Company logistics processes - what should they look like and what do they consist of?

The efficient transport of goods requires the consideration of many factors that can help a company save a lot of money and multiply its profits. In order for this to be possible, a great deal of precise planning is required. Find out what the logistics process is and how its preparation will affect your company's bottom line.

Logistics processes - what are they actually?

The logistics process is a series of activities for the flow of goods from supplier to customer. The aim is to develop the most efficient practices, i.e. those that speed up the flow of materials as much as possible. An efficient transport system is crucial, as a company's profits depend on it. In other words, optimising logistics processes allows more goods to be transported in a shorter time. Thus, the company is able to accept more orders and achieve higher profits.

Why is logistics process management so important?

Logistics process design sometimes provides large savings. How the modelling of logistics processes affects the business success of a company can be seen from a domestic example. The reason for InPost's domination of the Polish courier market was the Paczkomat® machines. Thanks to them, a larger number of parcels are made up for a single loading. With fewer drivers retrieving more parcels from the warehouse, it is possible to deliver them in a shorter time.

The benefits are threefold. Customers pick up their orders sooner, on top of that from vending machines set up close to where they live. Fewer drivers also reduce the company's carbon footprint, especially as part of the company's fleet are electric vehicles. As a result, InPost can boast millions of satisfied customers and has achieved the status of the largest courier operator in Poland, while also being an environmentally friendly company.

The cooperation of companies and online shops with InPost ensures streamlined logistics processes, customer satisfaction and care for the environment. When running your own online business, logistics plays a huge role and can be crucial to success. The offer for companies from InPost includes options such as parcel subscriptions and fulfilment.

Types of logistical processes

The logistics processes in a company are made up of six factors. The first is the storage of the goods themselves. First of all, the enterprise should determine the area of a hall or more, taking into account the amount of space needed for storage. During the planning process, it is also important to determine the distribution of products in terms of their size and weight.

In order for the basic logistics processes to run properly, it is also necessary to plan the location of the warehouses. They should be located as close as possible to the main traffic arteries. Due to the large area of many countries, including Poland, the courier company should place them as evenly as possible in different points of the country.

In addition to the infrastructure for logistics processes, it is necessary to determine how goods are transported. It is at this stage that the routing of vehicles must be taken into account. In addition to this, the schedule of their arrival and departure of the trucks and the technical parameters of the vehicles are important. Well-planned transport allows more goods to be transported in a shorter time and with the lowest possible fuel consumption.

In companies, the structure of inventories is also important. It is according to the type of raw materials used and stored that logisticians plan their distribution, warehouse location and transport. This is particularly true for companies in an industry such as the production of hazardous materials (e.g. flammable or poisonous). In such situations, the locations where supplies are stored should not only have easy access to roads, but also a suitable distance from human settlements. This principle also forms the basis for planning the routes of vehicles that need to transport hazardous cargo away from towns.

The main logistics processes are complemented by concern for the quality of customer service and packaging management. In order to perform the first task correctly, it is essential to identify customer needs. The importance of this can again be seen in the courier business. The maximum cut-off time at InPost makes it possible to issue parcels the following day to customers who have placed an order even up to 20:00 the previous day. In order to facilitate logistics, packages should be easy to load and transport. For this reason (and also for environmental reasons), InPost encourages its customers to use the best possible packaging.

How does the planning of logistics processes take place?

The planning of logistics processes should start with a precise definition of the tasks to be carried out. In other words, to begin with, it is necessary to determine what will be transported and for whom. For example, in the case of courier companies, it is necessary to determine whether the service will only cover small or large-scale shipments. The execution of other activities depends on what the company's logistics processes are. One of these is to identify possible problems and create solutions to prevent them.

What else should be included in the planning of logistics processes?

The next step is to calculate the amount of resources needed to perform the logistics processes. Issues such as the size of the crew responsible for carrying out the tasks and the vehicle fleet needed to carry them out need to be taken into account. In the latter case, it is not always necessary. Instead, finding a subcontractor can be included in the planning. In addition, planning requires defining the expected performance and deadlines for the tasks. All this makes it possible to carry out the last activity, i.e. recalculating the profit and cost account.

Modern technologies in logistics processes

Logistics processes and systems are increasingly interlinked due to the benefits brought by the implementation of new technologies. An example is enterprise resource planning, or ERP, programmes. These are used for enterprise resource planning, covering most activities related to the company's operations: procurement, transport, supply chain management, accounting or communication between the company's various departments.

One of several examples of the use of modern technology in logistics is also the increasing use of RFID (radio-frequency identification) readers, or radio frequency identification systems. This technology successfully replaces the scanning of barcodes, as it allows goods to be identified from a greater distance. As a result, the warehouse employee does not have to approach each item individually, and this reduces the time needed, for example, to search for it on the shelf.