Third Party Logistics & Express Distribution Company in India. With its inception in 1997, Safexpress has grown into a pan-India 3PL & Express Distribution Company with 60 state-of-the-art warehouses catering to all 31083 pin codes through 1830 express distribution routes. This has come with strategic investment in infrastructure over the years & embrace of modern technology with its unwavering commitment to its structural expansion of its hub-and-spoke model. 

In its commitment to connect sourcing units to manufacturing plants/centres, it has built an interconnected model of district, area and regional hubs and warehouses that supplement the needs of the industry in a time & cost-effective manner, all supported by an in-house WMS. Its modern warehouses and express distribution channels take care of storage and distribution needs of the customers.

Safexpress offers a much required stability and uniformity in a highly diffused logistics market in India. Among the logistics services that Safexpress offers include primary logistics, warehousing, secondary distribution, door-to-door logistics, and VMI services.

Source:- https://www.reddit.com/user/safexpress1/comments/m6rwpf/third_party_logistics_service_provider_in_india/

A brief overview of the automotive logistics industry in India

Automotive logistics refers to the warehousing and transportation of spare parts, production material and finished vehicles in the automotive supply chain.  The automotive logistics industry is fragmented in nature, with the presence of large global players as well as medium-sized and small-sized local players. 

Most of the global logistics players have an automotive logistics division to meet the market needs and demand. Local players are increasingly enhancing their capabilities in terms of inventory handling, service offerings, products handled, and technology, to cater to the automotive industry.

The automotive industry is constantly evolving, and with the introduction of electric vehicles, the demand for automotive logistics is constantly increasing. And any forward-thinking logistics company in India needs to develop supply chain strategies, in order to exploit new market opportunities, reduce costs, and maintain competitive advantage. 

Safexpress, a leading logistics provider, with its vendor managed inventory are able to maintain high level, detailed view of stocks available at the vehicle manufacturer and also ensures coordination with OEMs to maintain sufficient stock of components. The transportation management system of Safexpress is able to provide customers with visibility and real-time data of their deliveries. The ‘Express Distribution’ service of Safexpress is able to serve dealers and centers across the country with the required parts thus ensuring on-time deliveries.    

Types of automotive logistics

The market for automotive logistics has been segmented into finished vehicle and automobile parts. The automobile parts segment leads the market, which includes revenue generated from the logistics of spare parts from both the automobile manufacturer as well as aftermarket. Owing to stringent regulations related to carbon emission, a market for upgraded standard aftermarket parts for the existing vehicle fleet has been generated. This has helped in supporting the growth of the automobile parts’ segment.

The finished vehicle segment includes the revenue generated from the logistics of the finished vehicle. And this segment is estimated to expand owing to the rising demand for low emission vehicles and electric vehicles. This demand is attributed to favorable government initiatives, which include the availability of tax relief from the purchase of these vehicles. The rising demand for electric vehicles is also expected to boost the finished vehicle segment growth.

Transformation of Indian automotive logistics

The Indian automobile industry is a major contributor to the Indian economy and the fourth largest automobile market in the world. The Indian automotive supply chain is undergoing various changes like regulatory demand of BSVI engines and promoting the usage of electric vehicles. 

The industry is experiencing change in existing logistics trends, automation and on-time delivery demand, with major changes in the modes of transport used for freight transport and infrastructure support. While the main mode of transport for automotive logistics is by road, initiatives to use rail, water or air modes are increasing, as they help to lower overall costs.

Automotive logistics providers are also investing in technologies like Big Data and Connected Ship, to enhance their supply-chain management processes. These technologies aid in reducing labor costs, by making use of predictive assessment on routing, which eliminates delays in shipments.

In conclusion

The automotive logistics industry is expected to witness massive growth by improving connectivity, distribution networks and implementing new technology to track shipments. Earlier, automobile manufacturers incurred high cost of inventory due to the storage of automotive components and systems. 

Now, by adopting strategies like Just in time (JIT), they can eliminate the cost related to all sources, unnecessary inventory and scrap in production. Implementation of JIT is done with the help of an effective supply chain and an efficient automotive logistics system.

How logistics companies in India managed operations continuity amid COVID-19

 

COVID-19 pandemic stunned the world economies on a short notice and affected smooth operations of big and small businesses in all sectors as it scaled. But even in those unprecedented times, there were some essential industries such as logistics, where companies were operational on the field bearing risk of virus everyday. 

As the time moved, it was understood that the only choice left was to ‘live with the virus’ while staying safe from it. 

One of the top logistics companies in India, Safexpress, adroitly managed business continuity to ensure stable, secure and effective work flows in such challenging times by working in a pro-active and planned manner.

The company ensured utmost safety of its staff and retained the custodianship of customers’ consignments during the pandemic. The quick decision making, continued connect through internal & external communications and swift actions really changed the current adversity into opportunity for Safexpress.

 

On the ground level, practical challenges were often faced by the team such as employees turning up with sub-optimal health conditions that disrupted the planned roster. Working on a skeletal team made it challenging to achieve operations efficiencies, but the challenges were seized when the government released the APIs for the Arogya Setu app, Safexpress took the opportunity of unifying the application with Arogya Setu that helped immensely to track the health and risk profile of employees on real-time basis. This allowed better planning as it was able to keep a check on employees at risk in the roster and avoid last minute confusions.

 

To execute smooth operations continuity in all the regions amidst the crisis, Safexpress prioritize its critical resources i.e. workforce, network, partners and ensured their continuity by providing 100% safe & healthy environment and development without any compromise with clear objectives in mind to serve its customers' supply chain and logistics needs and to support the country's economy by keeping it's wheels running.

 

It also digitally transformed its operations & transactions to minimize the risk of physical contact and incorporated cloud-based systems that facilitated Work From Home for most of the workforce. Safety & security of employees, staff, premises and customers’ consignments was ensured by ‘no-contact’ deliveries, promoting digital payments, regular sanitization, daily thermal screening of those coming at work and religiously following all the guidelines mandated by the Government of India.

 

The ongoing pandemic has changed the delivery operations for the entire industry including the top 10 logistics companies in India, if not forever but for a long time coming. To avoid the spread of COVID-19, customers today are shifting their loyalty towards businesses that are guaranteeing ‘zero contact’ delivery and digital payments. Logistics companies in India have planned out their execution of operations based on the same idea as it its new but fortunately, not hard to achieve.