The service provider management service is one of the fixed cost services now available from Logistics Cost Reduction Solutions.
Let us manage the strategic relationship with your current service providers to ensure they are meeting their commitments from both a service and a cost perspective.
This service is best suited to the management of third party logistics service providers, international freight forwarders and domestic transport service providers and the key to its success is establishing and maintaining a disciplined meeting and reporting schedule.
The key components of this service include:
- Ensuring there are current service level agreements and rate schedules in place for all existing services
- Reviewing current rate schedules for existing services to identify potential cost reduction opportunities
- The facilitation of a weekly or monthly review of your service providers operational activity including volume of transactions , associated costs and their performance against the agreed key performance indicators. The meeting participants would include relevant stakeholders from your business , the service provider and the facilitator. A sample of typical meeting agenda for a 3PL service provider monthly meeting is below.
- Review inbound activity (receiving and put away), cost and performance against KPI
- Review inventory activity (cycle counting, storage levels), cost and performance against KPI
- Review outbound activity (pick, pack and dispatch), cost and performance against KPI
- Review returns activity (processing and return to stock)
- Review outstanding actions from previous meetings
- Review the status of current cost reduction or process improvement projects (if applicable)
- Any other business
- Updating and distributing a weekly or monthly report that captures the data relevant to activity, cost and performance for the both the current and year to date periods. This report is the main reference point for the weekly or monthly meeting discussions as described above. A sample of the report template and the dashboard that would be used are below.
- The distribution of meeting notes and agreed actions arising from the meeting. Ensuring the completion of any agreed actions is part of this service
- Issuing and monitoring any formal corrective action plans that have been issued as result of consistently unacceptable performance against agreed key performance indicators. Ensuring the return to an acceptable level of performance is part of this service
- The review and audit of service provider invoices to ensure charges are in accordance with the agreed rate schedules. The lodgment and recovery of any claims for incorrect charges is part of this service
- The facilitation of a quarterly or annual strategic review that also includes senior management of your business and the senior management of the service providers to ensure current and future business objectives are aligned
- Providing ongoing advise or mentorship to your management and operational staff within your business
For more information or to request a quotation for this service please complete the form below