All warehouses, from home garages used for small businesses, to massive, automated facilities, rely on picking and packing best practices to safely and efficiently move merchandise from shelving to shipping. If you oversee a warehouse of any size, it’s vital to ensure you’re following the best practices for your pick and pack ship process. Picking and packing best practices, such as choosing the best picking method for your warehouse, ensuring flow from storage to your shipping area, and use of pick and pack software solutions to minimize errors, will enhance safety and efficiency. These pick ..read more

International dropshipping has been presented by many as the ultimate work from anywhere business. There are no warehouses or office buildings, only you and a laptop. Like most things that seem too good to be true, international dropshipping has downsides and struggles that need to be met head on if you want to succeed.  Most dropshipping involves using international suppliers to both source and ship products to customers anywhere in the world. Fulfillment processes will depend on the relationship between the dropshipping business and the supplier. Services such as returns processing and ..read more

There are many types of warehouse storage systems that third-party logistics (3PL) companies utilize. Freight can come in all kinds of shapes and sizes that necessitate different storage methods. Each solution is unique and offers special benefits to both the 3PL and the shipper.  According to FreightWaves, the warehouse storage market had a strong 2022. This gives shippers better access to different types of warehouse storage systems. Pallet racking systems Wire partitions Static shelving Mobile shelving Mezzanine flooring Before picking a system, shippers must assess their needs to id ..read more

3PL track and trace is a tool that comes in handy when you hire a 3PL to move or store your freight for you. Knowing where your freight is at any given time is important so you can not only know that it’s in safe hands, but also know when you should expect to have it arrive.  A 3PL track and trace tool is a service that many 3PL providers offer to their customers. It allows clients to track their freight throughout the journey. Track and trace provide visibility from the moment the freight is picked up,  through where it’s located in a warehouse, and when it’s dropped off at the cust ..read more

How much warehouse space do I need for my business inventory? Looking into warehouse solutions is the next step if you’re expanding inventory or stepping up your eCommerce game. Understanding space utilization can prevent you from entering into agreements that don’t meet your business needs.  When calculating the storage needs of a business, it’s necessary to calculate the average freight dimensions and the shipping frequency. The length, width, and height measurements of standard boxes and pallets are helpful in finding the exact square footage needed.  Calculations should take stac ..read more

A full breakdown of procurement vs logistics would reveal a great number of common elements. For some organizations, a procurement team and a logistics team are one and the same. In others, they’re related partners that rely on each other’s skills and services. It’s important to understand the relationship between procurement and logistics in supply chain.  Procurement is the practice of finding vendors, securing raw materials, and arranging purchases. The goal is to make sure a company has everything it needs to produce and distribute a product long-term. Logistics covers the processes t ..read more

In any supply chain, there is a straightforward and desired method behind obtaining goods, transporting them to a warehouse or distribution hub, and then routing them all over the country. To be effective in this process, you will need a winning strategy, and milk run logistics just might be the answer. Milk run logistics is a consolidated method of procuring goods and distributing them using lean logistics. Established routes for a single transport with multiple mixed loads from several suppliers to a single warehouse facility or distribution center is the central part of what makes this syst ..read more

When a trailer’s door rolls open, the dock to stock process doesn’t end until goods are placed in their designated area within the warehouse. Though this process is only four steps, each step is crucial and must be done carefully for the best result to be achieved. Many businesses struggle to perform this simple, but crucial logistical operation successfully. Fortunately, we have some tips that can help you improve your operations.  At R+L Global Logistics, our leadership team with a combined 80 years of logistics experience recommends using these tips to improve your dock to stock proces ..read more

Reducing logistics costs as a whole means being aware of your operations at every level. Your logistics can refer to a number of different operations from customer shipping services to making sure your office has enough lightbulbs. If you are just starting to build momentum with your business, analyzing your logistics budget is crucial. Good practices from the start can save you later.  The Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) has highlighted the rising costs of inventory management and transportation. Proper planning is needed to reduce spending and streamline logisti ..read more

When it comes to fulfilling orders, retailers are often torn between direct shipments vs drop shipments. Figuring out which shipping method works best for your business is essential when you’re a retailer or supplier. But before you can determine which method that is, it helps to know some of the benefits of each.    The main difference between direct shipment vs drop shipment is this: Direct shipping is best for suppliers that want to ship directly to their customers, rather than using retailers or wholesalers. Dropshipping is best for retailers that are just starting up and th ..read more