White Glove Home Delivery Blog

Your third-party home delivery carrier plays a vital role in your retail business. As often the last impression made upon your customers is at the point of delivery, your carrier must clearly reflect the quality and service your customers have come to expect through their interaction with your brand in the earlier phases of the sale.

After 59 years of business in San Diego, California, Top 100 Retailer, Jerome's Furniture, celebrated the grand opening of it's newest location this past Thursday.  Among the many attendess at the South Bay store in Torrence, CA were the Navarra family, Jerome's senior management team and Mayor Scotto to celebrate Jerome's ninth locaiton in Southern California. 

The reverse logistics is often neglected among retailers, even though it will almost certainly have an impact on the bottom line. Reverse logistics is the "process of handling products returned by customers"and can include your company's return policy, technology tools, Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA), third-party logistics providers (3PL), facility layout, item flow, etc.

A Journal of Commerce report detailed an across the board increase in third-party logistics (3PL) revenue last year, up nearly 6% over the previous year. One of the 3PL areas highlighted was an 8.4% growth in value-added warehousing and distribution. This is a key trend emerging in logistics that more and more companies are taking advantage of. But what exactly is it, and why should you consider it?

The Journal of Commerce recently reported a rise in US Third-Party Logistics provider’s revenue, up nearly 6%. Notable among the areas of 3rd Party Logistics expansion is domestic transportation -- the smallest but fastest-growing segment, posting a 12.2% rise in net revenue last year. This healthy increase in revenue signals a rise in demand for third-party transportation. So what's driving all this demand?

Armstrong & Associates, a supply chain market research and consulting group, recently released its 2012 3PL Market Analysis and 2013 Predictions Report. According to the report, gross revenues in the domestic Third Party Logistics market increased 6% over the course of 2012; specifically, 3PL revenues rose to $141.8 billion, up from $133.8 billion in 2011. The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) paralleled this increase, in what is referred to as a “slow dance” by the report. Furthermore, Armstrong & Associates predict that this slow, steady 3PL revenue growth will continue through 2013, with another 4-6% increase over 2012 numbers.

Some specific facts and figures:

Even with a relatively weak economy, the furniture industry proves to be on the rise. Combined in-store and online purchases are forecast to grow 16.6 percent in the second quarter, according to an IBM forecast. This is due to a number of factors in the changing economy, according to retail and analytic experts:

 

After 14 years of negotiations, the new Hours of Service Regulations were enacted by the U.S. Transportation Department on July 1, 2013. Here are five things you need to know about the new trucking regulations:

1. Upon heavy penalty, drivers must not drive more than 11 hours straight
2. Drivers may not exceed 14 hours of on-duty time
3. Both general license (non-CDL) for commercial vehicles from 10,001 to 26,000 pounds and Commercial Driver's License (CDL) for heavier vehicles are accountable under the new regulations
4. Annual trucking costs will increase an estimated 3% due to regulations (according to FTR Associates, a leading trucking industry Forecaster)
5. Most state laws automatically follow the federal rules for intrastate operations

Warehouse logistics represents a big and complex piece of the supply chairn puzzle in and of itself. With the ever-increasing volume and complexity of tracking and receiving of merchandise, storage, and inventory issues, handling your own warehousing has become more difficult and expensive. And if it’s not already your forte, as is the reality for most retailers, then your time, resources, and expertise are much better served focused on sales and merchandising, not running the warehouse.

Scott Swartz of MetraTech Corp believes that the supply chain industry, more than any other field, has experienced the greatest impact as the result of globalization. It's exciting, but also challenging. Companies large and small are now looking at their distribution services in different ways; managing costs and keeping customers happy are, as always, of paramount importance, but so too are new requirements such as customs, differing tax systems and language localization.

So what's needed in order to make your supply chain work in the face of a global environment? Swartz stresses optimization and flexibility, as well as risk reduction and transparency into existing processes (and proactivity if these processes need to be updated).