Container systems form the backbone of the materials handling operation of businesses in a wide range of sectors, including manufacturers, warehouses, transportation providers, distribution centers, and retailers. Directors of distribution and heads of engineering are responsible for measuring success, keeping costs under control, and making their materials handling processes as efficient as possible.
Flexcon recently sat down with Ken Beckerman, CEO, and Justin Beckerman, Client Design and Solution Specialist, to discuss how the company partners with logistics leaders to help them achieve more effective container fulfillment.
What Key Challenges Do Logistics Leaders Face Today?
Supply chains across industries have been in a whirlwind for the last few years. Even as things settle, logistics leaders face new challenges at every turn. Flexcon can help with these challenges by providing bulk container solutions.
No matter the industry, logistics and distribution are responsible for directing and implementing operational strategies, business processes, and systems. Those who work in these roles at a company must establish measurement metrics and performance targets for all distribution-related functions and ensure they align with compliance guidelines and company objectives.
As a part of that process, logistics and distribution managers may face any of the following challenges:
- Leading the design and development of materials handling systems.
- Keeping up with technology solutions needed to pull data to optimize performance.
- Measuring performance to track growth.
- Keeping costs down.
- Keeping up with customer/industry demands.
- Sourcing consistent, reliable solutions, materials, and equipment.
- Maintaining the balance between staff and automated system performance.
None of these challenges are impossible to solve, but they remain the top priority for logistics leaders today. To help relieve some of this pressure, Flexcon offers services that can make any materials handling process more manageable by reducing many of the most common challenges busy distribution professionals face today.
What Happens When a Company Partners with Flexcon?
Every partnership Flexcon has with our logistics operators is unique. One classic example of this concept at work is when a company’s director of distribution or head of engineering seeks to establish synergy with a supplier. The distribution director has a job to do, and if they want to be effective, they’ll surround themselves with the best people.
They’ll also want to develop relationships with trusted manufacturers covering various specialties. For example, they’d look for:
- A good forklift manufacturer.
- A good racking manufacturer.
- A good shelving manufacturer.
That director will also need a reliable container manufacturer. That’s where Flexcon comes in. Because Flexcon’s operations are based on honesty, the client’s products prove their trustworthiness, and they become part of that tight-knit, trusted circle of suppliers.
Over time, this company may see its orders becoming larger. The partnership begins to involve mutual problem-solving. Flexcon becomes a lever our clients can pull at any time to optimize their logistics process and supply chain.
How Are Inventory Needs Transforming For Industry Leaders?
We’ve come a long way from inventory management. Today, especially in industries like automotive, though it shows up in a broad and diverse range of sectors, the need for more and better dynamic inventory management has become increasingly apparent.
Though critical, manufacturing parts are increasingly no longer stored in centralized locations. Today’s digital ordering systems use data to detect trends of where specific parts are most likely to be purchased. Logistics leaders are using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies to help distribution teams anticipate where purchases are most likely to come from. This allows logistics teams to prepare ahead of time, readying parts to go into other orders heading to those locations.
How Does Flexcon Assist Customers With Transforming Their Inventory and Logistics Operations?
Flexcon’s top priority is to make the logistics experience as seamless as possible for customers. If they’re happy with any given Flexcon product and it has proven to work for their needs, Flexcon’s goal is to make reordering as easy as possible for them in the future.
At its best, this becomes a mutually beneficial, seamless partnership. Customers tell Flexcon their needs, and its containers deliver on those needs without a hitch. In the meantime, an ongoing education process begins that will familiarize the customer with the process, removing barriers to repeat orders. The customer delegates container fulfillment to Flexcon, allowing them to focus on other pain points in their logistics process.
How Can Customers Partner with Flexcon?
It starts with a conversation. We see listening to and understanding the customer’s needs as a core prerequisite for our team to find solutions tailored to each business’s unique situation.
In other words, Flexcon’s client engagements do not begin with a broad product catalog. Instead, we start with a listening session to determine how the partnership can best serve the customer. That makes Flexcon the rare relationship-based logistics partner, focusing not on transactions or physical products but on comprehensive solutions to address core needs.
Ultimately, that might mean delegating the entire process to Flexcon. Hundreds of clients have found success with this approach. But we can also work closely in a more open partnership, leveraging the Flexcon experience and expertise to provide customers with the best possible solutions for their ongoing container needs.
It all starts with a short phone call. After that, the partnership will evolve in ways that benefit our clients the most and help solve those critical supply chain challenges.
