How to establish an efficient logistics system

How to establish an efficient logistics system

efficient operation depends on a first-class logistics management system. What is your logistics strategy

nowadays, all enterprises pay attention to cost control, operation efficiency and service improvement. The foundation of all this is to establish an efficient logistics system. This is the requirement of a rapidly changing era for modern enterprises, and it is also the strategic support for the survival of enterprises

with the rise of price war and the growing trend of innovation, Chinese enterprises must reflect more on and improve their internal operations

there is an old Chinese proverb: people make the best of their talents, and things make the best of their flow. This is a good illustration of the importance of fast and efficient material flow to the national economy and the people's livelihood. At present, the slow development of e-commerce in China is largely due to China's relatively backward logistics system at this stage. Logistics will be an indispensable part of your business yesterday, today and tomorrow

in many industries, the retail industry is the leader in terms of the scale and speed of goods flow and accompanying information flow. The logistics cost of retail industry accounts for more than 20% of its total cost. Therefore, the correct formulation and effective implementation of logistics strategy is a decisive factor for retail enterprises to win in the market competition. World famous retailers, such as Wal Mart and metro, without exception, have achieved impressive market positions with the help of excellent logistics management. We believe that through the anatomy of retail logistics strategy, Chinese managers can understand the true meaning of modern logistics management

have an in-depth understanding of the earth shaking changes taking place in the retail industry in China and even in the world. The unprecedented wide selection opportunities of consumers make retailers feel heavy market pressure. Take the United States as an example. From 1985 to 1995, only six retail enterprises ranked among the top 15 in terms of profits. In China, it has long been known that retailers' profit margins are declining step by step

in such fierce market competition, retailers must strictly control their operating costs. This requires you to have a first-class logistics management system, so that the goods can reach the final consumers in time and economically. Take Wal Mart as an example. Its commodity structure is quite similar to that of Kmart, but its operating cost is 25% lower than that of Kmart. Where does such a huge difference come from? One important reason is that Wal Mart benefits from its advanced logistics information system, which enables it to quickly identify consumers' purchase preferences, thus reducing the overall cost of goods. It is estimated that Wal Mart's sales per unit area is twice that of Kmart

in fact, it is not only chain retail enterprises that pay attention to logistics management. Let's look at a completely different industry, fashion retailers. European fashion merchants often make large-scale and low-cost mass production in the Far East before the peak sales season. It is not difficult to imagine that some styles will become popular and out of stock, while some styles may be unsalable and have to be sold at a discount. For this reason, fashion merchants now only mass produce 60% to 70% of the estimated total sales before the season, and then organize the production of the rest in Europe according to the dynamic sales in the market. In this way, although the cost of producing popular styles in Europe is high, it has greatly reduced the phenomenon that some styles are in short supply and some styles are in oversupply, thus ensuring the overall profitability. When formulating the corresponding logistics strategy, the senior executives of the enterprise should analyze the specific problems and tailor them to the specific situation of the enterprise. They must have a deep understanding of all aspects of logistics and a clear understanding of the role of logistics in the overall business operation. Only in this way can we make wise decisions

fundamental problems

no matter what kind of logistics strategy retailers adopt, they must solve several basic problems:

first, we must treat the logistics system from an integrated point of view. The logistics system involves many departments, such as planning, procurement, transportation and sales departments. The goals of each department are different, so it is difficult to make every effort to work in one place. For example, the sales department usually determines the final reward based on sales, gross profit, etc. They are often keen to find popular goods, hoping that the purchasing department will haggle desperately when purchasing goods, and try to avoid discounting and clearing. The planning department often pays attention to ensuring sufficient goods and smooth turnover of goods, so it often only pays attention to the batch and frequency of shopping

however, in order not to exceed the procurement budget, the procurement department often selects the same kind of goods with the lowest price, although doing so often means that the delivery time is too long, the inventory remains high, the storage cost rises, and the overall cost of the enterprise rises. Budget constraints often make the purchasing department have to wait until the slow-moving goods are cleared before it is possible to order hot-selling products. In this way, the inventory of popular goods is often insufficient, while the inventory power supply of unsalable goods: 220V ± 10% is excessive. In addition, the control of procurement budget often makes the procurement department desperately purchase goods at the beginning of the period, while there is nothing to do at the end of the period, because the procurement quota has been spent at this time

in order to overcome various obstacles in the logistics process, everyone in the enterprise should be aware of the overall impact of their own behavior on the enterprise. One option is to bundle the planning department, purchasing department and even retail outlets together to evaluate their team performance as a whole. In this way, all departments can work together and coordinate with each other in making relevant decisions. The budget and cost can also be considered from the perspective of the whole logistics chain

when the problem of cooperation between departments is successfully solved, we turn to the second problem of logistics strategy: whole process optimization. Usually, the partial optimization of logistics process often leads to the deterioration of the whole logistics link. The worst case here is to simply emphasize the cost optimization of the distribution center. For most retailers, the operation of distribution centers is similar to that of factories: it well reflects the scale effect, automation and work efficiency. Retail stores are relatively high-cost places to operate. However, companies often transfer goods from distribution centers to retail stores without thinking, resulting in high inventory and rising operating costs in retail stores. In fact, companies can often consider doing the opposite, moving inventory from retail stores to distribution centers. In this way, we can minimize the cost of commodity handling in retail stores

some assignments that can be easily completed in the distribution center are definitely not easy to complete in the retail store. We can take an example. Hot selling goods should be kept in sufficient inventory in the distribution center and replenished in full cases according to the sales situation of retail stores: for some expensive and slow selling goods, they should be unpacked and replenished to retail stores in pieces; For other goods that occupy a large area and need to be dumped or handled laboriously, the intermediate processing links should be minimized, and even the goods can be delivered directly from the supplier to the retail store. Its purpose is to optimize the logistics cost of the whole link from suppliers to retail stores. Enterprises must not dismember the whole logistics chain, and only optimize local links

the inventory management of most retail enterprises is closely related to specific retail outlets and specific commodities. However, at a specific retail point, the sales volume of a specific commodity fluctuates greatly. Except for a few best-selling products and promotional products, consumers' purchase behavior of most goods is unpredictable. However, if you consider the retail stores covered in a distribution center as a whole, the sales volume of goods is much easier to predict. Therefore, when predicting the sales volume, try to spend less time on specific retail points and focus on the relevant sales volume of the distribution center or the whole company. The resulting prediction is much more reliable

even in the retail of fashion, there is much to do in sales forecasting. Some boutique fashion merchants use product catalogs to test the market, while others will stock up by consulting some buyers' sales forecasts, and others will obtain information about future sales by broadcasting pre-season fashion shows to major customers

of course, the most perfect prediction method also has its limitations. It is important to know how to deal with uncertainty. In the field of high-end fashion, the styles with slow dynamic sales must be cleared in time before they become obsolete, while the styles with good sales must be found and replenished in time. In case it is no longer possible to make a supplementary order, information about what will be good this season will also be of great help to what popular styles will be launched next season

in the final analysis, those who can predict must predict well, and those who cannot predict must prepare effective countermeasures

industry leaders

some leaders in the retail industry are not only impeccable in the above three aspects, but also construct their entire logistics system according to their own market competition strategy. Here we list three different logistics strategies, from which we can see how successful retail commodities formulate their logistics strategies

rapid response strategy. High end fashion is the representative of this kind of logistics strategy. As we all know, the risk of high-end fashion business is huge. Manufacturers who want to lead fashion should cater to the tastes of consumers. They should not only use creative designs to please customers, but also ensure that novel designs are transformed into selling points in the market. Therefore, all links such as fashion design, manufacturing and marketing must be closely linked to reduce business risks in this changing industry

some manufacturers use mail order to detect customer preferences, and consider the differences in customer preferences between different regions when conducting trial sales. In addition, the sales situation of the first listed regions can also provide forecast data. So far, fashion merchants still have rules to follow

the best way to show the strength of logistics strategy is to put those styles recognized by the market on the shelves of retail stores immediately before they become obsolete. To do this, sometimes it depends on a long-term harmonious relationship with the supplier, and sometimes it requires you to buy out part of the production capacity of the supplier. With a harmonious relationship with suppliers, the cycle from design to listing of ready-made clothes will be shortened, and at the same time, it can meet the requirements of quantity. In order to leave room, fashion merchants generally require suppliers to reserve a certain production capacity for them in advance. But before the last moment, they generally do not rush to place final orders

fashion seizes every moment in the whole logistics process. The proportion of Retailers: 1.7g/cm is often willing to fly only for a few popular out of stock styles. However, high-end fashion merchants often ship all the popular styles during the trial sale. At the same time, in order to meet unexpected needs, they often stock in a central warehouse, and from this, they are transported by air or by the company's truck