Taking advantage of third party logistics providers' services<\/p>\n
Sudibyo M. Wiradji, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Warehousing can not be separated from the operation of a
\nmanufacturing company. This is why many industrial estates have
\nprovided warehousing facilities for their tenants.<\/p>\n
In addition to inhouse warehouse facilities provided by an
\nindustrial estate, tenants or other companies operating outside
\nthe estate could also benefit from professionals to manage their
\ndistribution and supply activities.<\/p>\n
Major warehouse providers generally use more advanced
\ntechnology in their warehouse management such as through the
\nimplementation of the Internet enabled warehouse management
\nsystem (WMS). The use of advanced technology such as Barcoding,
\nASRS (Automatic Store and Retrieval System), Cross-docking,
\nWarehouse Management System, Vendor Managed Inventory and
\nEfficient Consumer Response (ECR) are also on the increase.<\/p>\n
Several warehouse service providers such as RPX warehouse,
\nDHL-run warehouse, TNT-run warehouse and PT ABX Logistics
\nIndonesia-run warehouse are already familiar with the WMS system
\nand several others are on the way. RPX Warehouse handles
\nwarehouse services for Federal Express (FedEx).<\/p>\n
"We are currently implementing a warehouse management system
\nwhich is fully Internet enabled. This will enable our staff and
\nour customers to view and transact in the system anywhere with
\nInternet access," said PT ABX Logistics Indonesia's General
\nManager Saut Simanjuntak.<\/p>\n
DHL's Commercial Technical Advisor John Benshop said that DHL
\nis constantly researching and enhancing the use of information
\ntechnology (IT) in warehousing management.<\/p>\n
There are many aspects included in warehousing from simple
\nstorage to complex inventory control and supply chain management.
\nThis can include a "Virtual Warehouse" system which enables users
\nto access stock levels and complete orders from anywhere in the
\nworld even to rerouting shipments.<\/p>\n
RPX Group's CEO Hasha E. Joesoep said that efforts are now
\nunderway to provide RPX Warehouse with modern material-handling
\nequipments including shelving, pallet racking, work benches,
\nwarehouse accessories and electronic\/diesel forklift, storage
\nsystem (racking and shelving) and the supporting IT system (WMS)<\/p>\n
Indonesia's warehouse providers that have adopted WMS remain
\nsmall or about 30 percent. But the awareness of the need to adopt
\nit has grown.<\/p>\n
The warehousing management activities include the receipt of
\ngoods, quality checks on goods, storage of goods in a suitable
\nenvironment, inventory counts, retrieval and consolidation for
\ncustomer orders and labeling and repacking for transporting.<\/p>\n
Security is also a major concern for the warehouse providers.
\n"We are responsible for the safe storage and delivery of our
\nclients' goods. We provide a dedicated secure area and access
\ncontrol along with 24-hour, 7-day-a-week physical security and
\nclosed circuit TV," John Benshop said.<\/p>\n
Saut said that PT ABX Logistics Indonesia placed inventory
\naccuracy as its utmost priority. "We are fully accountable for
\nthe goods we store for our customers and we will do our best to
\nensure safe-keeping. A good warehouse management system is also
\nrequired so that goods can be located quickly and inventory
\nreports provided to the customers promptly if required," he
\nadded.<\/p>\n
For TNT, the main aspects in managing warehouse are accuracy,
\nspeed, cost-effectiveness and reliability. "With high accuracy of
\nrecords and documentation, TNT can improve the speed of orders
\nand avoid stock obsolesence.<\/p>\n
"In every process of order fulfillment, from receiving, put-
\naway, picking to dispatch, the speed will shorten the time to
\nconvert orders into cash, which, in turn, will improve a
\ncompany's cash flow. Sometimes high speed means high cost and to
\nminimize cost, every process of order fulfillment must be lean
\nand minimize non-value added activities. And, last but not least,
\nall must be consistent or reliable," said TNT's Marketing Service
\nManager Safitri Dmayanti.<\/p>\n
Currently, TNT manages 110,000 square meters of warehouse
\nspace with 200 trucks moving out per day.<\/p>\n
In the past decade, almost all multinational companies have
\ntaken advantage of using the warehouse service provided by
\nlogistics providers or commonly known as 'Third Party Logistics
\nProvider' (3rd PLP) when they are engaged in production, import
\nand export activities. Dozens of logistics providers can be found
\nin the Tanjung Priok sea port in Central Jakarta, Tanjung Priok
\nin East Java and the Soekarno Hatta Airport in North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Producers or manufacturers spend up to 3.5 percent of the
\ntotal value of products on warehouse services.<\/p>\n
Before being transported to distribution points like
\nhypermarkets, supermarkets, shops or traditional shops locally
\nknown as warung, the finished products should first be stored in
\na warehouse, depending on the nature of the products. For goods
\nthat easily decay like food or medicine, they should be stored in
\na refrigerated warehouse with cool temperature or a cold storage.<\/p>\n
Only advanced industries have equipped themselves with their
\nown warehouse. For cost considerations, many companies outsource
\ntheir warehousing activities to professional companies.<\/p>\n
According to Hasha E. Joesoep, services provided by
\nprofessional warehouses operators include inventory control and
\nmanagement, order fulfillment and processing, packaging and
\ncrating services and integrated logistics call center as a single
\ncontact point.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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