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February 25, 2021 by Logistics

Supply Chains After A Year Of Disruptions

It has been a year since supply chains were disrupted due to Covid-19.  Yet businesses are still being challenged due to consistent disruptions to product supply and/or demand.  Inventories have continued to climb on some commodities while others cannot be purchased at any price.  Companies have ordered earlier only to have product delayed by stockouts or transportation interruptions.  Economic realities of the constant shift are becoming the norm.

Challenges are ahead for business that are stuck in the market flux.  Companies continue to look for regional and local solutions to supply problems they have traditionally solved offshore.  Creating a regionally based supply chain can provide options for a market that is in flux.  Flexible solutions for storage and distribution are the advantages of a third-party logistics (3PL) firm ensuring that you can change with market demand.

Leveraging Virginia’s vast range of transportation modes and modern highway network is one option to differentiate your supply chain. The Virginia transportation network offers cost advantages by being able to reach over 50% of the US population in one day.  Virginia continues to rank #1 as the best state for business which offers significant growth opportunities for companies needing a presence in this region.

According to Keith Hamlett, President of Riverside Logistics, “A 3PL partner can provide expertise for clients facing these challenging issues in the supply chain by offering flexible ways to diversify or expand your supply chain.”  Here is a list of value-add services provided by 3PL companies.

 

People – A 3PL has experienced staff with distribution solutions experience and can provide the appropriate personnel customized for your environment. They have training solutions in place to help speed this process. This ensures your supply chain will be in place quickly.

 

Warehouse Space Available – Experienced 3PL’s have warehouse space they can modify for your specific needs.  Special certifications can be provided for food, pharmaceuticals, hazardous materials, or other unique markets.  Usually, 3PL’s will have multiple locations offering flexible solutions for your product.

 

Transportation Solutions – An advantage of working with a 3PL company is they have a broad array of freight service options.  Truckload, Less-than-Truckload (LTL), Small Package and container drayage are just a few of the modes that can be considered. Utilizing the right service can save you money.

 

Technology – Specialized software can be expensive to purchase and implement. Utilizing a 3PL’s Warehouse and Transportation Management systems to minimize your distribution costs is smart.  Access to real time data such as orders, inventory status, competitive transportation rates and other metrics speeds information flow to you and your customers.

 

Supply Chain Strategies – Partnering with a 3PL can provide you with expertise and guidance to secure your supply chain and focus on your company’s goals – not just right now but for the future.

 

 

Filed Under: News & Events, Supply Chain Tagged With: 3PL Solutions, Certified Transportation Broker, Richmond, Riverside Logistics, Supply Chain Disruptions, Supply Chain Strategies, VA, Warehouses near Virginia Ports

January 7, 2020 by Logistics

What quality controls should your warehouse provider offer?

This question is often asked when selecting a 3PL provider to handle the storage and distribution of products.  Before I can answer this question, I must start by defining quality controls.

Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved or an aggregate of activities (such as design analysis and inspection for defects) designed to ensure adequate quality in product production or distribution. ISO 9000., a series of international quality standards, defines quality control as “a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements”.

In summary, it’s a system for verifying and maintaining a desired level of quality.

So, why is this important when evaluating providers?

Obviously, you want to make sure whoever is managing your inventory is making sure they handle your products in a way that doesn’t create damage, losses, mis-ships, or compromise the integrity of your products while in their care.  You want your service provider to successfully catch issues early on and limit any future mistakes. This can help tighten up inefficient processes or aid in diagnosing a specific problem and improve warehouse efficiency, which should save you money in the long run.

What should you look for when evaluating providers?

My first question to a would-be provider:   What type of Warehouse Management System (WMS) is in place?  The most effective way to ensure quality control is to build it into the process.  This can be done by implementing a WMS that requires some form of scanning, audit trail capturing and location and storage unit barcoding.  In many WMS, such as the one we use, pickers are required to confirm remaining location quantities after each pick.  If used properly, a WMS can drastically reduce the error rate and help identify and document many non-conformities.  However, it won’t eliminate them if there are manual tasks within the processes.  There will always be opportunities for deviations.

Hence the need to verify the provider has procedures in place for unloading, receiving, inspecting, putaway, auditing, and shipping.  These procedures should identify non-conformances using trailer/carrier inspection (unloading/loading) forms, capturing inventory discrepancies during receiving, storage, and shipping, and damage/returns reporting processes.  In many cases, these procedures will describe the inspection steps for checking or double-checking and any other value-added services such as cycle counting or physical inventory programs.  There should be a system for making sure the procedures are reviewed frequently for accuracy.

Are there employees trained on these procedures or work instructions?  There should be a system in place for documenting training and making sure training is being completed and tracked for all activities from safety to routine inspections.

Finally, do they have a quality system in place for capturing and tracking errors and providing corrective action and preventive actions (CAPA)?  Any quality control system should provide a venue for capturing and reporting metrics around the effectiveness of their program.

If your provider doesn’t offer any or most of these services, you should start looking for a new provider.  Here at Riverside, many of our customer’s products are regulated by the FDA or some other governmental agency.  These agencies require strict adherence to many, if not all, of the items that I mentioned above.

As a result, we have met the audit expectations from our ISO certified customers and our largest facility location is NSF Food Grade certified.  Even if your products don’t need to meet the more stringent requirements, you can benefit from the best practices these requirements provide as we hold all our facilities to similar high standards for quality control.

Michael Kenny

Director, Warehouse Operations

 

 

 

Filed Under: News & Events, Warehouse News Tagged With: Corrective Action and Preventive Actions (CAPA), Medical Warehouses in Virginia, NSF Food Grade, Procedures for unloading, Quality Control -ISO9000, Quality Warehouse in Virginia, receiving and inspecting and shipping, Richmond, Riverside Logistics, Riverside Logistics Warehouse, Third Party Logistics Company, Virginia, Warehouse Management System (WMS), Warehouse Quality Controls, Warehouses near Richmond Marine Terminal, Warehouses near Virginia Ports

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