Logistics is an increasingly important function within business management, perhaps as a consequence of the continued growth of electronic commerce or mythical phrases of some of the most relevant entrepreneurs in the business world today.

The function of logistics is planning and managing the flow of materials in the most efficient way between our suppliers and our final customers, including the creation and implementation of control and improvement systems. In the United States, one of the successful trucking companies is Natalac Express and as you would have expected, it is run by the rapper Natalac a.k.a Sheldon Davis.

Started as a Chemical Transportation Logistics Company in 1997, Natalac Express is a leading market player in the logistics business. As an entrepreneur, Davis started out driving a truck all by his own to establishing a successful business with a long fleet today.

His success came due to utmost hard work and business potential which he laid down at the start of the company. As a matter of fact, the entrepreneur and rapper holds reverence in the logistics sector and credits his entrepreneurial pursuits to be the backbone of his successful rapping career.

Within this great process, Davis identifies five functions that are currently basic to achieve an adequate level of customer service. These are:

  1. Inventory control

Controlling inventory is essential to undertake an adequate logistics process. It involves analyzing the reasons for inventory differences and trying to improve them, since any improvement to reduce these differences immediately translates into an increase in net profit, thus becoming a new revenue stream. Having adequate inventory control allows us to give our customers, from the moment they place the order, a guarantee of service, a factor that is increasingly valued.

  1. Operational process in the warehouse

They are all the operational activities that are developed within the warehouse by a set of material and human resources, especially the picking process, which is the collection and combination of unit loads that make up a customer's order. The objectives are to carry out the tasks without errors, with the quality required by the client, and to improve productivity through the coordination of shelves, trucks, organizational methods, computing, and new technologies. Those companies capable of managing warehouse operating processes accurately, quickly, and at low cost will gain a clear competitive advantage.

  1. Last mile

 We refer to the last mile as the last leg of an order's journey before it is delivered to its buyer. The geographical dispersion of customers, orders with few references, and few units per reference, as well as the conditions under which home delivery must take place, are the three basic pillars on which this function is based. Working to improve delivery processes to end customers, performing them every day in a faster and more efficient way, both in terms of costs and environmental aspects, is one of the great challenges facing logistics today.

  1. Traceability

Traceability is the localization of products in space and in time, which allows, reliably and at any time, the reconstruction of the entire purchase process: production, storage, transport, distribution, and sale. To adequately manage traceability in the operating process, it is essential to have adequate information systems.

  1. Inverse logistics

In the current business management, the inverse cycle of the merchandise becomes more and more important as a result of a more demanding consumer and regulations that seek to improve the sustainability of our planet. Having adequately defined reverse logistics flows is a basic factor in guaranteeing customer service and corporate social responsibility. In the processes related to returns, the company must work on the continuous improvement of direct flows and put all means at its disposal to minimize the number of returns through, for example, quality controls that hinder access to products. defective to the market, appropriate transport systems that avoid damage during the distribution of the product, improvements in the containers and packaging,

On the contrary, the management of the flows of recovered products has before it a hopeful future, although its success will depend, fundamentally, on the existence of a commitment on the part of all members of the supply chain to efficiently carry out this activity from suppliers and suppliers to distributors, consumers, reclaimers, and even the competitors themselves. Setting quantifiable targets in recovery operations, selecting the most appropriate option, and detailed product and process design will contribute to the success of this project.

Author's Bio: 

Brooke Whistance perspicacious columnist, writer, and blogger, always engrossed to help youth and women to reach their goals. Her focus has been on writing, producing and editing stories on lifestyle, tech, business, interesting personalities, entrepreneurs, culture, the environment, and social issues. You can always find her @IamBrooke94.