As a small business owner, do you find yourself trying to get everything done yourself or perhaps with a small group of employees? Perhaps you try to fit so much into your day that some business operations tasks get done at the last minute.
Have you considered that trying to do everything with the hopes of saving money might actually be hurting your business? Or even if it’s a task you can accomplish yourself (or your staff), you might be losing money by not doing that task well?
We work closely with many small businesses in Northwest Arkansas, Tulsa and Little Rock. As a small business ourselves, we know how important it is to keep business running as smoothly and leanly as possible. What we often see, however, is companies who have tried to “do all the things” so they can save money but they are in fact costing themselves money.
As expert logistics providers, we want to share what common and often expensive logistical mistakes we see small businesses make.
Expecting non-logistics people to do logistics
Every employee and even every small business owner has their own place in the company based on his or her specific skillset. It’s a waste of that person’s time and talent to require them to do errands. If that person isn’t experienced with courier duties, they may forget an important detail or take a lot of extra time performing the task.
Hiring a courier service offers time, cost and talent efficiencies.
Not preparing items for shipping properly
How disappointing and even upsetting is it when you receive a much-awaited package in the mail only to find something broken? Had the sender packaged it properly, the contents probably would have arrived safely.
We see a growing number of packages being sent with either too much or too little packaging. Either way, it can cost money. If a product gets damaged it must be replaced at the sender’s costs. But if an item is over packaged, that also costs money.
Check out our tips for packaging items safely for shipping.
Not managing inventory
Whenever a business has inventory (including office supplies!), managing that inventory is vital to saving money. Whether it’s avoiding excessive back orders or not letting inventory get outdated, inventory management is something many small businesses fail to do as well as they should. This could mean not automating your inventory control or simply not monitoring your inventory well enough.
Find out more about how inventory management affects profitability.
Not researching shipping options
Whether you’re shipping to a home or small business, knowing your delivery options is vital. Know deadlines, delivery costs, and rules for each provider (such as UPS, USPS or FedEx).
Learn more about the different delivery options.
These four logistics mistakes are easy to fix. Let us at On Time Logistics help! Give us a call.