Logistics play a major role in small and medium-sized enterprises. Stock levels, ability to deliver, delivery reliability, delivery dependability have a great influence on the competitiveness of the companies. Although there are numerous standard solutions, individual solutions can be the better choice.
It is not unusual for small and medium-sized enterprises to process tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of different components in their products. A central question here is how many of these different components and raw materials the company should have in stock in order to be able to fulfill its orders in time. If the warehouse is too empty, not all customers can be supplied in time. Delivery reliability suffers. If the warehouse is too full, however, this drives up storage costs and clogs the warehouses. Therefore it is important not to lose the overview and to keep an eye on material procurement and sales.
Sales forecasts help to make the most accurate predictions possible, which helps supply chain management to plan. Effective logistics must take into account many factors. A functioning warehouse management system is one of them as part of a customized supply chain management.
Standard solutions are not always the best choice
There are standard solutions for many of these requirements, but these are not always the best choice. In many cases, individual solutions are the best choice. They are usually not more expensive or complex to implement. On the contrary, they are better suited to the requirements existing in the company and can be easily integrated into the system landscape. Here, the following applies: The more individual the requirements in the company are, the more adaptations of a standard solution are required, the more likely it is to opt for individual solutions.
When choosing the right partner / service provider in the field of logistics, it is important that they know what they are talking about. This means on the one hand the language of the customers, but on the other hand also experience in the field of logistics. The software partner must know what is important and be able to accompany the customer in a future-oriented way. Speed and transparency are an absolute must in logistics and the integration of new solutions into the supply chain is indispensable.
Individual solutions from the right partner
In addition, the software partner should always have an overview of the entire supply chain and be able to actively support continuous improvement processes. Experience from the B2C sector can also be helpful and can be transferred to the B2B world. And above all, convenience and simplicity come first.
The search for the best solution in the field of logistics begins with the choice of the right partner. This is how competitiveness can be realized in the long term.