by Elizabeth Hines | Oct 22, 2013 | Blog, Leadership, Strategy, Supply Chain
Source: Simply Silhouettes
Within the logistics and supply chain industries, the key to providing your client with an end to end valuable offering is providing the core value yourself and outsourcing the rest. Finding the right outsource partner is critical to success. Here are seven things you need to consider when choosing a new outsource partner.
1. Culture and values
Choosing the right partner goes beyond capabilities. You have to consider the corporate culture as well. In addition to being able to do the work, the ideal partner should be able do it seamlessly by fitting with your team and with your client’s needs.
When evaluating a new outsourcing partner, it is important to look at their mission or value statements. How do these hold up to your own company’s mission and value statements? Are they well aligned? If they are, move on and explore the company further. If not, walk away. Mission and value statements speak to the core culture of the company, so if you can’t find common ground here, it is unlikely you will be able to build a positive working relationship.
2. Standards and metrics
What standards of quality and delivery does the potential partner employ? Here it is important to look at their metrics and processes. How do these compare with the ones within your company? If they are similar, it is not only likely your systems will be able to work well together, but also likely that the two companies have a similar approach to standards of quality and delivery.
3. Investments
Next, take a look at where the potential partner has made investments. Has the company spent in similar areas to your company? Similar investments show business culture or strategy alignment. If the investments are different, find out why.
4. Financial stability
What is the financial health of the potential partner? You don’t want to enter into a partnership only to find out in a few months that the company is not financial stable. Entering into a partnership with a company that does not have its financial house in order is a costly mistake. Take the time to do your due diligence.
5. Where will you stand?
What will your relationship be? That is, will you be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond? When times are good this doesn’t matter, but when there is a customer satisfaction issue, it can mean the difference between client retention or client attrition. It is essential to know where you stand inside your partner’s organizational priorities. If you are comfortable with where you will stand, that’s great. If not, find another partner.
6. Long-term strategy
It is also important to look at the long-term strategy of your company and your potential partner’s company. Does the service they will be providing on your behalf align with their continuing plans? And with your ongoing plans? Continuity and service development is important to your company and to your customers. The potential partner needs to be able to provide the specified service for the foreseeable future and also needs to be able to grow with your company’s strategic needs.
7. Credibility
Finally, look to social media. What are others saying about your potential partner in an unfiltered environment? Are people pleased with the service the company provides? Are there any red flags with respect to the company or the service they provide? Social media can help call attention to potential issues.
Also talk with others within the industry – especially people who have worked with the potential partner before. What was their experience? Again, look for red flags.
By following these steps, you’ll be able to better evaluate potential partners and identify partners that are a good fit from both a business and cultural perspective.
by Fronetics | Sep 10, 2013 | Blog, Logistics, Strategy, Supply Chain
This post is written by our Marketing Analyst Intern, James Kane. James is a senior at the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics.
A recent article by Patrick Burson in Logistics Management discussed the use of 3PL providers. The article noted that 86 percent of domestic Fortune 500 companies use 3PLs for logistics and supply chain functions, and that the average customer utilizes multiple 3PLs. For example, companies such as General Motors, Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart each use at least 50 3PLs.
I decided to take a closer look at the use of multiple 3PLs. What I discovered is that companies utilize multiple 3PLs to minimize risk, and to maximize efficiency and revenue; the decision to engage each 3PL is strategic.
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What do 3PLs think about the use of multiple 3PLs? It turns out the majority are ok with it. A growing number of 3PLs see value in companies working with more than one 3PL. A Market Insight Survey found that 51.2 percent of 3PLs polled believe customers should have more than one service provider. Thirty-nine percent of respondents reported that they feel customers should work with just one 3PL and 9.8 percent reported that outsourcing strategies should depend upon the customer and the scope of the venture.
I’m interested. With how many 3PLs does your company engage?
by Elizabeth Hines | Aug 7, 2013 | Blog
In NBC’s comedy Outsourced,Todd Dempsy (Ben Rappaport) moves to India to manage the company’s newly outsourced call center. When he meets the team he will be managing he discovers that they have little to no understanding of the product-line and how to engage with customers in a culturally appropriate manner. The show is a great illustration of the need to give serious thought to: 1) Should I outsource?; and 2) To/with whom?
While outsourcing is fast becoming the successful business battle cry, it is not the panacea. You need to determine your company’s core competencies and how you can deliver the best value to your customers. Are there services at which your company does not excel, or non-critical services which could be carried out more efficiently/effectively if the service were outsourced? If so, you may want to think about outsourcing.
Look before you leap
However, before making the decision to outsource, consider the hidden and long-term costs which can potentially be expensive. Additionally, it is important to weigh the risks of losing customers or market share.
Acquisition?
If, through evaluation and analysis of your core competencies and value proposition, you believe you have the capability but not the technology, you may want to consider acquisition. Explore the competencies of small and/or niche companies in the technology, logistics, and supply chain industries. There are many such companies that have unique capabilities in terms of technology, talent, and/or customer depth or growth. Would acquisition make more sense than outsourcing? How would this impact your company? Your customers?
If you do decide to outsource, think carefully about what company you want to partner with. I’ve previously written about what to consider when choosing a partner.
by Elizabeth Hines | Feb 22, 2012 | Blog, Strategy
Over time, we discovered that throwing electronics away is extremely damaging to the environment. With the increasing innovation of new and trendy electronic devices continually entering the marketplace, there is high turnover and greater demand than ever before. Manufacturers and retailers are seeking partnerships with third party logistics (3PL) providers that can decrease e-waste through reverse logistics for used and outdated devices. With consumers more concerned about their carbon footprint, manufacturers and retailers as well as their supply chain partners have a commitment to reducing negative impact on the environment.
Fortunately, profitable businesses that have capitalized on this emerging green and are known as “urban miners.” In general, there are now two primary methods for disposing of our personal e-waste supply.
- Trade in the device for the latest model. This is common with smartphones, since they’re small and easy to carry. The process is convenient for the providers and device manufacturers as well. It’s the proverbial “win-win.”
- “Take-back” events. Typically orchestrated and sponsored by your local municipality, school, or civic organization, these are a local recycle e-waste process. It’s best for devices that are not readily exchangeable in their current form. You’ve probably seen flyers or advertisements encouraging you to bring your dead electronics to a local school parking lot or municipal depot where they will be loaded on a truck, never to be seen again, all in the name of charity and ecology.
There’s Gold in ‘Urban Mining’
While the local organization that hosts the event gets a portion of the fees paid to dispose of the electronics, it’s the e-waste disposal companies that do especially well.
Known as “Urban Miners” in the disposal world, these e-waste disposal companies aggregate millions of pounds of commodities that are bought and sold in a secondary market every day and shipped all over the world. E-waste disposal companies are mining items like plastics, precious and non-precious metals, and rare earth minerals from our basements and closets. It’s one of the most profitable and reliable forms or reverse supply chain.
There is no better testament to the old adage, “One man’s trash is another man’s gold.” I’m not saying this is an easy process. You need to be able to aggregate tons of e-waste material (literally) in order to make money. You need to have the “right” e-waste material, meaning recyclable and not so much disposable, and you need to have your fixed costs low enough to be able to afford the high-touch breakdown process. That’s one reason you see these take-back events popping up more often. These aggregators need tonnage in order to make the model work.
Sometimes they win. Sometimes they lose. But they are providing a service by relieving us of our e-waste in a compliant manner; and they’re supporting the charity or organization with some sort of share of the day’s take, and keeping the green theme going… thus, a win-win-win.
Today’s modern-day gold rush is happening right in our neighborhoods and cities. Instead of a pick and shovel, urban miners’ tools are a truck, a forklift, and a well-placed flyer.
