NewStream Blog

A third-party logistics provider (3PL) offers a broad range of services that can include fulfilling orders. An order fulfillment provider is also sometimes called a fulfillment center and is defined as a company that takes care of tasks associated with picking, packing and shipping of customer orders.

With the advancement of digital technologies that enable real-time management of supply chains, coordinating global supply lines across a wide range of industries—from food and beverage to pharmaceuticals and healthcare—is now possible. This is especially helpful because, as we’ve learned with COVID-19, supply chain ecosystems can be impacted by catastrophic events such as trade issues, natural disasters, pandemics and others. To maintain supply chain effectiveness and serve customer needs, procurement and compliance strategies must include better planning, decision-making and execution. 

In product distribution and order fulfillment, keeping internal costs down and product prices reasonable leads to higher profits and customer satisfaction. Utilizing distribution centers not only ensures a fluid availability of products with minimal back orders, but also establishes a pricing strategy for the different distribution channels. In terms of distribution, the greatest impact of production price comes from the distribution channel.

The just-in-time delivery (JIT) process within supply chain management, also called “lean manufacturing”, is used by industries that produce, hold, sell and move inventory. This method determines that when demand for product is created, inventory is “pulled” rather than the historical model where inventory or products are “pushed”. Orders for replacement supplies are then placed after consumption. This means that inventory is received and delivered as needed, rather than being pushed through. 

A crisis in the supply chain can happen at any time. Currently, in 2020, the world is encountering unprecedented disruptions due to a new coronavirus. However, a crisis can come in a variety of forms. It could be a widespread problem like COVID-19 or a localized challenge, like a fire destroying a warehouse.