The process of planning, implementing, and managing efficient service flow from providers to customers — better known as service logistics — is one of the most complex organizational processes.
E.g., while traditional logistics focuses on the movement of goods, service logistics deals with delivering top-notch service-oriented offers, including repairs, installations, maintenance and consulting.
The key challenge of service logistics lies in navigating the nuances of supply chain management, which are fairly complex in their own right. Namely, effective service logistics ensures that resources are orchestrated in a way that guarantees the precise fulfillment of customer needs.
With the rise of new tech, many aspects of the process have become simplified. However, software solutions can only help when planning and infrastructure are polished.
When it comes to service logistics, adaptability is crucial. With customer expectations becoming more demanding, businesses simply need to think ahead and be prepared for any scenario that may come to pass.
Developing Sustainable Service Logistics Strategies
Effective service logistics strategies are sustainable, clearly laid out, well-coordinated and optimized.
While there is no definite list, some strategies still fare better than others. We'll briefly mention the most popular ones below.
Segmentation and Demand Forecasting
Segmentation and demand forecasting portend understanding customer needs and using historical data and market trends to forecast demand.
Effective predictions can help businesses optimize their operations, align resources, and meet customer expectations with precision.
Segmentation helps with classifying customers into distinct groups. Basic parameters include shared characteristics, behaviors and needs.
In other words, this service logistics strategy allows businesses to focus on the unique demands of each segment and deliver customized offers.
Demand forecasting portends an in-depth analysis of historical data, market trends, and any related external factors that may affect future customer demand. When efficient, the approach allows for allocating resources, managing inventory levels, and responding swiftly to potential demand fluctuations.
When combined, segmentation and demand forecasting empower businesses to tailor their services to specific customer segments and anticipate their needs.
Inventory Optimization
The importance of inventory optimization shouldn't be particularly difficult to grasp. Strategic management of inventory levels can make or break a business, as overstocking can be expensive.
Inventory optimization isn't one process. Rather, it's a set of complex techniques, which include:
Just-In-Time (JIT) Inventory Management
JIT focuses on precise timing. Inventory is stocked only when there are orders. Demand patterns are at the core of this technique, as precise predictions can help businesses match inventory levels with customer demand.
JIT minimizes storage costs but its efficiency relies heavily on accurate demand forecasting and stellar suppliers.
Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) Inventory Management
Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) calculates the optimal order quantity, thus minimizing ordering- and carrier costs.
It puts a stop to excessive ordering, which is one of the biggest issues businesses face. EOQ determines cost-effective quantity to order by considering order- and holding costs and demand rate.
Safety Stock Calculations
Safety stock calculations (or: buffer stock calculations) can help businesses bridge the gap between supply chains and customer demands.
This technique is particularly helpful with the efficient handling of unexpected demand fluctuations and supply delays as it prevents stockouts.
The calculation of safety stock considers lead times, demand variability, and desired service levels, among other factors (external, for the most part). Longer lead times or higher demand may require a larger safety stock and vice versa.
Typical methods used for buffer stock calculation include standard deviation analysis and probabilistic models. Historical demand data and forecasting can prove helpful, too. While much is left to individual calculations, the technique works best when fine-tuned to a 95% service level.
Routing and Scheduling
Efficient routes and schedules are a prerequisite for optimized service delivery and cost-efficiency. It's a pleasing platitude, but what does it exactly portend?
Efficient routing takes into account a number of factors, including but not limited to distance, traffic conditions, and service locations. Its main focus is to minimize travel time and fuel consumption (and all linked costs thereby).
Thankfully, route optimization software is not a novelty. Tools of this type come in various guises and may include optimization algorithms, route planning, scheduling, dispatching and real-time tracking.
Some of the best-rated solutions are Route4Me (highly praised for its user-friendliness), WorkWave Route Manager (for a mobile workforce), Badger Maps (focused on field service teams), RouteSavvy (recommended for small and medium-sized businesses), MyRouteOnline (optimal for planning multi-stop routes) and Onfleet (primarily a last-mile delivery management app).
Reverse Logistics
Lastly, there's reverse logistics to keep in mind. The term portends developing processes for product returns, repairs, recycling, and disposal.
This often-overlooked process is extremely important in terms of costs.
The main challenge of reverse logistics is handling product returns in a way that enables businesses to recover value.
In other words, this approach transforms poor post-purchase experience into opportunities and increases customer satisfaction. As such, it should be implemented in business processes and aligned with organizational goals.
