Merge-in-transit is a global logistics solution that allows
businesses to take optimize their inventory management procedures and greatly
reduce shipping costs. Many business owners are outsourcing these services to
third party logistics providers in order to reduce costs and free up more time
so they can focus on more important decisions. Here is your guide to how merge-in-transit
can work for your business.
In general, this service allows you to oursource the
management, coordination, and procurement of multiple components of raw
materials for your production line. Components can be shipped from various
manufacturers and warehouses to one place where they can be prepped to await
order fulfillment. For instance, if you have separate manufacturers for your
packaging and the various components your product, these can be brought
together in a centrally-located place and stocked for fulfillment.
To break it down further, this is the process in four steps:
1. Your customer places an order that requires multiple
components.
2. Your various suppliers provide stock to your
merge-in-transit fulfillment center who manages an constant inventory of
product.
3. The various product components will be stored
temporarily.
4. As the orders come in, warehousing experts pick the
components, carefully pack them into one shipment, and send them to the
ordering customer.
If your business is one that typically sells a high valume
of various products, this is an incredibly valuable service that can allow you
to free up valuable resources. Your company is provided with a global solution
to coordinate customer orders regardless of the amount of components in each
shipment.
Depending on how much control you want to retain, or alternatively,
how much freedom you want to gain, there are a variety of service available to
be outsourced. A third party logistics provider can provide services as varied
as order fulfillment, inventory management, returns, and even customer service
and satisfaction.
