Logistics is a top concern among supply chain challenges affecting food manufacturers today. There are many complications in this area: labor issues have been keeping logistics companies short-staffed of truck drivers and customer service reps, rising fuel costs are inflating transportation prices, and amid this scarcity, there is a higher demand than supply. While these factors are out of your control, there are a couple of options you can pursue for stability.
Work with logistics companies that offer tracking visibility. For example, once last year, we had a truck break down halfway through a rush delivery. Our customer desperately needed that extra skid to meet their production deadlines. Because we could track the vehicle’s precise location, we sent a cargo van to meet the truck, pick up the skid we needed from the trailer, and deliver it to our customer as scheduled. We resolved the issue on our customer’s behalf, saving them time and stress. Without that visibility, this rescue would never have been possible.
To ensure a direct shipment, order a full truckload. If you are scheduling LTLs, or less than a full truckload, it is worth considering that the truck must make multiple stops, which may be inefficient. When you schedule a partial shipment, your inventory will share space with several other companies. Manufacturing facilities have varying degrees of efficiency when it comes to unloading shipments, and if your facility is the last stop, all you can do is hope that the previous drop-offs go smoothly. Because full truckloads will ship straight to you, rearranging your delivery process may be worth taking advantage of that security.
Of course, if you prefer not to spend the time and resources necessary to navigate logistics challenges, you can always outsource logistics to a supplier that will coordinate and troubleshoot deliveries for you. In addition to packaging, ForeFront Packaging provides logistics and warehousing services because doing so serves our customers better, placing them ahead of their competition and at the forefront of their industry.
ForeFront Packaging designs and implements packaging and supply chain solutions for food brands that free up time, reduce stress, and save money. To learn more about us, please review the services page on our website, or email us at info@fpcpack.com.
