A New Approach to Logistics and Transportation through the Reverse Supply Chain

By understanding where and how goods are currently moving once their usable life has been exhausted by the organization, you can begin to identify the gaps where you can extract hidden value through technology. For instance, a global solutions provider can absorb and minimize transportation costs through a seamless program, and web-based solutions for asset management can add valuable bandwidth back to employees while fully utilizing each asset across the enterprise through redeployment.

Engage a Trusted Partner

Just as you are an expert in your particular business and industry, a solution provider whose core business is the reverse supply chain, best understands how to manage, value, and sell surplus to maximize its full value. To achieve results without the help of a trusted vendor, you would have to build your own internal systems, create marketplaces to connect with buyers of surplus, and add the secondary markets to sales, marketing, and customer service teams; in other words, a large capital expense over many years.

Thankfully, providers with established marketplaces that attract buyers for even the most niche surplus assets already exist. With their expertise, they can also partner with you to review your current process and clarify any gaps that may exist.

Implement an Asset Management Program

Technology is central to an efficient asset management solution. Rather than relying on the paper-based systems of the past that cannot properly or accurately track assets, a web-based solution provides greater visibility across the company. With an IT solution, managers and line workers alike can load or view surplus assets and redeploy them where they are needed, or make the decision to move the asset(s) to an online channel for sale to a targeted buyer base.

“Transportation expenses are typically a large operational expense, but through smarter planning in the reverse supply chain, this can become an area of greater cost savings and efficiency”

Without the sight lines that a technology-based solution affords, surplus might be sitting idle in a warehouse, absorbing high maintenance costs and depreciating in value, or moving from location to location, adding to already expensive fuel costs. The American Transportation Research Institute estimates that medium-sized organizations with up to $100 million in annual revenue spend about 38 percent of earnings on transportation—a large capital expense that can be reduced through smarter asset management. As your business grows domestically or globally, these expenses will exponentially increase unless your business has an asset management solution that can scale with your growth strategy.

Conclusion

Logistics and transportation require significant planning and resources throughout the supply chain, including the reverse supply chain. By understanding how your organization currently manages surplus assets, engaging a trusted partner, and implementing a smarter asset management program, your company can benefit from reduced costs and enhanced value across the supply chain. Technology is a critical component to creating a better solution for your surplus, maximizing its full value, and creating more streamlined processes to serve your customers in greater ways.