Different Types Of Logistics Solutions Provided By Third Party Logistics Companies
Logistics management in an important part of supply chain management. It involves a lot of functions like transportation of products from one point to another, storage of the products with necessary safety requirements, delivery of the products, installation of the products, wherever required and reverse logistics, which involves reclamation of the unused materials.
Most of the third party logistics companies provide specialist logistics solutions to meet the requirements of the clients. The major types of logistics solutions are
Supply management
It involves coordinating and supplying the materials that are required to carry on the production. Supply management involves planning for the requirement and making it available in time in order to carry on the production process without delays. Supply management involves ordering for the materials, transportation and storage of the materials and supplying them to the production unit as per the requirement. Most of the logistics companies provide project management services as part of their specialist logistics solutions to the clients.
Distribution management
Distribution involves the process of transporting the stored material to the different production units or end customers. It involves loading, unloading and transportation of the materials. Distribution management also involves tracking the movement of the stock and fixing accountability for its use.
Production management
This part of logistics involves matching the material supplies to the stage of production. The production logistics involves coordination of the different manufacturing processes and assembling units. The logistics provider providing specialist logistics solutions for production management will coordinate the stages of production and supply materials required at each stage.
Reverse logistics
Reverse logistics is the reclamation of the unused materials during the production process. Reverse logistics involves planning for the reverse transportation of the materials to the warehouse and re-entering it into the stock supplies. In case of retailers, it also involves free returns, where the third party company providing specialist logistics solutions will collect the product form the customers and ship it back to the company. This helps the company to maintain a check on the returns and know the reasons for the returns.
White glove logistics
White glove logistics is a value added logistic services provided by specialist logistics solutions firms. This is highly useful in case of high value and complex machinery and equipment. White glove logistics involves careful packaging and transport of the products, white glove delivery, product installation and demonstration and providing high-tech support and reverse logistics whenever needed.
