Site icon Cin7 Core

The 7 rights (R’s) of logistics

Running a business is not only about manufacturing or obtaining quality products, but also about getting your products to the customers on time and delighting them with a positive shopping experience.

Logistics management is an integral part of supply chain management. While supply chain management involves transforming raw materials into finished goods, logistics means moving these goods from the manufacturer to the customers and vice versa. Simply put, logistics management involves acquiring, transporting, warehousing, and delivering goods to customers. Getting the returned goods from the customers back to suppliers, commonly known as reverse logistics, is also a part of logistics management.

The 7 R’s of logistics

The 7 R’s or 7 Rights of logistics is a significant concept in logistics management that helps companies manage the complexities of shipping and mitigate risks while effectively using resources and promptly delivering the products to the customers at affordable prices. The saying goes that logistics is about “getting the Right product, in the Right quantity, in the Right condition, at the Right place, at the Right time to the Right customer at the Right price.”

Let’s explore each R in detail:

1. The right product

As a business, you may manufacture your own products or acquire them from other companies to sell them in the market. In either case, you should consider possible transportation issues that may occur while shipping the product. Thus, you can standardize the product size and materials for easy transportation. Standardization will also simplify the other associated processes like packaging, warehousing, and goods handling.

In fact, knowing about the product is mandatory as it will help you to manage resources efficiently and prevent any damage during shipping. For instance, heavy or oversized goods or even fragile items may demand special packaging to avoid damage during transportation. The right product in appropriate packages will be maintained at optimal conditions during transit and reach the customer’s doorsteps with utmost quality.

2. The right customer

Any business revolves around customers, as they are the ones who keep the business thriving. Finding and understanding your target segment is vital, as building or selling products for everyone won’t work. Thus, identifying the right target audience who will benefit from your products or services is crucial to run a successful business.

Market research helps your team understand your target market’s demographics, needs, wants, and pain points, enabling you to sell suitable products. Moreover, you can figure out relevant marketing strategies to engage better with your target audience. Thus, you can generate more leads and high conversion rates. Selling the right product to the right customer is the key here.

3. The right quantity

Maintaining the right quantity of products comes next on the list. Often, businesses tend to stock excess inventory, which is popularly known as safety stock, to meet unexpected market demands. However, you may overstock and suffer a loss without an appropriate market forecast. On the flip side, understocking is equally bad, hurting your reputation and profits. Thus, maintaining optimal stock is crucial to run a successful business.

DEAR’s Inventory Management Software gives you real-time insights into stock levels and order statuses. Thus, you can maintain optimal stock levels across warehouses. DEAR allows you to transfer stock from one warehouse to another in a few clicks, aiding you in fulfilling orders faster. For instance, if the customer makes bulk purchases and your local warehouse has limited stock levels, you can transfer from any of your other warehouses and complete the customer’s bulk order.

4. The right place

Many modern businesses sell things online while storing goods in multiple warehouses, while some may have brick-and-mortar stores in various locations. Whether you rent a warehouse or own a physical store, it is crucial to have them in the right place where the demand for your product is higher. Market research and analyzing sales movements will help you identify the right place for your business. When you set up the business in the right place where the need for your product is higher, the more conversions and profits you will have.

Besides selecting the right location, having a dedicated and experienced delivery team ensures the products are delivered promptly to the right destination. If shipping and tracking of goods are overwhelming, companies can outsource the shipping to a freight forwarder for hassle-free delivery.

5. The right condition

Maintaining the products in good condition starts in the warehouse. Investing in a reliable tool like DEAR’S Warehouse Management System (WMS) can simplify your warehouse operations. DEAR streamlines all of your warehouse operations from putaway to guided pick paths to printing shipping labels.

DEAR allocates appropriate places for your products based on size, material, and other factors. For instance, storing heavy items in the lowest rack and edibles in the refrigerator while putting fragile items in the corner. Thus, you can minimize damage and reduce unnecessary handling of things. Additionally, you can readily identify and discard obsolete stock with DEAR’s inventory write-off functionality. Now that you have products maintained in the right condition, your team can pack them appropriately and ship them safely to your customers.

6. The right time

Time is of the essence as customers expect on-time deliveries. Delivering products on time is crucial to gaining your customers’ trust and retaining them.

With DEAR, you can take orders from multiple sales channels simultaneously, as the software provides transparency into stock levels and real-time visibility into current order statuses. DEAR also supports dropshipping, enabling you to sell products even if you don’t have stock. Furthermore, with DEAR’s detailed picking list, you can speed up the picking process and deliver to your customers at exactly the right time.

7. The right cost

Pricing your products right is crucial as the product’s cost is a primary factor in sales. Since pricing depends on factors like market trends and demands, competitor products, and even location, conducting extensive market research is vital. Additionally, pricing determines the margin of profit or loss of your business. Hence, tracking past order histories and monitoring the income and expense of your business becomes critical to appropriately pricing for your products.

With DEAR’s centralized POS system, you get real-time insights into sales, enabling you to know the bestsellers and derive data-driven pricing strategies. Additionally, DEAR also prevents data breaches and any accidental mishandling of data.

 

Wrap up

The 7 R’s of logistics emphasize the importance of investing in the right product for the right customer, in the right quantity, in the right condition, and delivering them to the customers at the right time at the right price. Thus, your customers will be happy and you can make good profits.. Rather than getting a separate system for your warehouse, inventory, accounting, and sales, invest in the centralized multichannel inventory management system, DEAR. It will help streamline your business operations, sell on multiple channels, and track your progress while enabling your team to work efficiently and deliver customer orders on time. Are you interested in knowing more about DEAR Systems? Schedule a call today.

 

Exit mobile version