Action Steps to Outsourcing through a Logistics Company
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Watch for training for logistics businesses online

Take the time to regularly watch the employment sites, as you look for opportunities online to advance your logistics career. You'll find a number of online training programs that will be most helpful as you search to upgrade your skills and credentials. Check out the requirements and look for training to make you more suitable for the position you seek.

I recommend: Get a degree in logistics online from American Public University. Logistics Training Systems offers a number of certification courses and online programs that you can take.

Look for logistics provider training through associations

While you are pursuing a career in logistics, you also should be accruing a list of connections that will help you throughout your career. Trade associations are great places to get involved with experienced professionals and make those important contacts. At the same time, most associations offer a wide variety of professional development courses that will look good on your resume.

I recommend: Make contacts and get additional training at the Transportation Intermediaries Association. Find training opportunities at the Transportation Development Group.

Enroll in logistics for business programs

Recruiters and headhunters know the landscape and can point you in the direction of the companies that are hiring. They also can brief you on the requirements for certain jobs and how to advance in those positions. Update the service with a new resume after you complete additional certificate courses.

I recommend: Check out the Logistics Training Consortium for classes from basic training to professional development courses. You can take courses from ESRI in a variety of ways, from online to in-person seminars.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Find a logistics provider that is willing to mentor you while you continue your training.

Guide to Transportation and Logistics Companies for Small Business

Getting your goods to where they need to be isn't always easy

By Jennifer Nichols, Online Marketing Specialist

1. Transportation (most commonly outsourced to a logistics company)
2. Inventory Management
3. Warehousing and Distribution
4. Material Handling
5. Packaging

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Seek out a third-party logistics provider (3PL)

The trend is towards companies focusing on their core competencies rather than being 'jack of all trades'. Consider outsourcing to a logistics company (a “third-party logistics provider” or “3PL” as they’re commonly known) so that you can focus on growing your business, not minute details of product delivery.

I recommend: You can outsource everything or shop for logistic services a la carte from freight payments and auditing to warehousing at ITS Traffic Systems Inc. Total Quality Logistics is another 3PL with a reputation for taking care of its employees in an industry where high turnover is the norm. Review Business.com’s directory to find a logistics company.

Make your logistics provider industry specific

There are logistics companies and carriers that specialize in every industry from clothing to wine. Search for logistical solutions within your industry to make sure that your product gets to your customers in the same condition that it left your facility.

I recommend: If your items are perishable, fragile, or oversized, find the best shipping method and get a quote sent to you via email at Freight Center.com.

Team with partners on logistics and transportation

Talk to vendors and customers to find out what type of logistics technology and services they currently use. Logistics companies base prices on volume, and you may want to team up with your partners to maximize economies of scale.

I recommend: You can implement Trading Partner Integration software such as Red Prairie's.

Improve logistics efficiency with electronic data interchange (EDI)

You can do anything from gathering customer requirements to providing tracking information with Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) software.

I recommend: 123 EDI makes software exclusively for small businesses that can easily be integrated with QuickBooks. Companies such as Logistics Planning Services (LPS) will develop software exclusively for you and your partners. Check Business.com’s directory of electronic data interchange solutions vendors.

Use small business logistics services from UPS, FedEx or DSL

If you aren't in a position to purchase expensive hardware and software to manage your company's logistics quite yet, start with the Web. FedEx, UPS and DHL all have small business centers that can help.

I recommend: Sign up for small business services at DHL or UPS or FedEx to arrange for shipments and pickups, track deliveries, estimate freight costs and more.

Network for minority- and women-owned businesses

If you are a minority or women-owned business (MWBE) search for logistics companies and freight carriers that are also MWBE certified.

I recommend: Start at the MWBE directory.

Take a page from big business

Giant retailers use a system called Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) to manage multiple vendors and/or logistics companies. So can you.

I recommend: If you carry a variety of items from more than one vendor, make sure you never stock-out by having the vendors manage your inventory electronically or on-site. Learn more about the VMI method at VendorManagedInventory.com.

Stay current on the logistics industry

Companies need to stay apprised of the latest and greatest industry news including rules and regulations and technology like Radio Frequency Identification tags (RFID) and Global Logistics.

I recommend: To learn more about the logistic industry than you ever thought you wanted to know, go to LogisticsMgt.com.

It's reversible

Making returns painless for customers is a good way to build loyalty.

I recommend: You can manage reverse logistics yourself, or hire a logistics company to provide inspection and repair, such as Insite Logistics. Find reverse logistics companies on Business.com.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Don't promise anything through Marketing and Sales that you can't deliver. A successful logistics strategy is just as much about getting the customer the right product as it is about getting it there on time and in one piece. Be sure to monitor the service level of the logistics company you choose.
• •  If you will be sending your customer an order from multiple vendors, decide whether you will send everything from one point at one time or through multiple shipments and locations. Whoever is shipping the complementary product might skimp on his logistics costs, and you don't want to have to pay to replace lost or damaged items due to his penny-pinching ways.
• •  As fuel costs rise, so do shipping costs. Use the fluctuating price at the gas pumps to decide when its time to reevaluate the costs of your company's logistics provider and/or strategy.
• •  It is important to incorporate your customers' feedback and industry trends for successful logistics management. Soliciting feedback from your customers on your website or through check-up calls is a good way to find out what needs to be tweaked. Following up with customers also allows you to further evaluate the quality of the service provided by your logistics company.
• •  If you're just starting out, try to at least to correspond and confirm with your logistics company all transactions, via email, to keep a record of deliveries and issues.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Share information with other logistics management services

Blogs and electronic newsletters are increasingly becoming the media of choice for many small business owners looking for quick and efficient means to communicate with other like-minded professionals. Find an Internet blog or website that provides trust-worthy information on transportation management systems and attracts reliable posting participants.

I recommend: Join in the posts and blogs and read the articles at Transformation Enablers to keep in touch with industry news. Outsourced Logistics will keep you informed of the major stories and information affecting your business.

Read up on changes in business logistics

Logistics news and trends continues to dominates many of the transportation and global exchange publications available online and in print. It's a good idea to stay on top of the industry as whole so that you can know about changes that may be ahead of your current provider's abilities.

I recommend: Go to Traffic World for updates and coverage of the latest trends that concern the logistics industry. Logistics Management is an inclusive site that covers the industry in a variety of media, from blogs and posts to reporting and informational articles.

Receive logistics services alerts

Sign up for regular updates and email alerts to be sent directly to your email box to save time hunting for the latest information. Set up a separate email account to receive the newsletters and reports so that they don't interfere with your other business communications.

I recommend: 3PL Wire is a relatively new source of updated news and trend reporting on the logistics landscape that is becoming a popular resource for industry professionals. Keep up with all the happenings through the online sources of news provided by Transport Topics Online.

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Develop a culture of sharing information at your business. Ask each of your employees to regularly read at least one logistics and transportation newsletter or magazine and share the news and trends they've uncovered at staff meetings.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Free zone

A free zone, often abbreviated by the acronym FZ, is a specific area of land which has been designated as an area of free trade. This designation is made by the government of a country or region. Examples of free zones include ports, cities and other regions established for the purpose of free trading.

I recommend: The logistics free zone area in the Port of Beirut is explored and explained at PortDeBeyrouth.com.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange

The American Standard Code for Information Interchange is expressed with the acronym ASCII. The ASCII is used primarily when data transmission is taking place between a point of origin and an ending location. Characters set for use in the American Standard Code for Information Interchange include one hundred and twenty-eight letters, upper and lower case versions, as well as numbers and special symbols. Each of these characters is embedded with a seven-bit binary number.

I recommend: Detailed information with respect to The American Standard Code for Information Interchange can be found at CSUSB.edu.

Value added network

The value added network is a system which leases communication lines. The lines are leased from one communications common carrier. This carrier works to improve the communication line through added improvements, which often include error detection and a faster response time. Once these enhancements have been made, the value added network carrier allows others to utilize the service for a fee. Value added network is abbreviated as VAN.

I recommend: TheFreeDictionary.com offers addition detail with respect to the definition of the value added network.

Tare weight

The tare weight makes up the weight of a transported items container or packaging. It may also refer to the empty weight of a vehicle or the container which will be transporting a particular item or items from place to place.

I recommend: For a closer look at "What is tare weight?'." visit WiseGeek.com.

Repository

A repository is used as an area in which descriptions and behaviors of object may be stored. Some enterprise object examples would include requirements and policies, processes and important data, software libraries, upcoming and past projects, platforms utilized by businesses, entities and individuals and personnel information. It is a single point of definition used as a reference site for all resources in a system.

I recommend: TechTarget.com offers a definition of what a repository is and how it functions in logistics and other environments.

Maintainability

Maintainability refers to the measure of an item's ability to be retained or restored. This is used in reference to specific required conditions whereby personnel is required to perform maintenance via specified skills and levels of such skills. Maintainability requires prescribed resources and procedures for both maintenance as well as repair.

I recommend: Maintainability engineering information, details and opportunities may be explored at Mtain.com.