How IMS Can Streamline Supply Chain and Save You Shipping and Logistics Costs

IMS aims to serve our customers by saving them money in a variety of ways. Whether we’re helping you decide between our various methods for manufacturing your parts, advising on the best process to paint them, or reducing churn with our flexible assembly and kitting options, our experts offer decades of deep insight into the best way to simplify the manufacturing process and reduce costs. Additionally,  streamlining the supply chain by addressing shipping and logistics costs allows us to extend these benefits even further.

Streamlining the Supply Chain

Shipping

In a nutshell, streamlining your shipping and logistics chain guarantees that orders and parts are created and delivered on. time, it also reduces headaches down the line. This is because less time is spent scrambling to track down orders, fill gaps in your deliveries, and manage all of the logistical fallout from having issues in perhaps the most critical area of your supply chain.

Here at IMS we are keenly aware that shipping is the stage-gate between our facility and our customers. This sets the pace for the entire relationship between the production facility and product inventory. Delivery of the product is essentially the first step in the production process, so it is critical to all of the activities that take place afterwards.

Now when it comes to shipping there are a few ways that we can help save both time and money. The first is with volume. This includes our assembly and kitting options, which help you reduce the volume and the number of shipments needed to fulfill orders.

Another area where we can help is with the frequency of our shipments. We work closely with our customers to plan part shipments in advance so that they can be delivered on a regular schedule. This allows them to have confidence that they’ll have what they need with a defined delivery schedule that also permits for more time to adjust to any issues that might arrive.

Logistics

When looking at logistics costs specifically, the logistics considerations that we help cut down on are most often paperwork related ones. One specific way we address this is by setting up blanket ordering programs, which use a predetermined trigger that generates another order so we can send another batch of parts out on time. This not only helps with the ordering and manufacturing costs but also minimizes the need for the purchasing department to waste time cutting new purchase orders.

Spending time understanding the unique situation of our customers helps us work together to find the best solution. For example, we work with a customer whose facility is located several hundred miles away. They have their own delivery truck and over time we’ve gotten into a rhythm where we can maximize the value on each of their trips. They come to our facility periodically to deliver both packaging materials and raw materials, and at the same time we make sure their next order is ready so they can pick up completed parts at the same time. This allows them to have a 2-way trip, which both minimizes the number of trips they have to make while ensuring that a truckload leaves their facility and a truckload arrives on the same day to help alleviate space constraints.

At the end of the day there are numerous different ways that we can work with you to simplify your manufacturing processes as well as streamlining the supply chain, and it all starts with getting to know the people we’re working with. Contact us today if you want to learn more about how we can help you save time, money, and logistical headaches.