There is no doubt that the world of supply chain management is becoming increasingly complex. Supply chain executives have revealed five global supply chain management challenges that will define this industry over the next few years. Reports say that the ability to manage these five challenges successfully will eventually determine the success or mediocrity of a business. Here are some expected challenges in Global Supply Chain Management: 1. Improved Customer Access and Accuracy of Supply Chain Planning - In order to achieve improved customer access and accuracy of supply chain planning, companies require improved point of sale and partnering concepts, real time demand and supply planning, end-to-end supply cooperation and optimization and reduction of supply chain response time. This challenge arises because of increased supply chain volatility and uncertainty resulting from market transparency, greater price sensitivity, reduced customer loyalty and product commoditization 2. Enhanced Supply Chain Plasticity across the Entire Process - Global supply chain management organizations must concentrate their efforts on boosting the flexibility of their upstream and downstream supply chain through adjustments of the overall network design and improvements to their supply chain flexibility. In addition, management of the process and product complexity is necessary to complement late-stage customizations. Securing growth requires global suppliers and customer networks, as well as customized products, which is why the complexity and globalization of supply chains needs to be managed effectively. 3. Engineering Total Cost of Supply Chain - Global supply chain management operators can surpass this third challenge by outsourcing non-core functions, implementing regionally- configured supply chains, optimizing total supply chain costs and processes and low-cost country utilization. This challenge comes up because customer requirements and competition entail tailored supply chains and product offerings at a regional level. Subsequently, optimizing end-to-end supply chain cost is critical. 4. Implement end-to-end Supply Chain Risk Management - It is one of the greatest challenges for global supply chain organizations but it can be conquered as well with adequate strategies. This is where companies must optimize demand and supply risk, manage supplier risk, and optimize working capital and asset, as well as key partner supply chain risks. The point is that risk and opportunity management should span the entire supply chain, from demand planning to expansion of manufacturing capacity and should also include the supply chains of key partners. 5. Integration of Supply Chain Organization - In order to integrate and empower supply chain organizations, you need to perform integration across all functions not just particular functions. In addition, the ability to deploy the right skill sets and expertise is just as important as empowered decision making with clarity, when it comes to global versus local responsibilities and functional decisions. Global supply chain organizations should be perceived and treated as a single integrated organization. Effectiveness and improved outcomes result from supporting all functions of the supply chain.

Today"s businesses are under increasing pressure to go green. One way you can contribute to a greener environment is by adopting an eco-friendly supply chain strategy. Since supply chain management is such an important part of business and is also directly concerned with people and physical goods (raw materials and finished products), any step you take will have profound impact on your work environment and on the way people will perceive the image of your company. Here are some tips for making your supply chain more "green": Switch to Green Equipment: A variety of equipment types are used in different of stages of the supply chain. For example, trucks and ships are used to transport goods, and air conditioners are used in storage facilities. Many of these types of equipment make harmful emissions and pollute the atmosphere.  In order to make you supply chain eco-friendly, start by switching to greener equipment wherever possible. For example, you could choose to use electrical equipment instead of those that run on gas or petrol. Calibrate Existing Equipment: If replacing all your old equipment is costly, then calibrate them to work more efficiently so that they will consume less fuel and release less pollutants in the environment. Although this solution may not completely eliminate emission, it does make a significant reduction, which is a step forward. Partner with "Green" Suppliers: In the last two or three decades, a large number of companies have gone green either out of choice or compulsion. Many of these companies have a made a name for themselves as green suppliers and are trusted by their customers industries, who in turn are trusted by consumers.  As a part of your supply chain strategy, seek out these suppliers and partner with them. Make sure that you get your supplies from them as far as practicable. Recycle Raw Materials: Recycling is the key to an eco-friendly lifestyle. It minimizes wastage and prevents pollution at the source. Make it a company policy to reuse all waste products (where possible), and reclaim as many of your products as possible at the end of their lifecycle. Besides helping keep the environment clean, recycling also provides a cheaper source of raw materials for your company. Proper Waste Management: Waste products are unavoidable, but you can help create a greener company and a better world for everyone to live in by managing your wastes in an eco-friendly way. Separate all recyclable from the non-recyclable wastes. Reuse the recyclable products to create new products. Destroy the non-recyclable wastes without polluting the environment. Waste management is an important part of going green. Use Renewable Energy: Much of today"s manufacturing still relies on fossil fuels or energy produced using fossil fuels. Even non-manufacturing industries use vehicles and equipment that are driven by fossil fuel. This is doing unimaginable harm to the eco-system. So make the use of renewable energy the focus of your supply chain strategy. Wherever possible, use energy generated by clean and renewable sources such as solar power, wind power and thermal energy.

The food and dairy industry depends on the smooth and timely supply of raw materials. Since the ingredients required by food industries come from many different geographical locations, sometimes halfway around the world, transportation and logistics play an important role in ensuring the success of the industry. Because of the short term nature of raw materials and finished products, the food and dairy industry faces many unique challenges that are not found in any other industries. Speedy Delivery to Avoid Deterioration : Many of the raw materials go bad quickly. For example, vegetables like tomatoes and cucumber and fruits like bananas and grapes do not last long even if stored in climate controlled facilities. Therefore, they need to be delivered quickly. The same applies to finished products. Most processed foods have an expiry date after which they cannot be consumed. Especially susceptible to rotting and putrefaction are foods like pizza, bread and milk products that can go bad within a few days. Preservation of Quality : Of all the industries, food and dairy industry is one that can never compromise on quality because when a product is substandard, no one needs to be told by an expert that it is substandard. While the quality of the food depends upon the manufacturer/producer, logistics has an equally important role in preserving that quality. Foods and dairy products need to be stored in certain climactic conditions when transporting and can quickly deteriorate in quality if those standards are not met. Risk of Contamination : Since foods are a magnet for all like of life forms, including bacteria and fungi, they can be quickly become contaminated. Since food contamination is a serious health hazard that can even lead death of the consumer, ensuring high standards of hygiene and cleanliness is one of the chief transportation and logistics consideration of the food industry. Businesses must follows best safety practices and hire staff trained in food safety. Without such a consideration, the industry can quickly lose customers and go out of business. Risk of Breakages and Damages : Because of their soft and delicate nature, food and dairy products have a high risk of breakages and damages during transportation. For example, eggs and ice-cream cones can break on slight impact, making them completely useless. Breakages and damages during transportation results in huge losses to food industries every year. Therefore, special care must be given during packaging, loading, unloading and transporting to ensure that no damages and breakages occur. Climate Controlled Facilities : Since both raw and prepared foods can go bad quickly in the outdoor environment, they need to be stored in climate controlled facilities before, during and after transportation. In order to preserve freshness, avoid contamination and maintain quality, each food product must be stored at an optimum temperature. Most foods do quite well from 34 o - 40 o F (1.11 o C - 4.44 o C), but deteriorate rapidly above 40 o F (4.44 o C). Ensuring proper climate controlled facilities is an integral part of transportation and logistics consideration of the food and dairy industry.

One of the most important parts of running a business that deals with physical goods is inventory management. Having a critical role in the supply chain, it determines the overall costs, losses and profit margins. A well-managed inventory ensures the smooth inflow of raw material and outflow of finished products, which is essential for the success of any business. But when inventory becomes too large or complicated and starts taking a huge amount of time and resources, many businesses turn to supply chain consultants for help. A supply chain consultant is an expert in inventory and vendor management. He may provide advice to your business or take over the entire management of your inventory and vendors, depending upon how badly you need help. He usually has many years of experience in analyzing your supply chain and implementing solutions. He is an expert in managing inventory, dealing with vendors, handling domestic and international freight and procuring goods. He may also have a degree in logistics or supply chain management and one or more certifications in his field of work. Supply chain consultants analyse the supply chain Supply chain consultants analyse the supply chain The most desirable skill of a supply chain consultant is his ability to analyse the supply chain, develop a solution and implement the same. They can immediately assess the inventory costs, find strengths and weaknesses of current practices, pinpoint bottlenecks in the supply chain, and offer customized solutions aimed at reducing operational costs. The solutions might involve taking actions such as reducing the number of vendors or changing suppliers to lower the cost of raw materials. Supply chain consultants are also experts in vendor consolidation, which involves using only one vendor for one product to reduce the need to deal with several vendors. They also have the ability (acquired through education and years of experience) to point out which inventory management practice best suits your company's requirements. The end result is an efficient vendor and inventory management system that eliminates bottlenecks and oversupply, cuts costs, reduces losses and increases profit. A supply chain consultant takes care of your inventory and vendor management A supply chain consultant takes care of your inventory and vendor management The old practice of keeping supplies to last for months as it is too costly. Therefore, businesses want to maintain a small inventory where supplies keep coming in and flowing out as needed. This approach to inventory management is especially beneficial to small businesses that do not have their own storage facilities. But it also has its pitfalls. For example, if your supplies are delayed, you may have to shut down your business until they arrive. These wouldn't be an issue with a supply chain consultant in charge of your inventory and vendor management. Another critical area where a supply chain consultant can help your company is cash flow. By ensuring the smooth delivery of your products to your customers, he makes sure that you get paid on time so that you can continue to buy your supplies on time, which is essential for any business. In the lack of an efficient cash flow, many companies with good sales have been forced to shut down. A supply chain consultant makes sure that won't happen to you. Supply chain consultants have access to the right resources Supply chain consultants have access to the right resources Finally, when choosing supply chain consultants, it is important to ensure that they have access to the right network, people and resources. Third party logistics providers are often best suited to provide you with the best services. 3PL Links is a Toronto-based company has a long and successful track record of providing supply chain consultancy and reducing the operational of costs of customer businesses.

Order fulfilment is a very important part of supply chain management. The success of your business depends on how quickly and efficiently you can process customer orders. The more order you can process, the faster you will be able to ship. This increases customer satisfaction and gives you a competitive edge over your competitors. Here are some tips for improving your order fulfilment process Choose a Suitable Method to Pick Order: A business can pick order from its customers in several different ways. Some of the most popular methods are discrete order picking (one item at a time, good for low volume), pick and pass order picking (orders are grouped into zones to minimize the walking distance), and batch picking (multiple orders are picked and processed at a time, good for large volumes). As each method has its own plus and minus points, you should choose one that is suitable for your business. Increase Customer Accessibility: Your customers are the ones who place the orders; so in order to get more orders, it is important to make the order fulfilment process easier, faster and more accessible. The forms must be easily available (whether online or printed), short and easy to understand, and requiring minimum information to be entered. Customers usually do not bother with difficult-to-find, hard to understand and lengthy order forms, preferring to go to another supplier/vendor instead. Use Autofills and Multiple Choices on your Forms: One thing all customers unanimously detest is having to fill out long and detailed order forms. To make the order fulfilment process faster and easier for your customers, use autofills, pull down menus and multiple choices on your forms. The less the customers are required to write or type, the more likely they are to place orders. Keep your Inventory up-to-date: Customers find few things more frustrating that having to wait for items that are out-of-stock. Since out-of-stock situations are unavoidable, make sure that you do not offer items that are not in the inventory or are not likely to arrive by the offer date. This requires updating your inventory records continuously and ensuring that all the data entered are correct. Keep the Communication Channels Open: Don"t make forms (whether online or printed) the only way for your customers to reach out to you. Never forget that it"s you needs them and not the other way round. Keep all the communication channels opens, including face-to-face meeting, telephone, e-mail and online chat. Communication is the key to building trust, which is the key to increasing orders. Maintain a Good Return Policy: Return policy is an essential part of order fulfilment process. Your customers are more likely to place an order if you have is a good return policy in place. With so many suppliers/vendors they can go to, they don"t want to buy from one who won"t give a refund or exchange for goods that turn out to be defective. To make sure that your customers know your return policy and understand it, mention it clearly and unambiguously on your website and receipts.

Freight forwarders are people or companies that organize the shipment of goods on behalf of their customers (individuals or businesses).  They play an important role in logistics by helping manufacturers acquire the raw materials they need and distribute the finished products to customers through the various stages of the supply chain. Since a lot of businesses depend on a global supply chain these days, they use international freight forwarders to streamline their shipping process. Freight forwarders do not move the good themselves, but fulfil the role of experts in the supply chain management. They do not own equipment, trucks and storage facilities. They contract with carriers to move cargo from one geographical location to another and may use a variety of shipping providers, including trucks, railroads, ships and airline. International freight forwarders handle international shipments and are experts in preparing documentation and providing services pertaining to international shipments. International freight forwarders help streamline the shipping process by preparing and reviewing the following documents without which goods cannot be shipped. Commercial invoice : A commercial invoice is a document used by companies involved in foreign trade. It serves as the customs declaration provided by the individual or business that is exporting the goods across international borders, and is used to calculate tariffs. There is no standard format for the invoice; however, it must contain specific information such as the goods being shipped, the country of manufacture, parties involved in the transaction, the harmonized system codes for the goods, and a statement certifying that the invoice is true. Shipper's Export Declaration : A shipper's export declaration (SED) is a document that serves as a census record of exports and as a regulatory document. In the USA, the SED is mandatory for shipments of goods whose value exceeds $2,500 per Schedule B number and $500 for postal shipments. This document is necessary for the shipment of goods from the USA to Canada, but is not required for shipment from Canada to the USA. Bill of Lading : A bill of lading (abbreviated as a BOL or B/L) is an important document required for the shipment of goods. It is generated by the individual or company exporting the goods. It contains details of the goods of merchandise and gives 'title' to the carrier with specific instructions to release the goods to a named party at the destination. The bill serves as a receipt, which can be used a proof of shipment for customers and insurance purposes, as a title conferring title to the goods to the consignee noted on the bill, and as a negotiating document that may be traded in the same way as the goods. NAFTA Certificate of Origin : The NAFTA Certificate of Origin is a document required to be filled by the exporter for goods that qualify for reduced or duty-free entry as a product of one of the three member nations: Canada, USA and Mexico. Every country has its own rules and requirements on the import and export of goods. International freight forwarders have good knowledge of the rules and are able to expertly prepare the above-mentioned and other documents to make the movement of merchandise across international borders fast, smooth and hassle-free. If you're looking for cross-border shipping and logistics services to and from Mexico , give 3PL Links a call.

A growing number of businesses and organizations are outsourcing their logistics to third party logistics providers (also called 3PL or TPL) to save time and money. 3PL companies typically offer warehousing, transportation and integrated operation services that can be tailored to the customers` needs based on market conditions. These services often go beyond logistics and include value-added services that are integral to the supply chain. The outsourcing of logistics to 3PL providers allows you to focus on your core competencies of your business. They can help your business save money in the following ways: Expertise and Experience: 3PL companies have the expertise and experience to package, transport and store goods in an organized and cost-effective manner. They employ practices to make sure that the goods are shipped/transported to their right destination within given time frame. The When you handle these parts of logistics yourself, there`s the chances of delays, damages and losses are greater due to the inexperience of your employees. A 3PL company helps save money by minimizing risks and ensuring fast and timely service. Access to Resource Networks: 3PL companies usually belong to a large network that gives them access to many different carriers. As members of the resource network, they are able to negotiate volume discounts. This can result in a considerably lower overhead and faster service. A 3PL gives your company access to benefits from many resources that you cannot get on your own. Thus, using a 3PL eliminates the need to find your own carrier and negotiate with them, saving you time and money. Automated Processing: Third party logistics providers use advanced logistics management software programs to determine the fastest and the most economical route to transport goods and track their progress. The programs are capable of inventory management, advanced reporting and monitoring. This ensures faster delivery, minimized loss and damages, and less money spent on logistic solutions. Flexibility and Scalability: 3PL providers have the ability to scale transportation, labour and space - three key features of logistics - according to your needs. Companies with seasonal variations in their inventory can benefit greatly from this scalability. When your inventory is low, you can scale down the services to cut costs and when it is high, you can take advantage of the resources available without any significant rise in costs. Analysis and Planning: One big advantage of using 3PL providers is that they are experts in technical analysis and planning to manage the flow of goods and information through the various stages of the supply chain. They analyze and review each stage in the process to minimize delays and losses and to maximize the return on value. This enables them to create the fastest and the most cost-effective logistics solutions. Measuring Results: Third party logistics providers constantly monitor logistics performance to make sure that bottlenecks are being eliminated, risk of damages and loss are minimized and the targets are being met. Results are based on the analysis of budgeting techniques, cost estimating methods, quality of service and customer satisfaction. This results in a much reduced logistics costs for your business.

Moving goods from one location to another is never free. You will need packing materials, movers (workers), drivers, vehicles (trucks) and possibly storage facilities. The greater the load and the longer the distance, the higher the cost. But weight and distance are not the only two factors that affect transportation costs. There are several other factors that have a significant impact on the cost of transportation. The following are some of the important factors: Packaging: Transporting goods begins with packaging because you can`t just load things into a truck haphazardly and drive away. You need proper packing materials that you may need to buy. Packaging ensures the safety and security of your goods, but it also increases volume and weight. Also, the mode of transportation determines the type of packaging. For example, road transport and air transport have different packaging requirements that can make a considerable difference in the costs of transportation. Mode of Transportation: Selecting the right mode of transportation is of utmost importance when moving goods. You need to consider two things here: transit time (the time it takes to reach the destination) and the costs associated with the chosen mode of transportation. To lower transit time (faster transit), you need to use faster modes of transportation, such as air transport, which has a higher cost. But higher transit time (slower transit) can also increase costs by increasing the inventory carrying costs. Fuel Prices: Fuel prices are volatile and change constantly. In times of crisis and upheaval, such as the threat of war in the old producing countries, the price of a barrel of crude oil can fluctuate by as much as $5 or more on a single day. This can make a significant impact on your transportation costs regardless of the mode of transportation you have chosen. Labour costs: Moving goods require labour and labour costs money. You need a team of trained and experienced people to complete the job - to pack the goods, label and categorize packages, load the packages into the truck, unload the packages from the truck, unpack the packages at the destination, drive the trucks and keep inventory. The larger the quantity of goods to be transported, the higher the costs will be. Inventory Carrying Costs: The goods being transported are the same as goods held in inventory. When transporting goods over long distances, they may have to be stored in a securely-guarded climate-controlled storage facility overnight along the way. Even after being unloaded at the destination, they may have to be held in storage for some time. This can add a significant amount to your cost of transportation. Security: Arranging adequate security is very important when transporting goods over any distance. The higher the value of the goods, the higher the risk of theft and robbery. You may have to hire professional security guards to protect your goods. This can affect your costs significantly. Insurance Costs: The risk of damages, loss and theft can never be ruled out no matter how careful the workers are during loading, unloading and transit. Therefore, it is important to insure the goods. Depending on the type and value of the goods you are transporting, insurance costs can make a significant contribution to your transportation costs.

Businesses today are a part of a highly complex supply chain involving multiple suppliers and vendors located at different places across the world. SubmitWhen a disruption or bottleneck occurs in any part of the chain, it is often impossible to identify the culprit without a complete supply chain analysis. Without identifying the source and cause of the problem, it is not easy to achieve targeted sales and growth. Supply chain analysis is the process of evaluating every stage of a supply chain starting from the time the business acquires raw materials or supplies from its suppliers to the delivery of final products to the customers. The purpose of the analysis is to determine which part of the supply chain can be improved or shortened to deliver the product more quickly and efficiently to the customers. The philosophy behind supply chain analysis is that the more flexible a business can be, the faster its growth rate will be. Supply chain analysis helps businesses identify the suppliers and/or processes that can be bypassed, reduce inventories, schedule events and programs, and improve forecasts. This increases efficiency, reduces costs and minimizes risks. It helps businesses optimize their processes to remove redundancies in the supply chain while helping create new value-added processes. Conducting a supply chain analysis involves the following steps: 1. Mapping the Supply Chain: This involves identifying all the organizations, people, activities, information and resources involved in the supply chain and creating a flowchart to obtain an overview of the chain, the flow of raw materials and product, the position and function of chain actors and the type of interaction between the actors. 2. Developing Economic Accounts Corresponding to Each Actor Involved in the Supply Chain: This involves quantifying the activities of each actor and contribution to the flow of materials both in physical and monetary terms. It helps the analyst assess the importance of the actor in the chain and to point out where the weaknesses lie and how they can be rectified. To start a complete supply chain analysis, you need to collect data pertaining to every actor and every stage of the supply chain. This requires a lot of research and hard work. Most small and midsize businesses rely on manual methods of data collection and the use of spreadsheets, such as Microsoft Excel, for analysis. A faster and easier way to conduct the analysis is to use a software program to automate the process. Such a program can extract information from all the different sources into one console removing the need for tedious and time consuming manual data collection. You can analyze shipping schedules, improve transportation and inventory planning, increase transportation management efficiency and track just-in-time delivery metrics. Some top of the line software programs for supply chain analysis have advanced and useful features like data blending and cross-data source triggers, built-in geocoding, built-in calculation support, connectivity to external web services and support for WMS mapping services. The programs require considerable investment, but the saving on time, efficiency and accuracy amply compensates for that.

Transport of Dangerous Goods: What You Need to Know Before Shipping When moving goods from one location to another, it is crucial to be aware of the legislation governing the transportation of dangerous goods. Dangerous goods are anything that can harm people, property, the environment, and other living organisms. They may be in solid, liquid or a gas state. In Canada, dangerous goods are known as HazMat, short for hazardous. Classes of dangerous goods: Dangerous goods are divided into nine classes on the basis of their chemical characteristics. There are also subcategories under each class. Class 1: Explosives These include explosives with a mass nitrogen hazard, such as dynamite and TNT; explosives with severe projection hazards; explosives with fire, blast or projection hazard (but not a mass explosion hazard); explosives with minor fire or projection hazard (includes ammunition and most consumer fireworks); an insensitive substance with a mass explosion hazard; and extremely sensitive articles. Class 2: Gases These include flammable gases that ignite on contact with an ignition source, such as hydrogen and acetylene; non-flammable and non-poisonous gases such as neon and nitrogen; poisonous gases that can cause injury or death when inhaled, such as fluorine and hydrogen cyanide. Class 3: Flammable liquids These include liquids with an initial boiling point of 35oC or less at an absolute pressure of 101.3 kPa and any flash point (Packing Group I), such as carbon disulphide and diethyl ether; liquids with an initial boiling point of above 35oC at an absolute pressure of 101.3 kPa and a flash point less than 23oC (Packing Group II), such as petrol and acetone; and liquids that do not belong to Packing Groups I and II, such as diesel and kerosene. Class 4: Flammable solids These include solids that ignite easily and combust readily, such as magnesium and nitrocellulose; solids that ignite spontaneously, such as aluminum, white phosphorus and solids that react violently with water or emit a flammable gas when wet, such as sodium and potassium. Class 5: Oxidizing agents These include oxidizing agents such as ammonium nitrate and hydrogen peroxide; and organic peroxides either in solid or liquid form, such as benzoyl peroxides and cumene hydroperoxide. Class 6: Toxic and biohazardous substances: These include toxic substances that can cause injury or death if inhaled, swallowed or absorbed through the skin, such as potassium cyanide and mercuric chloride; and biohazardous and infectious substances, such as virus cultures and pathology specimens. Class 7: Radioactive substances These include radioactive substances that emit ionizing radiation, such as uranium and plutonium. Class 8: Corrosive substances These include corrosive substances that can severely corrode certain metals or can dissolve organic tissues, such as sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid. Class 9: Miscellaneous These include hazardous substances that do not fall into the previous eight categories, such as asbestos and air-bag inflators. TDG Regulations: In Canada, the transport of dangerous goods is regulated by the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDG). Transportation by road is subject to provincial jurisdiction and the rest (air, sea and railway) are subject to federal government jurisdiction. Full details of the TDG regulations can be found at the website of Transport Canada. Transport requirements: Only a licensed driver who has successfully completed the HazMat training and obtained a permit card can transport dangerous goods. The driver must be in possession of his license and permit card and should present them immediately if requested by an official. The driver must also have written instructions on how to deal with emergency situations in an easily accessible place in his cabin. Warning label requirements: During the transport of dangerous goods, all the packages are required to be placed and labeled in specified ways. All packages and vehicles carrying the packages must have the correct warning signals, which consist of the internationally recognized diamond-shaped signage of the appropriate colour, such as red for flammable and orange for explosive.

Logistics is the chain of processes and events involved in moving a finished product from the manufacturer to the customer. So what is reverse logistics? Reverse logistics is backward logistics. It involves the movement of goods from the customer back to the manufacturer. This usually happens when the product is defective or when the product has been recalled because of some glitch. Reverse logistics consists of the following important processes: Customer Support: This is the first process in reverse logistics and involves providing support by phone, e-mail, online chat and other means. The purpose is to keep the communication line open for customers who may want to repair or return the defective product they have purchased. Receiving the Product: The manufacturer may recall defective products (through its retailers) or the retailer may accept the defective product returned by the customers. The customer may bring back the product personally, send it with someone or send it by mail order. Sometimes, retailers or manufacturers also pick up the product from the customer"s location. Transporting the Product: The recalled or the returned product is sent back to the manufacturer. This may involve a single step (retailer to the manufacturer) or multiple steps (retailer to the dealer, to the distributor to the manufacturer). Depending upon the type and weight of the product and the distance to be moved, the mode of transportation may be land, air or sea. Warehousing the Product: Once the product arrives at the manufacturer"s facility, it is tagged, tracked and stored in a warehouse along with other returned products. A warehouse is a large storage space and is usually equipped with devices for tagging and tracking the stored goods. Sorting the Products: The products are sorted, or triaged (to use the proper term), on the basis of their condition and quality. Products than can be repaired are sent to the appropriate department for repair. Products that cannot be repaired are either sold off at a much lower price as defective products or sold as scrap. Repair: If a returned product has been found to be good for repair, it is repaired and then either sent back to the customer or sent back to be resold to another customer. Sometimes, products are refurbished and sold at high markups, generating profit for the manufacturer. Many manufacturers outsource their reverse logistics to third party logistics providers who specialize in receiving products returned by customers, repairing and refurbishing them and selling them at steep discounts. Third party providers often sell the refurbished product at a higher markup than the original markup, generating a substantial profit. Outsourcing reverse logistics is beneficial because it: Takes the Load Off : The third party logistics provider handles the entire processes of reverse logistics, freeing the manufacturer, retailer and others involved in the supply chain. This lets them concentrate on manufacturing, logistics, marketing and selling of products. Reduces the Risk of Loss : Returned goods are often a source of loss because the risk of obsolescence (the state of being obsolete). Obsolete products have to be either sold at steep discounts or sold as scraps. Manufacturers can reduce the risk of loss by transferring it to third party logistics providers. No Need to Worry about Waste Disposal : A significant portion of goods that have been returned need to be disposed as waste materials. The management of waste is often problematic because of ever tightening regulations. You can let the third party logistics providers worry about it.

When transporting goods from one place to another, it is very important to store them in safe and secure warehouses that are not only guarded twenty-four hours a day, but are also climate controlled to prevent damages to your product. Theft and damages mean delays in delivery, loss of credibility and a financial loss to your company. 3PL Links offers warehousing services in safe and secure warehouses equipped with automated TMS systems that allow the clients to track their shipments online. The coast to coast warehousing and distribution services & solutions provided by 3PL Links throughout North America include the following: Inbound and Outbound Order Processing: We provide inbound and outbound order processing to make your supply chain run smoothly. Our inbound order processing services include determination of demands, advanced shipping notification, delivery monitor, yard management and returns handling. Our outbound order processing services include goods issue postings, delivery processing and distribution, proof of delivery, delivery monitor and value added services. Bar-Coding, Re-Packaging, Labeling and Quality Control: We offer bar-coding, repackaging, labeling and quality control services so that you won`t have to assign your staff to the job or hire new ones. Besides saving you a lot of time and money, these services ensure the safety and security of your goods and expedite the distribution process. Online Inventory Management Capabilities: Our cutting edge online inventory management system allows you to keep track of your raw materials and finished products at all times from the comfort of your home or office. You can also track the progress of your shipment and obtain information such as the temperature inside the warehouse. This gives you a sense of being in control at all times and allows you to confidently make offers, give orders and take orders. Cross-Docking Services: Cross docking is the process of taking a finished product from the manufacturer and delivering it directly to the consumer. This eliminates or reduces the need to handle and store inventory along the way, which reduces the cost of your product. Cross docking shifts the focus from supply chain to demand chain and helps retailers streamline the supply chain. Reverse Logistic Programs: Reverse logistics is the process of planning, implementing and controlling the smooth and efficient flow of raw materials, finished goods and related information from the point of consumption to the point of origin. The purpose is to recapture the value of the used product or carry out a proper disposal. Our reverse logistics programs are efficient and cost effective. Container Stuffing and De-Stuffing Services: We provide stuffing (loading) and de-stuffing (unloading) services so that you won`t have to hire employees to do the job. Your goods are loaded either at your site or freight station, whoever you choose, and unloaded at the warehouse. The stuffing and de-stuffing are handled by experts so that the risk of damages and loss are minimized. Our warehousing services can be customized and tailored for your specific needs, to reduce your costs, improve efficiency, ensure timely delivery and facilitate a smooth distribution process. To that end, we also offer complete door to door services from Toronto throughout North America.