IT on Logistics - mi Trans International - Connecting Nations

Logistics services outsourcing

Today's economic climate is clearly causing gloom, doom, fear and often panic for the logistics industry. A host of factors - the credit crunch, unprecedented economic volatility, deteriorating consumer confidence, yo-yoing fuel costs, increased governmental  regulations, declining revenues, severe earnings and cash flow pressures, loss of pricing power and excess capacity - together are significantly impacting the industry's bottom line. This is the focus of this second edition of Logistics and Supply Chain Management. The basic themes and underlying structure of the book have not changed from  the first edition but as ideas progress and best practice gets even better, the need for revision  and up-dating becomes inevitable.

In today's highly competitive, global marketplace the pressure on organizations to find new ways to create and deliver value to customers grows ever stronger. Gradually, in emerging economies as well as mature markets, the power of the buyer has overtaken  that of the customer.The rules are different in a buyers' market. In particular customer service becomes a key differentiator as the sophistication and demands of customers continually increase. At the same time, market maturity combined with new sources of global competition has led to over-capacity in many industries leading to an inevitable pressure on price. Price has always been a critical competitive variable in many markets and the signs  are that it will become even more of an issue as the "commoditization" of markets continues. It is against this backdrop that the discipline and philosophy of logistics and supply chain management has moved to the centre stage over the last two decades. The concept of integration within the business and between businesses is not new, but the  acceptance of its validity by managers is. There has been a growing recognition that it is through logistics and supply chain management that the twin goals of cost reduction and service enhancement can be achieved. Better management of the "pipeline"  means that customers are served more effectively and yet the costs of providing that service are reduced.

BPO to the rescue
Business process outsourcing (BPO) represents a strategic and efficient life raft for companies striving to stay afloat in these tumultuous times. If implemented appropriately, BPO can be a fast and simple solution to rapidly reduce costs, help companies  survive the economic downturn and set the stage for future growth and expansion after the economic tsunami subsides.

Why BPO for Logistics companies?
Rapid cost reduction is mandatory for companies trying to survive the most challenging economic climate in over 60 years.  And while they have been laggards  in BPO uptake, logistics companies can gain significant cost savings value by leveraging BPO. For example, approximately 60 percent of a logistics company's operating costs are attributable to customer service. Of this,  roughly 60 percent is back-office  document processing or phone-based customer contact. Outsourcing these processes to a logistics industry-savvy service provider can deliver cost savings of 40 - 50 percent. But BPO delivers benefits which extend far beyond cost savings, including moving costs from fixed to variable, maintaining focus on the customer and retaining them in the face of operating cost reductions, placing focus on knowledge rather than intuition   to increase revenue, consolidating delivery operations to standardize business processes, getting even more out of shared services costs and delivering continuous improvement. Logistics companies which have included BPO in their corporate strategy are   better poised to weather this economic storm which threatens to sweep even the most established players away.

About MiTi

Effective development and management of your supply chain network will cut your costs and enhance your customer value. This is a sustainable source of advantage in today’s turbulent global marketplace, where demand is difficult to predict and supply  chains need to be more flexible as a result. In fact, the real competition today is not between companies, but between supply chains. The winning approach to supply chains is an integrated perspective that takes account of networks of relationships, sustainability and product design, as well as  the logistics of procurement, distribution, and fulfillment.

MiTi are a leading global business process outsourcing company. Deep industry and business process knowledge, a partnership approach, comprehensive  service offering and a proven track record enables MI-Trans to deliver business value to some of the leading companies in the world. MiTi is passionate about building a market-leading company valued by our clients, employees, business partners, investors  and communities.