Prepare for peak season with supply chain strategies including staffing, inventory forecasting, and order processing upgrades.
Artificial intelligence is transforming logistics with predictive analytics, route optimization, and warehouse automation.
Learn how FW Logistics improved employee well-being through new wellness initiatives focused on health, engagement, and morale.
View three effective logistics strategies to help your business grow its market reach and improve distribution efficiency with FW Logistics.
Apr. 27, 2018
I know that we keep harping on the trucking shortage, but the struggle is real. And it’s about to start affecting the direct consumer.
According to USA Today, reported through The Hustle.co, there is a shortage of 51k truck drivers nationwide. I know that companies like FW Logistics is paying top dollar to hire in some new drivers and the race is on through just about every other trucking company as well.
There have been so many articles that I have read in the last few weeks, on trying to encourage the younger generation to replace the baby boomers. The logistics industry is just trying to keep up with the boom of eCommerce partnered with the reliable truckers that have been trucking for the last 25 years. It just so happens that the timing is a bit off.
So what does that mean for the consumer? Well, since wages are increasing, by as much as 10% just in the last year, the price of product is going up and consumers are going to pay.
Unfortunately, companies that have been covering the shipping costs to keep their prices low, are going to be in a bad place if they don’t pass off some of the cost.
“Tyson Foods — the country’s biggest chicken distributor and the geniuses behind Any’tizers — say they’re going to have to increase the cost of your favorite frozen tenders to offset the $200m increase in cost.” -TheHustle.co
3PL companies like FW Logistics have an advantage to keeping our pricing somewhat reasonable due to our ability to flex into warehousing space and using trucks that we already own, but some logistics firms just aren’t that lucky.
We will keep you updated on the industry and in the meantime, let us know if you want a new career. We’ve got the work and need more people like you.
Shannon Nute, MBA, Marketing Specialist, FW Logistics
February 29, 2018 | Earth City, Missouri – FW Logistics, a top 30 warehousing solution in the United States, announces today that they, once again, have expanded by opening another 240,000 square foot location in Earth City, MO with 85 trucks available.
Established in 1949, FW Logistics is one of the oldest full service 3PL logistic solutions in the nation, fulfilling Logistics and supply chain needs, from raw materials and industrial to retail supply chain. FW Logistics prides it’s self on their ability to accommodate any supplier’s situation from food grade to hazmat. Their facilities are ISO 9001 and 14001 certified, OHAS certified, certified to handle class 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 chemicals, and also GMP superior rating certified through AIB International. With 8 million square feet of warehousing space and 85 trucks running across the country daily, eCommerce solutions have become everyday life for them.
“Our goal is to expand to accommodate the ever-growing demands of eCommerce and the overflow from any manufacturer.” said Mike Dieckhaus, Director, Sales and Business Development for FW Logistics. “With the way that the economy is growing now, the consumer is wanting to buy, and they want their product now. Being able to accommodate just about every company, in every industry out there, gives us the competitive edge that we can provide to our clients. We make them successful and everyone wins.”
Opening this new multiuser warehouse, is just the start of FW’s expansion plans for 2018. A new, more user-friendly website is in the works for the first quarter of 2018 along with a more direct customer service approach for faster communication and quicker customer solutions via instant chat on the web and a live person upon calling the easy to remember 877-FWDRIVE phone number.
About Earth City Location
FW encourages clients to visit one the of the newest, state of the art, locations in Earth City, MO. Here people can personally meet the staff while playing a game of shuffle board and tour one of the warehouses, that are connected to the front office lounge. The location is already busy with shipments coming through the door on new FW Logistics trucks. The Earth City location is where clients meet to come up with solutions that meet budgets, expectations and deadlines.
If you are a business leader, whether you be the owner or the director, you will admit that to run a successful business you have to be organized in an effective way. You understand that implementing processes seamlessly is a key element in keeping up with your customer demands and outdoing your competition. This same mindset is just as important with your logistics process of your goods.
No matter how big or small your business is, your goal is always to grow and expand. This will most likely be meaning to grow regionally, in staff, transportation, and in technology. It costs money to make money. If keep in mind that there are people out there that do logistics for a living and can help cut not only costs, but time as well.
As you know, customer demands are always changing, and supply chains are complex and sensitive. A supply chain can’t ensure high value without organized transportation and because of this, logistics is one of the most crucial factors in quality of any supply chain.
A company that is smaller now may think that the process seems simple. And it may be for now. But what happens when you grow? What happens if not having the right logistics in place, stunts your growth? You will learn that it not only takes skilled people, expensive technology, new equipment and a lot more space, than you can afford or want to manage.
This is why successful companies use logistics companies. It allows a growing business to do just that, grow. By using a logistics company your business will:
- be effectively coordinated
- have a reduction in costs and improve efficiency
- have accurate and timely deliveries
- maintain customer satisfaction
- build and maintain trust in a positive public image.
Effective transport improves a supply chain by decreasing (if not avoiding) waste of materials and time. This helps supply chain professionals transport products and deliver them to the right location, on time – which is a priority for any successful business.
So continue to grow your business. We will be here rooting for you.
When a business is trying to cut costs that count, many don’t think to look at their customer’s needs. Most of the time, you can put money back in your pocket just by asking why the consumer returned or exchanged the product.
Being in the eCommerce business, you know by now that your consumers hate to pay for product returns. We also know that according to research by Professor Amanda Bower at Washington and Lee University, that customers who paid for their own return decreased their post-return spending at that retailer 75% to 100% in the next two years. Free returns drove customers to spend 158% to 457% more than that, with retailer on future purchases. That is quite a bit of growth.
So why are companies afraid of telling their customers that there are free returns? Because they haven’t dug deeper into why their clients are returning, and avoiding the situation, in the first place.
By doing a bit of research, we find that shockingly 67% of all returned online purchases are the fault of the retailer and not the customer, according to research by Trueship.
- 23% are due to the wrong item being shipped because of not working with a reliable logistics company
- 22% results from a product looking and appearing different when it arrives than it did online
- 22% of ecommerce returns are due to a damaged item being received- again your logistics company
Just by keeping track of where the issues are in these three categories, could save money on returns and increase profits. Two of the categories are immediately associated with your third-party logistics company. So, choosing the right one is directly affecting money in your company’s pocket.
As a bonus, returns data also reveals insights into what your consumers like and dislike about products.
The more you as a retailer can learn about why your products are getting returns, the more you can do to prevent the return all together. Happy consumers=more profit.
