Finding and maintaining the right amount of inventory for your operations is essential, as it requires effectively balancing cost and risk. You don’t want to end up with stock shortages that lead to unhappy customers, but holding too much inventory can inflate your overall costs. When it comes to international logistics, managing inventory becomes even more complex than just matching supply with demand.
With longer shipping distances, more of your inventory is in transit than local logistics. You must implement advanced scheduling and forecasting strategies to keep everything on track. Longer transit times also heighten the risk of delays due to factors like port congestion, weather disruptions, or vehicle breakdowns. If your customers are far away, you may need more vehicles, and suppliers located at a distance may rely heavily on air and sea transport.
Tackling both challenges head-on requires maintaining safety stock in your warehouses and distribution centers. However, doing so can create a dilemma with storage space: building and operating facilities can be costly, and unused space can lead to unnecessary expenses. Careful planning of the size and location of these facilities is vital, as it dramatically influences your transportation network and fleet requirements.
To keep ahead of future issues, you also need to continuously gather and analyze historical data about supply chain disruptions and how you’re utilizing your storage space.
Doing everything yourself requires resources, industry expertise, and capital investment, which can be prohibitive barriers to success when managing your own supply chain.
That’s where we come in. As a fourth-party logistics (4PL) provider, we harness advanced data analytics to anticipate fluctuations in demand, optimize inventory levels, and enhance forecasting accuracy. We can help you minimize the risks of stockouts or holding too much inventory. Our cutting-edge tracking technologies improve visibility across your supply chain, enabling us to monitor your inventory in real time and respond quickly to any changes or disruptions. Together, we can streamline your operations and elevate your customer satisfaction.
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Check our Services and Solutions portfolio to learn the many ways we can keep your inventory controlled and your clients happy. If you’re interested in partnering with us, visit our Contact page to get in touch.