What Is Logistics?
Logistics is a process of planning, implementing, and controlling the flow of goods from the place of origin to the place of destination. It involves a wide range of activities like transportation, warehousing, inventory management, order fulfillment, and coordination. The main aim of any professional logistics company is to get the products to consumers on time while keeping the cost low.
Transportation involves various modes to send goods from one place to another place such as road, air, rail, and water. Warehousing involves the storage of goods utile they are needed, while inventory management focuses on maintaining the right balance of stock to meet demand without overstocking. Over-fulfillment involves picking, packing, and shipping products to consumers with accuracy. Most importantly coordination between suppliers, manufacturers, and retailers is a key to effective logistic management.
Why is Logistics Important?
Logistics is important for both businesses and individuals. For business, it improves efficiency and reduces cost through optimized transportation and inventory management which leads to customer satisfaction due to timely deliveries. For individuals, logistics ensures that products are delivered on time and in good condition. It also allows a wide range of products to be delivered at once at a low cost.
A] What Are The 7 Rights Of Logistics
1. The Right Product
It is understood that when a customer or retailer places an order for a certain product, that specific product must be supplied to them. Then what is the point of this ‘R’? Well, though it is rare, ever so often a company delivers the wrong product. If you frequently shop online, there is a good chance that even you may have received the wrong product.
There can be several reasons for this but picking and packaging errors are significant. The person responsible for supplying the product or picking it up for delivery can very well choose the wrong product. On the other hand, sometimes the product is not packed as per its packaging requirements. This can cause the product to get damaged, cracked, or broken.
Fragile goods may be extra careful packaging while perishable goods may need cool or temperature-controlled warehousing space. So the right packaging will enable a company to provide great service to its clients. These simple mistakes can cause frequent returns
2. The Right Customer
Finding and catering to the right customers is the backbone of almost all industries. Similarly, Finding the right target for your services is crucial for a logistics company. You need to identify which sector/industry needs your services more to gain potential leads. Once you find the correct target, you need to understand the market and promote yourself accordingly to be seen as a beneficial service provider.
Knowing your target audience and their requirements can help you provide additional support and guidance to your audience. This ensures a positive relationship between you and our clients.
For example, if a logistics company offers Home Shifting Services as well as Office Shifting Services, the target audience for both services is different, even though they basically require the same process. As a result, the approach required for each service should also be different. The customer is the driving force behind every supply chain and logistics business. Hence, the supply chain has to ensure complete satisfaction for the customer.
3. The Right Quantity
The quantity of products that you put out on the supply chain is also an essential factor. With the increasing demand for products across the nation, a logistics firm should ensure that it can meet the demands for quantity. A supply chain can only run well when the demand is met and the chain is running securely. Forming this balance between demand and supply is important.
Putting out excessive quantities of products on the supply chain is also harmful to the business’s bottom line. if there is excessive quantity, the cost of warehousing and transport increases, not to mention the policies that will hinder the transport. Therefore, define the right quantity beforehand.
For a modern logistics company, this part can be made significantly easier with the integration of technology. Modern logistics software can help a supply chain manager keep track of the inventory, products dispatched, the ordered quantity, and the overhead cost.
4. The Right Condition
Delivering the product in the right condition is one of the most crucial logistics 7 rights. Delivering goods in the right condition is not just about the shipping stage, but also includes, quality control, storage, packaging, transport and handling.
Imagine ordering a product online only for it to be delivered in tattered boxes. This scenario can happen with any kind of product during transport. More often than not, the logistics is blamed for such conditions. Hence, proper packaging and the overall handling of the products should be ensured. The logistics company should not only verify the product’s condition before dispatching but also see to it that it is safely delivered in top condition.
This is especially true for Packers and Movers as the products transported cannot be returned for replacement. Every single detail must be considered from the distance and mode of travel to the weather and road conditions to ensure the goods reach the destination in the right condition.
5. The Right Place
Different geographical locations will have different delivery requirements. Delivering the right item at the right place is the most basic requirement for any logistics business to thrive. To ensure this, the supply chain needs to have an experienced team of delivery staff as well as a transportation and storage management system.
If the supply chain is distributing larger units of goods, the logistics team can deliver the lot to a certain location and strategically distribute the goods to required locations. In such cases, the place of delivery for the main lot needs to be agreed on before dispatching the goods.
Integrating technologies, such as location tracking which both the customers and the providers can track can help to streamline the process. Active tracking can also provide valuable data which supply chain managers can track and make distribution strategies based on those locations.
6. The Right Time
Delivering the goods on the agreed time or before time is crucial to keep your customers satisfied and keep an edge over your competitors. When shipping goods, supply chain managers need to ask what is the desired timeframe for the goods to arrive. They also need to confirm if they can supply the goods in the required time or will need to extend the date.
Time is crucial for various clients. If the products are not provided in time, it can hamper the entire supply chain. Some products have to be on the shelf at the right time or else they may lose to their competition. For example, milk. Milk is a perishable item and supplying it on time is important because a) it is a commodity that can easily lose to competition and b) it is highly perishable.
Expensive and perishable goods should be transported using express modes of transport. There can be several other factors in play as well, but such goods need to be delivered with 1-2 day delivery. On the other hand, goods which have longer shelf-life and are not urgently needed can be shipped by slower means of transport.
7. The Right Cost
Cost is one of the most important factors that influence consumer behaviour. This is one of the most important Rights of logistics, especially for a budget-conscious country like India. A product will do well when it is neither expensive nor cheap. There has to be a balance where it is priced for its true value.
In logistics, the price should be appropriate enough to allow companies to measure their incomes and expenses. You need a good system for storing and updating the right prices. You have to understand that every expense incurred while the product is in transit will reflect on its final cost.
The right cost refers to pricing which allows the suppliers and everyone in the supply chain to earn a profit, while also keeping the final cost affordable for the target consumer. Supply chain managers can incorporate route optimisation software to reduce the transportation and warehouse costs. Managing the day-to-day operating costs to keep them at a minimum is also a good idea.
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Conclusion
These 7 Rights are very important for logistics success. Following diligence with these rights and incorporating them in your operations, marketing and finance will help a firm sustain in the long term; while providing quality service to not just clients but people in general. India is highly dependent on logistics and distribution to bring development to the nation hence, it is important to sustain logistics services for the long term.
Through our journey at Mega, we have learned everything through trial and error and it has helped us follow these concepts and be a better partner to our clients. You can always get in touch with us for logistics help.
Further Reading:
Nitin O Mahipal - MD of Mega group
Nitin O Mahipal, CEO and MD of Mega Group providing Transportation, 3PL and packing and moving services has earned his MBA in Logistics and Finance from the Cardiff University, UK. He expanded MEGA's services to FMCG, Retail, Pharma, Textiles, rubber and tyre MNC’s revolutionizing customer experience with digital initiatives like the Mega App. Under his leadership, MEGA's warehouse foot print grew from 50,000 to over 12 lac square feet space, PAN India Network of branches and Fleet of trucks, with transit times slashed to hours.
