What is a multi-channel experience? It’s the experience a customer has of a brand gained from all interactions through managed and unmanaged points for the duration of that relationship.An example of customer engagement would be the repeated interactions that strengthen the emotional, psychological, and physical investing that a customer has in a brand. When coming up with a multi-channel strategy, there are several challenges.

The first challenge is that we’re in an increasingly attention deficit society. People sometimes need to be consistently reminded in order for them to act.

Secondly, we live in a “I want it now” society, which means that if we can’t get it instantly, we’ll go somewhere else.

Thirdly, there is a challenge of monetization.  How do you make the money you need with what you’re doing?

Here are three possible approaches to creating a multi-channel strategy:

1.) Choose your channels– strategic criteria for channel change and adoption (experience, pre-emptive strike, access, risk, and cost)

2.) Design your channels

3.) Create a plan

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Feel free to comment on the blog site and let us know which ones you like and possibly what was omitted.
1.) Share targeted volume to get better negotiated rates.  Negotiate up front before you start any business relationship by providing all the estimated facts you know of such as your freight shipping patterns, how much warehouse storage you will need, which warehousing services you may utilize, and so on.
2.) Create difficult SKU’s which can be confused.  Create easy to use SKU’s (stock keeping units) and descriptions. Example of what not to use: “SF-01-KY-LG-NY-GY”. Instead use LrgGrey107. Abbreviations become redundant and can cause picking errors. Keep it simple.
3.) Not asking them for ideas or feedback
Many times, customers not familiar with kitting, assembly and fulfillment don’t provide the whole picture up front and get charged more for being unorganized. This is what we specialize in and do day in and day out. We are the experts. Tap that free advice. Also – don’t ever be afraid to ask questions! This is your inventory!
4.) Not viewing them as a partner
Your Fulfillment 3PL is a direct extension of your company. Select a company who mirrors your same values and attitudes.
5.) Not sharing requirements up front
Many companies, such as Target, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and ShopNBC, have very specific casepack and labeling requirements which need to be followed or serious chargebacks can occur. Provide your fulfillment services with this information in full before beginning any projects with large company end users.
6.) Nickel and Diming them on every issue
Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater here. Negotiate on the bigger items such as monthly storage or order fulfillment. Labeling for example requires actual labels, ink, and labor — it’s a service that needs to be covered.
7.) Use cheap packaging
Your carton packaging says a lot about the quality of your brand. Using 2 ply cartons over 1 ply costs about the same, but provides much better protection in the shipping environment. Also take advantage of having your logo SKU and description printed right on your cartons. Many claims arise when customers use insufficient packaging. Always invest in the best possible custom packaging depending upon the fragility of your product. If it is damaged, there is no doubt you will be reimbursed, and the odds of it getting damaged drop considerably.
8.) Use cheap shipping carriers
This may save a buck or two up front, but it always bites you in the long haul. LTL ‘Break Bulk’ freight shipping carriers handle your shipment many times before its delivered, sometimes resulting in damage to your product. If they don’t honor claims and destroy your product, then what have you saved? Insist on reputable carriers that go direct, not carriers with numerous hubs they consolidate with.
9.) Don’t renegotiate when your business model changes
Many businesses change over the years as a client needs change in an ever changing world. Don’t be reluctant to send your provider an RFP with a few other reputable companies to keep your pricing in check.
10.) Leave out descriptions and reference numbers with new inbound receipts
Remember garbage in equals garbage out. Provide the SKU, description, qty, casepack, number of pallets, and job number for each pallet you send over in an easy to read packing list.
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(Source: Kevin Scarpati)

Here are some tips to increase your productivity and cut down on your labor costs:

1.)  Train your employees properly and you’ll enjoy a far more productive warehouse system. If you do this, the warehouse manager can focus more on working on improving the system, instead of having to supervise employees, and making sure they’re doing their job.

2.) Use the proper tools for the warehouse. This will increase productivity. Make sure you have the right tools on hand for your employees, and that there are enough of them available.

3.) Maintain what you have. Perform preventive maintenance on your tools and machinery to ensure they are running safely. Not only will this help increase productivity, it will also make your warehouse a safer place to work.

4.) Take advantage of smart planning with warehouse slotting. Most of the time spent in a warehouse by day full-time employees is spent traveling around the warehouse itself. With the proper slotting to the warehouse, you can cut down traveling time by up to 10%. This means that you cut down labor costs by 10% as well.

5.) Consider different software options to help you better track data in your warehouse, enabling you to make smarter decisions on your inventory. You’ll get more accurate feedback if you allow computers to track and perform calculations on the supplies in your warehouse.Software lets you automate the process of stocking as well, to assure you don’t run out, but that the same time overstock materials.

6.)  Consider specialized technology that is appropriate for the size of your warehouse. If you have a large warehouse, then you should utilize RFID technology, to completely automate data entry. There are also other options available for larger companies such as Warehouse ERP software, used to integrate all aspects of the business and supply chain into one manageable software.

These are some general tips on how to improve the management of your warehouse, and enhance the overall experience enjoyed by the customer.

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Packaging is beginning to affect a greater portion of a company’s global operations, according to Tom Blanck, principal and practice leader in the Packaging Optimization Practice of Chainalytics. Improvements in that area “have the opportunity to ripple throughout the supply chain,” he says. “They help lower transportation costs, maximize the utilization of a warehouse, affect pallet loads and cut down on labor.” Blanck says the rising cost of transportation has caused companies to become more aware of the possibilities of achieving savings through better packaging.

The key is to minimize the amount of air in a package. “The best way to reduce your transportation bill is not to ship something,” says Gary Girotti, vice president of Chainalytics’ Transportation Practice. For that reason, savings from packaging innovations are usually credited to a company’s transportation group. “We work to make sure that [the issue of] overall savings is corporately addressed, so that a company can understand that it’s a good thing for all.”

Often there’s tension within the organization as package designers struggle to achieve the right balance between efficiency and aesthetics. The latter is a subjective skill, while the supply-chain function requires a more “hard-core” approach, Girotti says. But waste is more than an issue of direct costs. Increasingly, companies are factoring in the need for sustainability and environmental responsibility. “Packaging needs to be more green,” says Blanck. “Sometimes that drives packaging costs up.” Companies need a system that can optimize the entire process, based on all relevant criteria.

Security is another key concern. Often a maker of electronics or other types of consumer goods will encase the item in hard-to-open packaging. But that approach can entail an excessive use of materials, with resulting higher transportation costs. (One possible solution is radio frequency identification technology, which allows for closer monitoring of high-value products.) The same dilemma occurs when packaging is geared toward minimizing damage to goods in transit. The tendency is to over-protect items, with an incomplete understanding of what kind of damage is likely to occur in various modes of transport. Girotti says companies need to understand what they are shipping, and how the product is moving.

Source: The Impact of Packaging on Transportation Efficiency and Sustainability

SupplyChainBrain

Studies have shown that employees feel the most comfortable in a FAIR work environment. Performance tends to be a fairer way to measure workers. Steve Hopper of the Progress Group recently gave this for an example.  He says,  “Think about measuring the productivity of two people working on an order-picking line who were supposed to pick 220 lines per hour. If one is picking anvils and the other is picking feather pillows, it is not a fair comparison. But when we set up a standard based on the content of the work, the worker can be measured more fairly. Having a fairer form of worker measurement makes for a better work environment and happier employees, he says. Workers thrive in an environment where they feel they are being measured fairly and accurately and where they are rewarded and empowered to do their jobs.”

Hopper says there are three factors that determine the performance of a worker: the method, technique and tools that a worker uses to perform a function; the pace at which he works; and time utilization, or the amount of time actually working vs. engaged in other activities. Companies wishing to improve labor performance need to address all three, but remedies do not have to be expensive or complex, he says.

“Often companies don’t take the time to evaluate how a worker is going about a task,” he says. “Sometimes simple, little changes can improve a worker’s method at little or no cost.” Using industrial engineering or crowd engineering techniques can improve elements of the job without investing in software or systems, he says. “It’s about finding the smartest way to perform a job.”

Better training, proper incentives and labor management systems can all help, he says. “But the very best thing a business can do is talk to and spend time with their associates. Don’t sit in an ivory tower. Ask the associate what is the right way to do the job and what tools and techniques will make them more effective.” 

(Source: Steve Hopper, supplychainbrain.com )

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Here are the five industries with significant growth potential in 2012:

1. Elder care – The need for senior care services and products will become even more pressing in years to come. Not only are baby boomers’ parents living longer; as they age into their own sunset years, they too will need these services. And this group has money to spend.
2. Health and wellness – The trend toward a healthy lifestyle is producing ample opportunity for businesses from frozen yogurt franchises to create-your-own-salad eateries to fitness centers to benefits consultants.

3. Warehousing – Companies are looking to save money wherever possible, and cutting the costs of owning or leasing space to hold merchandise and products can add significantly to a company’s bottom line.

Providing warehousing services and space, particularly for small businesses, shows plenty of opportunity for industry expansion.

Balsam Hill, for instance, might ship thousands of artificial trees, the bulk of its business, during the peak season — and one a day in the offseason. The company contracts with a third party for its warehousing so “I’m not paying overhead to have warehouse space that I don’t need in February,” founder and CEO Thomas Harman says.

4. Shipping/logistics – Logistics is the management of moving packages or shipments. It includes all aspects, including insurance claims, packaging, the best way to ship and pricing. Unishippers franchisees specifically target small to midsize businesses that do not have the resources to hire a logistics professional.

The industry is growing as consumers continue to move to e-commerce for their shopping needs. Shipping companies will also benefit from planned cuts to the U.S. Postal Service that will leave a lot of smaller merchants looking for economical ways to send their products to customers.

5. Outsourcing/staffing
Businesses learned during the recession — some quicker than others — how to cut without hurting business output by “recognizing the true value of technology in their day-to-day [operations],” Generation Equity’s Mackin says. “They don’t need the bookkeeper anymore, there’s QuickBooks to do the inventory. Not only do they get leaner and meaner, but they don’t have to rehire.”

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Source: The Street/Laurie Kulikowski

Logistics companies are moving away from strategies based either on customer service or cost leadership and toward mixed strategies that attempt to provide both, says Mary Holcomb, supply chain professor at the University of Tennessee.

This trend began to emerge about three years ago, Holcomb says. “From our 2007 study to our study this year, we have seen this strategy of ‘being all things to all people’ really increase.”

The economy is not the major driver of this trend, she says. “We saw a small uptick in 2008 of companies adopting a cost leadership strategy, which was related to the economy, but in the 2009 study that settled back and it didn’t really change the underlying trend.”

The balance between cost and service is often difficult for firms to find, Holcomb says. “Even with long-time customers, the balance often tilts between the two, which is indicative of a mixed strategy,” she says.

In what ways is your business feeling pulled to do this?  Thoughts?  www.adeptivsolutions.com