If your company is planning to grow, then the need for end-to-end (E2E) logistics management should be a crucial part of your expansion strategy.
Without a well-designed solution for this problem, your business could lose track of its own supply chain and deliver inconsistent results for unhappy customers.
By contracting a 4PL provider, your business can rest easy knowing that its supply chain management is being handled by experts in their field.
“End-to-end logistics” is defined as the entire supply chain, including procurement, storage, inventory management, quality control, distribution, transportation, last-mile delivery, and even after-sales service.
An “end-to-end provider,” therefore, would be a company which provides the majority of these services, such as AFS Logistics.
If this blog doesn’t answer all of your questions on E2E logistics services, AFS Logistics has all the information you need as your business expands.
Full Visibility
For E2E providers and their customers, having control over a majority of the processes in the supply chain means having a complete and in-depth understanding of it all.
By connecting each piece, these providers remove any difficult handovers between carriers while keeping tabs on each item. This provides more accurate tracking for the supplier and the end-user.
Relevantly, Australia Post’s Delivery Experience Report 2021 found that real-time tracking is important to 74% of customers and regular tracking notifications are preferred by 59%.
In the national postal service’s eCommerce Industry Report 2022, it was also found that 59% of businesses plan to invest in tracking technology.
It’s clear that full visibility of the supply chain will continue to be important for businesses and customers.
Such visibility also provides a better understanding to the supplier or logistics provider about where improvements can be made.
When supply chain management is broken into pieces and handed to different companies, it can be difficult to understand where the inefficiencies are originating. A more comprehensive overview removes this disconnect and highlights the issues and opportunities, so they can be dealt with.
Consistent Delivery
Once these inefficiencies are managed, delivery performance becomes more reliable, saving time for customers and money for suppliers.
With the knowledge that more of your deliveries will be received on time, your business can capitalise on this quality service, increasing feedback from happy customers.
Not only will the delivery time become more consistent with an E2E logistics strategy, but the product quality will become consistent too.
Some 3PL and most 4PL providers will offer some kind of quality assurance testing, giving suppliers peace of mind and their customers a favourite new brand.
With one pair of hands on suppliers’ products at all times, it will be far easier to identify where any errors occur and lead to goods being delivered in full, intact, and on time.
Market Insights
Delivery times aren’t the only insight that can be gained and optimised from an E2E logistics provider.
Specialist providers like AFS Logistics have their own tools and technology available to analyse their performance and prove their worth to customers across the supply chain.
MOVEiT technology, for example, is AFS’ proprietary cloud-based logistics management system, designed by supply chain experts to manage all dispatch & delivery processes.
This single platform allows users to process consignments, labels and barcodes in different formats to suit each carrier. This provides customers with real-time monitoring rather than simple dispatch notifications.
Technology also supports demand forecasting. This allows 4PLs to optimise the supply chain during busy periods, manage complex delivery networks, and maximise asset utilisation.
Is E2E For You?
Not all businesses are quite ready to expand with end-to-end logistics services, but it’s a sure thing that most can benefit from it.
If you’re ready to upgrade your business and connect each piece of the supply chain, get in touch with AFS Logistics.
