Chicago's Leader in Warehousing and Distribution, Presents its Blog:

When manufacturers or importers find themselves without storage facilities they may often try to deal with the problem by building their own spaces on site. However, unless this is ongoing business, this can usually prove to be an expensive way to do it. On the scene is the Chicago public warehouse facility which will take care of excess stock until the end user is ready for it. Chicago fulfillment takes care of the needs of manufacturers and importers when they find themselves unable to handle all the goods.

The problem lies with one off or larger than normal orders for goods that have to be supplied at a future date. The importer or manufacturer cannot hope to store the goods in good condition because he is normally more concerned with delivery dates. However, making use of other storage facilities in the area will allow him to take on more work to allow him to focus on his core buisness. For example, take the importer who will supply a certain number of goods to a nationwide chain of outlet stores. When his goods come into the country, very often they are huge amounts which have to be broken down. Now what he needs are facilities where these bulk goods can be broken down, repackaged perhaps, and sent on to the vendors in the countryside. This can be a logistical nightmare, particularly for small suppliers, so having the ability to use space that is rented is a godsend to say the least.

He will not have to rent space, rent workers to repackage, or indeed, find the packaging because very often the warehouse facilities (3PL) will handle all of it.  It would be a one stop shop for anyone who imports goods. Once he has taken the order and his goods arrive in the area, he can then leave it to the storage facility to carry on with the work leaving him free to carry on selling.


These storage facilities usually have high ceilings, good ventilation and sometimes controlled temperatures which may be necessary in some circumstances. It also means that he can relax in the knowledge that the goods will not perish therefore no losses. State of the art lifting and loading machines also mean that the goods will not be damaged while the goods are away in storage. Otherwise this would bring complaints from all sides for sure. Once his reputation is shot, he will find it hard to gain the trust of his customers back so it is better to keep everything safe in the first place.

Of course, contracting these services out to other people does not come cheap, however, the cost is borne by the end user who accepts what he has to pay.

 Click Here: All qualified new accounts receive 1 month free storage.

If you can't keep up with today's technology and growth you will not last very long in this economy; it is very demanding for everyone. Each company demands so much from the next and the next right on down the line to where it literally forces each business to move forward and improve their existing ways. In order to provide excellent service and stay ahead of the competition.  Take warehousing for example; instead of just renting or buying out a large building and storing boxes you must have some state of the art equipment to run a profitable company.  Warehousing is a very large industry, if you have a company that made a house hold item that was widely distributed to all of the major department stores but you were based in Chicago you would more than likely choose a local Chicago Public Warehouse to handle warehousing and distribution.  This would free up space at your planet, and also keep traffic down from pick-ups and delivers.

The average warehouse has very high ceilings; along with many shelving units and maintain high quality storage facilities; some provide a repacking service with shrink wrap which is very important keeping items from damage or freshness. The service needs to be efficiently run to ensure the products safety including keeping items cold or frozen; which require special refrigerated departments. And with that they would also need back-up generators in case a loss of power, these things are very important; considering damages could be in the millions.

Inventory is also important to consider and losing a company's product is not very professional; many warehouse use computerized inventory to ensure quality storage. In this time and age even a warehouse facility should provide unique needs for the consumer's demands which can actually be very extensive; but if you cannot provide what they are looking for in a service then they will go somewhere else for their needs.

Having a door to door service is excellent public relations even having a direct store delivery arranged; you need to make your customer happy with the services you provide. Pick up their merchandise right from the factory and delivering directly to the warehouse, track all of the inventory instantly, package and shrink wrap all of their products. Then when it comes time from delivery to the final destination whether it be a department store or a restaurant it will be delivered right from you and they know that they can depend on your services no matter what it is.

So all in all you know what your customers needs are and it is your responsibility to provide quality service to them with state of the art technology and excellent security to protect the consumer's interest and products. Public Warehouses and logistic divisions are a good way to protect and store any product and deliver them in a timely manner.

Lisa Acker recently stored the overstock from her store/planet in a Chicago Public Warehouse. He used a Chicago 3PL warehouse to package and distribute his merchandise to the various vendors through out the Midwest. Click Here All qualified new accounts receive one month free storage.

Many companies are deviating from having their own warehouses and transportation services to that of contracting with various fulfillment services such as Neill Cartage & Warhouse. The use of third party logistics, or 3PL, means a substantial cost savings to companies who would ordinarily have to lease or otherwise contract these services. For the small company who lacks space for building a warehouse, with room for a fleet of trucks, the cost can be prohibitive. For companies who have the space, but don't currently have warehouse or transportation services, the capital expenditure may not be within the scope of their current budget allowance.

For many companies, contracting with a fulfillment services company is easier and cheaper than doing the work themselves. After all, they don't have to worry about storage, transportation, or distribution of the material. With a phone call to the 3PL company, they arrange for the material to be shipped to their customer or they pre-arrange a schedule for a specified amount of product to be released to the customer on certain days of the week or month. They don't even have to call a trucking company, since most fulfillment services companies have their own fleet of trucks for transportation of goods. It takes the responsibility off the company, and they can concentrate on producing more product.

 

Qualified new clients can receive 1 months free storage.

Lindsay Ellis, Head of the Logistics Sector Group and a partner at leading Law firm Wright Hassall LLP gives the following cautionary note to service providers in the Logistics sector based upon a recent High Court ruling. Read the full article at the following web-link

http://www.hillman-consulting.co.uk/logistics_providers_be_careful_what_you_sell.htm

Good business people are always looking for ways to save money, while also maintaining good quality products and services. Also, many companies, in an attempt to save money, are outsourcing anything they can to other companies. For example, a 3PL (Third Party Logistics) firm could help a business that is unfamiliar with the city find a Public Warehouse for their products they may want to ship to the area. There are many benefits to outsourcing the logistics part of supply chain management. Below is a list of ways companies can and have benefited from using these third party companies to handle their logistics issues:

1. The companies have saved a lot of money by switching to a third party logistics firm. The cost effectiveness comes in with the money companies save in terms of labor. By a hiring a firm, you do not have to pay your own employees to do the logistics part of the supply chain. Considering labor is the most expensive part of a business, this is really where a lot of savings can be made, since most third party companies do not charge as much as it would to hire a team of logistics people to work for your company.

2. When you use a third party logistics team that is located in the city where you will be storing or sending products or both you get the advantage the third party company has of their knowledge of the area. Usually, third party logistics companies can get really good rates on storage for products, since they know the area and who to go to.

3. Finally, third party logistics companies can customize their services to your business's needs. Sometimes it can be hard for a logistics team that works for your company to have the resources to meet all of the requirements that come down from management. When you outsource this work, the third party wants to please their clients, so they will have better resources to meet most, if not all, of the requirements of management.

If you or your company is considering any kind of outsourcing, it is obviously, important to do all of the necessary research first. A company can only save money through outsourcing if the third party keeps the standards of their clients and if they keep their clients happy. If you choose a third party firm and you are unhappy with their work, do not be afraid to tell them so, and if the problem is not solved you should do something different. When the wrong third party firm is chosen, it can cost the company countless amounts of money, so it is important to get it right the first time. When done properly, third party logistics firms can really help a company with saving money and by giving valuable resources to their clients.

 

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Sometimes, owning, manning, and operating a functioning warehouse just isn't economically in the cards. In such cases, many businesses turn to third-party logistics (3PLs) to do their warehousing, storage, and often even transportation. Typically, 3PLs offer a wide variety of warehouse storage and service, depending upon the customer needs.

Transportation is typically an integral part of the 3PL operation. For many businesses, it is simply not cost effective to haul freight. Hauling one's own freight, unless there are massive amounts of it, requires a lot of expenditures and investments that many businesses aren't willing or able to make. Trucks and trailers obviously carry a huge price tag. Then, there probably must be adequate volume being frequently shipped to justify employing drivers. Also, depending upon the weight and size of the trucks and freight to be moved, special licensing can be necessary. Depending upon production speed, onsite warehouse space may then be necessary, in order to amass enough completed product to make shipping worth the cost. Issues of transportation can often be much more cheaply solved using a 3PL.

Often, the cost for storage on one's own property may not be worth it. For many businesses, storage space is limited. Factory space is much more effectively used for production, rather than storage. Some businesses, such as operations that are located in crowded, metropolitan areas, have very little extra space, and therefore storage is basically impossible. For any such business, going with a 3PL for storage and warehousing purposes is fiscally reasonable. Plus, depending upon the type of storage required, having a warehouse that fits the needs of the product can be very expensive. If, for instance, your products need to be stored in a climate controlled facility, owning and maintaining that technology can be much more costly than storing with a 3PL.

If there is a constant flow of product going in or out, full time warehouse employees are just one more expenditure that a business faces with storing onsite. Since 3PLs have massive amounts of freight being stored, and constantly coming and going, having a fully staffed warehouse makes sense. Oftentimes, when businesses do their own storage and transportation, the volume isn't sufficient to justify hiring drivers and warehouse workers. This typically means that employees who specialize in other areas have to take time away from production to fill those temporary positions.

3PLs are the solution to many businesses' warehousing and transportation needs. They can be extremely cost effective when compared to the price of onsite storage and maintenance.