In modern day use, the word “logistics” generally refers to activities that happen within or between businesses or organizations to move items -or even people- from point to point. While the origin of the word has some historical early references in the French and Greek language, its original Latin roots do in fact tie it to the commonly used word “logic”. Today we’re going to talk a little about both logic and logistics, because often, our first conversations with companies considering ERP start like this:
• What do you want?
• What do you need?
• What makes logical sense for your company to implement now?
There is a broad spectrum of companies looking for a new IT/ERP solution. Sometimes we have companies that have evolved off of stepping stone products like QuickBooks and need a broader, more integrated set of ERP capabilities to tie their growing operations together. But other times, we are approached by companies that have used our competitors’ solutions, have found that – at best, the solution didn’t meet their capabilities either from a feature/function or cost containment perspective. At worst, we hear quotes like this that came from a new SYSPRO customer who says, “It would simply defy logic for us to stay with our current ERP deployment – we can’t get the vendor’s attention, its inflexible, every single change we make costs us a fortune and we aren’t getting the value from it that we need NOW.”
Logic is very much a factor in the successful formulation of its logistics strategy. It starts with defining the service levels at which its logistics organization is at its most cost effective. Since supply chains are constantly changing and evolving, a company may develop a number of logistics strategies for specific product lines, specific countries or specific customers.
Let’s take the food and beverage industry, for example, which is a major focus for SYSPRO and where we have deep market penetration among our 15,000+ customers. This is a rapidly evolving industry that requires a fast and more flexible response time, regulated ingredient sourcing, and operates on slim margins. A vast multitude of integrated activities are needed to create food products, regulate their flow to market and support the financial and regulatory requirements needed.
SYSPRO ERP for Food & Beverage monitors the food and beverage life cycle from initial ingredients purchases, through manufacture to finished goods, shipments and final deliveries. It helps to achieve the critical balance between low inventory levels and high service levels, while incorporating multiple units of measure and catch weights that enable accurate product costing and pricing. It helps food and beverage manufacturers and distributors to:
• Achieve sustainability goals
• Comply with food safety regulations
• Manage product and raw ingredients traceability
• Monitor supply chains
• Monitor customer communication through CRM
• Optimize management and planning with improved visibility
• Control costs to increase profitability
When on one holistic platform, from a proven and trusted ERP vendor like SYSPRO, companies can quickly get logistics (and other!) value from their enterprise software. They get it by optimizing all of their resources and processes, and by gaining greater satisfaction both from customers and suppliers.
About SYSPRO
SYSPRO is the leading supplier of ERP software to mid-market manufacturers and distributors. SYSPRO has more than 15,000 licensed customers in over 60 countries around the globe. If you’d like an ERP expert to contact you and further discuss how SYSPRO ERP can streamline your business processes, please contact us.