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Are You Shipping Auto Parts? Avoid these Shipping Losses with this Easy Technique | LoadProof

 


Your Business

  • You ship parts
  • You source the parts from the manufacturer and ship them to your customer
  • If you really think about it, these are products that are purchased because somewhere a big machine or equipment is not working and needs this part. So somebody is waiting for this equipment or big machine to be fixed ASAP so they can complete their project.
  • So it is very important as a Warehouse Manager you do your part of the job thoroughly and deliver them on time. Obviously not only do the job and also keep proof that you did your job right to show it to other parties in the Supply Chain
  • So when your parts arrive on time, the other resources, tools, experts that are needed to finish the project or other projects finish their part and complete the project on time
  • Let us say there is this large excavator that had a part broken, then they have to order the part ASAP, get the part shipped, receive the part and then replace the part, until then there are multiple resources, both expensive tools and expensive people that are on the waiting mode, which means the project is draining dollars, so it is super important to ship the part quickly, but also accurately, which is what you are expected to do as a warehouse manager.
  • You handed it off to the carrier, and you breathed a big sigh of relief
  • But when the product arrived at the project site, it was damaged, it had scratches in them, it was broken, now they cannot fix this big equipment, now they are pointing fingers at you and saying – Hey the warehouse missed this
  • And also, this happens often – people order the wrong part and they point fingers at you saying hey you shipped the wrong part.
  • You did a great job, you had the best team, best people, best processes, best everything, in spite of it you are getting blamed for this, now you look like you don’t know what you are doing
  • As a warehouse manager, you are responsible for the following
    • The warehouse manager leads and coordinates all aspects of the distribution process within the Supply Chain network.
      Leads site’s planning, execution, and communication of all daily clerical and operational processes, including:

      • Labor Planning & Driver Management
      • OSHA, FDA and DOT Compliance
      • General Administrative Duties
        1. Employee hiring
        2. Payroll
    • Customer Service Responsibilities
    • Human Resource Administration
    • Product Functionality Checks and Cleaning
    • Warehouse Functions/ Servant Leadership
    • Load Planning, Routing, and Carrier Management
    • Collection/Reporting of KPI data

Sometimes you are responsible for the P&L of the site as well

  • If you are shipping parts that need some kind of an FDA approval – then you have to keep all the related documentation for up to 12 years, depending upon the product it could be 3 years, 7 years or 12 years the duration differs
  • Usually parts are parcel shipments, but sometimes the parts are so big, they could ship LTL also.

Your Supply Chain Community

Your Supply Chain community comprises of people that you do business with, usually it is made of all these people

  • Manufacturers that manufacture products
  • Carriers
    1. Trucking companies
    2. Ocean Carriers
    3. Rail Carriers
    4. Air Carriers
    5. Multi modal – Ocean, Land, Rail, Air
  • Third Party Logistics Service Providers
  • Vendors that you buy your products from
  • Cross Dock Facility operators
  • Consolidation Facility operators
  • LTL Terminals
  • Parcel Carriers
  • Delivery Companies
  • Freight Forwarders
  • Freight Brokers

It is very important to keep in mind that you will work with all these people on a regular basis, so build and maintain professional relationships. While shipping products, moving products mistakes do happen, sometimes it is theirs, sometimes it is yours, whatever it is work with your partners, keep proof in LoadProof to demonstrate that you did your job right. So, you can have a professional conversation and articulate your position in a professional way, it is okay to say in a very professional and gentle manner, “Hey it is not fair for us to pay for mistakes that is not ours, here is a proof in the form of pictures”. However, do not burn bridges everybody is working very hard to make it for themselves. Also, people move on and change roles very quickly in this industry, so the same person could take up a different role and you might face them in a completely different side. So always build and maintain professional relationships, do not burn bridges. So, when you are working with such a community of Supply Chain service providers, having LoadProof and pictures to prove that you did your job right, gives you a solid ground to stand on, when something happens to your shipment.

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