About the shipping and what certain shipping processes are?

Where can I find a consultant to help with our shipping processes and strategy?

• I'm looking for help to audit my company's current shipping and receiving processes for an ecommerce startup based out of SF. Ideally this contractor would help create and implement a new strategy of our operations.

• Answer:

  Well... the best place to find a consultant to help with your shipping processes and strategy would be in the logistics industry or in areas where there is a lot of supply chain talent and demand. A consultant who has a background in database analysis, finance, contract law, and logistics management is helpful as well. Really what it sounds like you need help with is finding a 3PL or third party shipper(s) that will manage the shipping and distribution of your products through the stages of the supply chain (from the warehouse to the final customer). So I'm going to answer this question assuming that. Deciding on which 3PL is most cost effective to ship through is somewhat tedious as there tends to be a lot of different variable and fixed costs involved with the handling-in and handling-out aspects of these 3PL shipper's cost structures, along with constantly changing exchange rates, and miscellaneous charges that have various assosiated time tables and cost structures. So finding a consultant that is competent and efficient using Microsoft Excel and other database systems at a somewhat advanced level, who also understands finance is key. That way mass amounts of seemingly ambiguous data can be efficiently manipulated, which is really the essence of comparing shipping costs, so that you can decide on a business strategy that makes sense for you. Not only that, but there is a lot more involved with risk in the shipping industry than what meets the eye. Insurance is a form of risk mitigation, but when dealing with specialty products that are not quickly replaceable, it's more important to understand the logistics industry well enough to choose the least risky, yet cost effective route of distribution. Where your 3PL(s) is or are located overseas contributes a lot to that level of risk. To illustrate my point, I've heard a story of a company's reputation being trashed because a ship full of specially designed air conditioners sunk, and couldn't be replaced for 2-3 months, despite insurance. Within that time, the contract could be void, and the customer could opt to do business with somebody else, despite having these custom made air conditioners made just for them... so the company whose ship sank ended up in a position where they were stuck with a bunch of air conditioners that they didn't want after rebuilding them with insurance money, and they had to pay to warehouse them, and lost customer satisfaction and reputability thanks to poor shipping decisions. If they chose to ship those orders with a 3PL located near safer shipping routes, it would have saved them a lot of money in warehouse costs, and in customer retention costs. So it pays to try to avoid accidents more than it pays to try to insure against them, but it also depends on what kind of products you are shipping, and at what volumes. It also pays to hire a consultant who understands contract law, who is also able to negotiate well. You don't hear much about problems with contract law in operations and logistics management... until you hear about some idiot who signed the company onto a contract that the company doesn't want, that the company can't financially get themselves out of easily. So from a legal perspective, hiring the right contractor... or not hiring the wrong contractor is really important for the financial success of your company. Making the right decisions of how much inventory should be handled by which third party shippers can account for a huge amount of money (millions of dollars of spend). Anyway, I think the Institute for Supply Management has a job board to find resumes of people, many of whom have the qualifications necessary to help you audit your shipping and distribution processes and strategy.