One of the benefits of having a global supply chain is that it allows you to source the best vendors for your needs and budget. However, a global supply chain can also add some complexity into your process.
With many of your vendors on the other side of the world, you’re trusting them to package your product according to your quality specifications. That custom packaging may come at a price premium, but there’s often no guarantee that your quality standards will be met. If there is a quality issue, you likely won’t know until the package has made its journey from the vendor to your facility.
Global Packaging Hub: An Efficient Solution to Global Supply Challenges
At Deufol, we’ve helped many global manufacturing companies tackle their supply chain challenges and manage quality risks through a solution called a global packaging hub. It’s an efficient way to take quality risk away from your vendors and also possibly drive down your costs.
A packaging hub works best when many of your vendors are located in a specific region of the world. For instance, assume you source parts from several different China-based manufacturers. Right now, each vendor packages and ships their parts directly to your domestic facility. Subsequently, you are paying each vendor for packaging that will hold up through international transit.
You could work with Deufol to establish a packaging hub in a central location of the Chinese region. Then, instead of shipping directly to you, the vendors would ship to the nearby hub. Since they’re no longer shipping goods internationally, the vendors would likely be able to use more affordable packaging, and they should be able to pass that cost savings onto you.
At the hub, Deufol’s team unpacks the shipments from individual vendors and packages them together according to your standards. Parts are checked into your system so you can track them through the process with just a few clicks. After being repacked, the supplies are shipped to your facility.
A global packaging hub brings efficiency to your process in a few ways:
- Ensures that all supplies are packed according to your quality standards. It’s your team that does the packing, not a vendor’s team.
- Identifies quality defects earlier in the process. Parts and materials are inspected when they arrive at the packaging hub. If there is an issue, it can be resolved before they part is sent to your facility.
- Reducing packaging requirements and costs for your vendors, which should result in cost savings for you.
- Provides complete transparency into your supply chain. Parts and materials are logged as they arrive into a real-time system. You can always see where your materials are in the packaging and shipping process.
Are you struggling with a complex and inefficient global supply chain? Let’s talk about it. Our global supply chain consultants welcome the opportunity to learn more about your needs and goals. Let’s connect today and start the conversation.
