Your problems are not new, they are the the same as any business that has to manage and ship physical products:

• You have too much of the wrong inventory and too little of the right inventory
• You keep losing inventory you thought you had and finding inventory you didn’t know was there
• Your operational costs are hurting you and you are concerned about staying competitive
• Your warehouse is full and you need to move (very expensive) or make better use of space or reduce your inventory
• You lose sales from customer complaints of poor service and slow order fulfillment
• Your return rate is too high due to picking and shipping errors
• You are concerned that your current operational capability will not scale to the growth that is planned for the business
• You’re taking on new products and services without the adaptability you need to service them correctly
• You’re not really sure how to fix any of this because either the expertise is not in your business or they have no time to drive the project. Maybe you’re even wondering if you should just outsource it (expensive and problematic).

You can start to change this now. You may have ended up here with a pressing problem or burning question but our aim is not really to sort out your problems (although we do that), our aim is to help you thrive by creating value through high performance logistics, just like the big corporations.

In fact we started Logistics Help to improve the logistics performance of businesses like yours. We share your desire to grow your small business into a big business. We see your problems everyday, they are the same as any business that has to manage and ship physical products:

• You have too much of the wrong inventory and too little of the right inventory
• You keep losing inventory you thought you had and finding inventory you didn’t know was there
• Your operational costs are hurting you and you are concerned about staying competitive
• Your warehouse is full and you need to relocate (very expensive) or make better use of space or reduce your inventory (much cheaper and essential anyway)
• You lose sales from customer complaints of poor service and slow order fulfillment
• Your return rate is too high due to picking and shipping errors
• You are concerned that your current operational capability will not support the growth you have planned for the business
• You’re not really sure how to fix any of this because the expertise is not in your business, may be you’re even wondering if you should just outsource it (expensive and doesn’t solve most of the problems).

OK, relax now because you’re here, there is no problem you have that we have not seen before and cannot sort out.  But our aim is not really to sort out your problems (although we do that), our aim is to help you thrive!  We help you create value through high performance logistics just like the big corporations.

The only reason you would hire Logistics Help or any other service provider is because they help you create value in your business. If you know you need to improve your ability to service your customers through better management of your inventory assets and improved fulfillment of your products to your customers, then this is for you. We have mapped out a comprehensive set of services and products designed to deliver to medium enterprises the most efficient and effective logistics operations that are as good as (or better than) the best of the large corporations. The focus areas listed below come from our High Performance Logistics Model, which is a comprehensive, practice based vision of how to create the best possible logistics operation for any business.

We start with a free Performance Improvement Consultation, to work out a high level improvement plan for your business. We then pick an improvement path: either the 10X Program or a project based approach. Either way, we start with a review of your operations to customise a High Performance Logistics Plan that will bring your logistics into the 21st century. Join the 10X program and we become a key part of your business, helping you grow continuously towards the goal of high performance and technology that drives 21st century logistics.

Choose a project based approach and address specific areas of your business as your needs demand; with each project moving you further along the path of performance and technology. You may have a specific project in mind and we’ll work out what are the key logistics concerns you need to address, and develop a scope for the project to deliver the outcomes you need. We’ll present you with a proposal to do that work.

You may also be looking for a particular technology solution such as our Upimium Warehouse Management System or Autostock Inventory Planning System. Whilst these are genuinely fantastic products, if technology solutions are implemented badly they will either not work or provide little benefit. So we caution against any magic bullet thinking that is often presented by companies that sell software vs. our approach of creating value through applying a practice based improvement model where technology is a tool and not an end. But if there is a need, and money available in the corporate budget for a logistics improvement project, then we may well be able to wrap up a comprehensive improvement of your warehouse and distribution operations inside a warehouse management system implementation which still provides a return on investment well above normal internal hurdle rates (how does 50% – 200% p.a. ROI sound?). Similarly a comprehensive inventory management review and process improvement project can be wrapped inside an implementation of the Autostock Inventory Planning System.

If you want to engage with us for a more comprehensive journey to logistics sophistication, we will start with a review of your operations to customise a plan that will bring your logistics into the 21st century. The plan will be a series of projects implemented over time as you are ready for each stage. Each project will cover one or more of the focus areas listed below. There is no project we do that does not add value, so you decide what you think is important and when, and do as much or as little of the overall plan as you want. Implementing the whole plan would usually take several years depending on what you need and how much focus you apply to getting there. The reality is that deep change requires time, money and resources and even though the returns are great, you can only go so fast. So obviously, we go after the low hanging fruit first and fix the major issues and get you on the way. We’re always only a phone call away during this journey and between projects, you can call us for advice and guidance or join the Sharpen Up! continuous improvement program to more actively keep your improvement journey moving.

If you implement the comprehensive plan then you will arrive at the highest levels of performance currently possible. If you only implement part of what is possible your results will be improved for that area, but you will still have opportunities for future improvement. Of course, your business, and the need to adapt and improve, never stops; but you will now be armed with the tools you need (or know where to get them when needed) to meet any new opportunity or logistics challenge you come across. The best in class logistics operation typically has half the costs of the worst and with much higher service levels. This not only impacts the bottom line through cost reduction, it improves competitiveness and enhances your market reputation for service which brings more customers. So now:

• You have the right inventory for your target service level for each product
  Your inventory is accurate and apart from the odd operational error that is picked up quickly your inventory is predictable
• Your know your operational costs are as low as they can be, any competitive pressure is not due to logistics problems
• Your manage your warehouse space and keep on top of slow moving and obsolete inventory. You have strategies in place to manage overflow stock during peaks and will only relocate to a bigger site when the business growth demands it.
• Your customers love your service and delivery and rave about it on social media
• Your returns are due to customer issues and not created by you
• You know you can scale up to service growth and successfully replicate your operational model to new sites in new markets
• You have adaptable technology and tools to develop an efficient operation to service any new market or product range
• You work on continuously improving your operations with Lean principles and get Logistics Help for more technical issues beyond normal operations.

Note: numbers in brackets relate to the 12 Principles of High Performance Warehousing available in the free members area.