Logistics network footprint optimization

The configuration of a company’s logistics network determines the positioning and progress of work. It directly influences the trade-off of growth and storage cost control, so its optimization is essential for production to happen efficiently.

In an increasingly demanding market, finding points for improvement in the logistics center can define a strategic and efficient process of action.

The importance of the footprint

The mesh concerns the entire logistical process of a company, encompassing stages such as production, storage and transport towards the destination. It is how the products are organized until they reach the customers’ hands and, for it to happen smoothly and without obstacles, it depends on how the chain of processes was designed, that is, on the footprint.

Footprint is a term that, in logistics centers, designates the distribution and organization of production plants in warehouses. It is precisely the design of the mesh that gives the impression of the entire path taken by the items.

It counts data such as revenue, volume, withdrawal frequency, demand, cost, dropsize, the specifications of each product and those involved. This information forms an intelligent pathway that shows how a given company is organized.

Having this trail delimited is essential, as it allows administrators to be aware of where a particular product is.

This control is essential for managers, acting directly on the efficiency of operations. With total control, it is possible to identify problems and mitigate solutions in a short time and in an even more positive way.

It allows the identification of peculiarities of the centers, the progress of demands to be monitored and the need for improvements to be easily recognized.

However, it is important to remember that the footprint depends on the company in question. In this way, it is specific and determined on a daily basis, according to points such as demand, size, location, path, public and cost management.

Therefore, large footprints reflect companies with large operations. Consequently, they determine long and complex processes, with distribution in several stages and organized between sectors. In these cases, the importance of optimizing how the footprint is organized is even more evident.

The footprint optimization

Footprints reflect the results of a company. And your optimization needs to happen whenever there is a change in centers.

Joining companies, changing production, changing teams, implementing software, renewing the market and consumers. All this requires control and for that to exist it is important to update the footprint.

As they help in the search for errors and are usually sectioned into several parts, their organization and updating helps to consciously manage internal actions. This is paramount in view of the technological transformations of logistics centers.

Not only did tasks undergo an intense digitization in order to meet the growth in demands, but warehouses also began to face the rapid change in consumer mindsets and in the work environment.

This represents a true revolution. With faster and more demanding processes, delivering the best results in a short time is not a differential, but a rule.

Every day, peculiar situations arise that shape the way companies operate. This constant change needs to be reflected in the footprint to be able to adequately respond to new scenarios.

Thus, optimizing the footprint is redesigning the production flow in order to adapt the plants to respond positively to the trade-off between operating costs and quality of deliveries.

Updated footprints favor the creation of storage alternatives. This improves the physical organization of spaces in the short and long term, determining where each item should be stored, when it will be removed and who will carry out the transfer.

This optimization can be developed by following a few steps:

Assessment

Assessing the current network should happen around the clock. It is important to remain attentive to the needs of the sector, understanding the state of the business.

It is worth remembering that the breadth of a company is the starting point. Normally, business expansion is what creates the need to update the footprint. Afterwards, it is important to pay attention to the performance format, products and public in question.

Data base

To start a new footprint, administrators need to create an updated database. It is from this space that information will be collected.

Analyzes

It is important to analyze the possibilities and establish scenarios, specifying where each path should lead the services and where it is important to follow.

Choice

The choice needs to consider not only the cost of operations, but how each detail helps in achieving the objectives.

Follow-up

After implementing the new footprint, it is necessary to follow up to identify how the company adapts. This assessment should always happen, organically in the routine, identifying how it can be updated.

If a footprint is optimized, it often acts in a similar way to living organisms, always changing and adapting to changes in the environment. Doing this imperatively, based on market possibilities, is the best way to guarantee positive results.

For this, it is important to merge the process with the innovation of the logistics centers through the implementation of software and handling systems that improve the work routine and the quality of deliveries. This is where Águia Sistemas’ work makes the difference.

Talk to us and discover the advantages of having high-performance handling and storage systems: Talk to Us.

(The text above was constructed with information from the sites sintec.com, tecemos.com, inpo.eng.br, logweb.com.br, loglogistica.com.br, digital.intermodal.com.br and ecommercebrasil.com.br)

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