Organizations that go wrong do so not because they lack process; they fail because they employ a process that doesn’t fit, or they execute a good process poorly.
Do note that too much process will strangle a company’s potential for success. At worst, a bad process forces the best talent to flee the company in search for an organization whose processes do not stifle creativity and professional growth.
The best executive management teams have developed a secret sauce for success whose ingredients include two critical elements:
- The correct balance of sound, executable process.
- Valuing employee feedback that drives change geared towards improving the processes in place that are critical to the organization’s success.
The best ecommerce fulfillment companies not only get internal processes right, but also understand the business processes, goals, and objectives of their clients. Only then do they implement logistics solutions that meet the needs of the customer.
Let’s take a deeper dive on the two most important elements of process driven logistics:
Value Chain Process
This is the process or activities by which a company adds value to an article, including production, marketing, and the provision of after-sales service. Sometimes overlooked is the role of logistics in the value chain process.
An example of an overlooked link in the value chain would be speed-to-market of a product to the end user or reseller. If this is not a critical component of the clients Value Chain Process, the logistics service provider surely needs to quantify why efficient, interconnected distribution solutions should become an important part of the clients Value Chain Process and how it helps to further define the client’s overall product value proposition to their clients, and drive sales.
The value chain framework/process is made up of five primary activities.
- Inbound operations
- operations
- outbound logistics
- Marketing and Sales
- Service
Four secondary activities round out the value chain framework:
- Procurement and purchasing
- Human resource management
- Technological development and company infrastructure
Supply Chain Process
This process entails the sequence of processes involved in the production and distribution of a commodity.
Eight key business processes in support of seamless supply chain management include:
- Customer Relationship Management
- Supplier Relationship Management
- Customer Service Management
- Demand Management
- Order Fulfilment
- Manufacturing Flow Management
- Product Development and Commercialization
- Returns Management
Final thoughts
Process can be boring, cumbersome, and above all, necessary. The best logistics service providers manage and employ process better than their competitors, that lag behind them.
Learn how Newegg Bridge can help your ecommerce company achieve a profitable standard of process driven logistics.
Dean Maciuba is the Co-founding partner of Crossroads Parcel Consulting and contributing editor to the Newegg Logistics blog. This content has been republished with the permission of the author and Newegg Logistics, where the article originally appeared.
Photo by Adrian Sulyok on Unsplash