Intra Logistics: an overview
Logistics is an important factor towards ensuring a sustainable business success for any organization and a proper flow of information is a key in any logistic operation.
Intra Logistics refers to the art of integrating, optimizing, managing and automating the logistical flow of material and information within the scope of a distribution center in order to increase operational productivity.
Intra logistics solutions do wonders to increase productivity with the help of a seamless integration of information processing methods and material handling. Thus, they contribute towards optimizing processes and better utilization of labor and equipment resources, regardless of whether they use manual or automated system configurations.
In reality, intra logistics is a multi-functional expertise that encompasses a plethora of core competencies such as-
- Business process re-engineering and analysis
- Logistics design and strategic planning
- Process automation and facilities design
- System implementation, integration, and design
- Material handling ( Storage, retrieval, sorting and packaging)
- Software engineering and development
- PLC Controls
- Warehouse automation solutions
- Project management
- IT solutions
- Operational monitoring and reporting
- Remote monitoring and support
It is worth noticing that intra logistics work beyond these boundaries at times and ensure a continuous development of the inherent omnichannel operations. Thus, they contribute immensely towards regulating system performance and achieving the desired efficiencies, which are the characteristics of a true automation.
Intra logistics thrives in developing a flexible and economical supply chain for any business.It makes sure that the entire supply chain is channelized more efficiently and systematically towards creating value.
Why is intra logistics important to companies these days?
In the wake of the opportunities given by globalization to business organizations, intra logistics has found its rightful place in management strategies. It provides them that competitive edge and also adds value to their business operations. Moreover, intra logistics syncs pretty well with new business models fuelled by the innovations in e-commerce and customization of JIT (Just-in-time) services and products.
The Internet has raised the expectations of consumers to new heights and this has raised the demand for flexible and reliable delivery systems. When it comes to online retailing, for example, same-day delivery has become the order of the day, especially with groceries. Whatever a customer has ordered, he expects to get it delivered right away. This trend is escorted by the process of order automation. The ever-increasing flow of items and goods through e-commerce and the accompanying issue of frequent order returns calls for greater connectivity, system integration and automation – all these are embedded on intra logistics solutions.
Intra logistics organize and interconnect supply chains from end-to-end- right from the raw material source to the company’s operations and moving back to returns, recycling and disposal. Now that the consumers expect the products and services to be tailor-made to satisfy their needs and interests, cost-effective and reliable logistics operations are must for any organization. Same applies to industrial customers, whose aims to have efficiency in their production process and thus attaining high productivity. The new-found emphasis on these factors has indeed raised the bar for logistics services and the software control and value-added services offered by intra logistics have become extremely important for business organizations.
Globalization has also brought about deep-rooted changes in the markets and in the economy as a whole. It calls for high level of flexibility in supply chain management. These days, customers in Australia configure laptop specifications on the internet and get the assembling done in Texas. On top of this, they want their orders to reach their doors inside just a couple of days.
The same applies to businesses too. Nowadays, they order for the products on the international market, yet they desire to have their specialized suppliers close by. All business organizations, regardless of their size and area of operations, must adjust quickly to these new paradigms of procurement, sales and production. This creeping need has lead to some radical changes in the supply chain management which depends on a high level of flexibility in logistics operations. All these are impossible, without efficient intra logistics.
What should the companies do?
To cope with these changes, companies must plan their logistics processes having future scenarios in mind and design reliable and safe technical systems. This means more control units, processors, software units and user controls. All these elements need to be amalgamated into an ergonomic, harmonious and user-friendly system that is efficient enough to handle large quantities of data. The complexities involved here make the contribution of IT indispensable so as to control the enormous flow of goods intelligently. Smart solutions for supply chain operations will be required and therefore, steps need to be taken to improve IT components and systems. IT should be extended to areas like supplying and manufacturing of assembly workstations, apart from the traditional avenues in storage and distribution. Consumers should be included throughout the stages of the supply chain management in order to increase profitability.
To do all these and beyond, companies can avail the services of the intra logistics solution providers available. These providers are equipped with efficient software and control units and carry out the role of a system integrator. They provide all that is required for an organization to integrate the processes of intra logistics seamlessly into their operations.
These providers also pay attention and make provisions for the critical fact that all future logistics processes in business will be interconnected and automated. Business success in future will indeed depend on the abilities of organizations to cope with the changes in value chains and new business models. Hence, these providers develop highly scalable logistic support and intelligent solutions. They act as partners and can help the organizations in all avenues of intra-company logistics planning in regard to new sites as well as for expansion of existing sites. Once the target process is defined for them to work on, they precisely specify how optimization will be achieved all throughout that process so as to make the best use of available equipment and resources.
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