In this highly-competitive economy where manufacturing best practices are as efficient as they ever will be or when costs have been pared down to the barest without affecting Product Quality and Operations and when Product Design has been so studied to the point of being a commodity all together, Logistics can be the only Competitive Advantage a company can hope to gain.
I was with a prospective client for Sea Freight and his Company is one of many producers of Styrofoam Packaging which is pretty generic if you think about it. Their clients are the top market leaders in the Fast Food Industry in the country and it is presumed that it was the Fast Food Chain who provided the design specifications to all the styro makers in the country. Since Food franchises thrive on Product Standardization (where they derive their cost efficiencies), you can be sure that the Top 10 Styro makers would probably produce indistinguishable products of the same design. Of course!! These Fast Food franchisors would not allow any deviation from their specs. Therefore, price is the only differentiating factor but that makes for very slim margins and is no guarantee that you will get the order. So how do get the order?
My Prospect told me in evaluating a logistic provider, they do not only look at rates as basis for choosing one over the other. A more important factor is Customer Service. In his business, these Market-leading Fast Food Chains are very demanding when it comes to Lead times and Product Integrity while in transit to their provincial warehouses. Imagine a KFC or Jollibee that ran out of the Styro for their popular 1-piece Chicken order. How will they serve their order without the styro pack? They will never consider buying a substitute Styro pack without their Logo printed on it for the reason they do not know if the styro is food-safe or passed their own Quality Assurance Team nor will they dare risk their Brand should a customer accuse them of using unclean styro packs!!!!
Some of the complaints raised:
1. The container van was smelling of animal feeds, dirty, with holes and rotting floors. (Imagine if a KFC or McDo customer should take a picture of a dirty van unloading KFC or McDo styro packs.);
2. The container van was late for loading at my Prospect's warehouse and as a result, the van missed the boat and has to wait for the next Sailing date (Jollibee or McDo cannot serve their 1-piece Chicken orders);
3. The Shipping Line over-promised and as a result the van was Shut-Out (meaning the ship was too full to accomodate my Prospect's van);
4. The ship was delayed and missed its ETA at destination;
5. The container van helper was not properly-dressed, was not trained to handle the light but fragile styro cartons and could not count nor read the Bill of Lading resulting in the wrong items being loaded into the van;
Am sure every shipper has encountered the above plus more but the bottomline, my prospect's client is angry over the poor service and that will reflect in whether my prospect will get his client's approval when next shipment is due.
By the way, I would like to invite you to visit my Sulit Homepage as there are some business opportunities that you guys might be able to help me out with. If you are interested, just click the Sulit Logo below:
I was with a prospective client for Sea Freight and his Company is one of many producers of Styrofoam Packaging which is pretty generic if you think about it. Their clients are the top market leaders in the Fast Food Industry in the country and it is presumed that it was the Fast Food Chain who provided the design specifications to all the styro makers in the country. Since Food franchises thrive on Product Standardization (where they derive their cost efficiencies), you can be sure that the Top 10 Styro makers would probably produce indistinguishable products of the same design. Of course!! These Fast Food franchisors would not allow any deviation from their specs. Therefore, price is the only differentiating factor but that makes for very slim margins and is no guarantee that you will get the order. So how do get the order?
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| Did the Shipping Line leave your van behind? (courtesy of containerwest.com) |
My Prospect told me in evaluating a logistic provider, they do not only look at rates as basis for choosing one over the other. A more important factor is Customer Service. In his business, these Market-leading Fast Food Chains are very demanding when it comes to Lead times and Product Integrity while in transit to their provincial warehouses. Imagine a KFC or Jollibee that ran out of the Styro for their popular 1-piece Chicken order. How will they serve their order without the styro pack? They will never consider buying a substitute Styro pack without their Logo printed on it for the reason they do not know if the styro is food-safe or passed their own Quality Assurance Team nor will they dare risk their Brand should a customer accuse them of using unclean styro packs!!!!
 |
| Is the van fit for Food containers? (courtesy of containerwest.com) |
1. The container van was smelling of animal feeds, dirty, with holes and rotting floors. (Imagine if a KFC or McDo customer should take a picture of a dirty van unloading KFC or McDo styro packs.);
 |
| Did the ship arrive on the promised date, ETA? (courtesy of connect.in.com) |
3. The Shipping Line over-promised and as a result the van was Shut-Out (meaning the ship was too full to accomodate my Prospect's van);
4. The ship was delayed and missed its ETA at destination;
5. The container van helper was not properly-dressed, was not trained to handle the light but fragile styro cartons and could not count nor read the Bill of Lading resulting in the wrong items being loaded into the van;
Am sure every shipper has encountered the above plus more but the bottomline, my prospect's client is angry over the poor service and that will reflect in whether my prospect will get his client's approval when next shipment is due.
By the way, I would like to invite you to visit my Sulit Homepage as there are some business opportunities that you guys might be able to help me out with. If you are interested, just click the Sulit Logo below:
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