The logistics and warehousing industry play a pivotal role in global commerce. At Brimich Logistics Inc., we are committed to ethically and safely facilitating the movement and storage of goods that are essential for countless businesses and consumers worldwide.

Amidst the fast pace of supply chain operations, it can be easy to attempt to move faster and potentially overlook the inherent risks associated in the working environment. From heavy machinery and equipment to potentially hazardous material – the logistics and warehousing sector presents unique challenges. At Brimich, meticulous attention to detail and continuously reinforcing safety protocols is a daily standard and expectation.

Brimich Health and Safety Commitment

Days without lost time achievements at two facilities: 2542 days and 2206 days (as of April 17, 2024)

In the warehousing industry, achieving consecutive days without lost time is a statement made with pride. A standard of excellence helps to underscore the foundational importance of prioritizing health and safety internally.

We continuously emphasize a robust commitment to health and safety on a high level, down to the smallest everyday tasks. We help to ensure this standard by implementing:

• Daily pre-shift safety meetings
• Strict retraining protocols
• Focusing on standardized training programs
• Continuous training and re-training commitments during employment
• Dedication to housekeeping and cleanliness – A standard practice and demeanor is expected on site across all job levels
• A constant awareness of cleanliness and proactively ensuring no items are on the ground or in undesignated areas
• Pallets and contents are always tidy
• Quarantine zones provided for items and palettes that are not up to our internal standards

2542 and 2206 days without lost time speaks volumes about the meticulous attention to detail from our committed staff and the standards of training and excellence ingrained within our company’s ethos.

Each day without lost time incidents reflects the embedded culture of safety from the ground up, that is adhered to daily. This achievement highlights the dedication to safeguarding the well-being of our internal workforce and helps set a benchmark for our industry peers.

As emphasized, a robust commitment to health and safety begins with standards, practices, and our daily demeanor.

A message from Michelle Amore – Director of Health and Safety

“Safety is our most basic everyday task. Our goal is to send our team members home the same as they arrived at work. If we look out for each other and keep safety as the number one goal in every task, we can be successful in creating a safety-first mindset in everything we do.”

“Safety is our most basic everyday task”

The Importance of Health and Safety Commitments in Logistics and Warehousing

Ensuring the well-being of workers in this industry protects liabilities, lives and is a morally obligated standard. At Brimich, we see this as a strategic imperative and believe all industry forerunners should commit to ensuring the serious undertone of these practices. Here’s why:

1. Protecting Human Capital: Employees are the backbone of any organization. By implementing robust measures, businesses can safeguard their most valuable asset – its workforce.
2. Mitigating Risks: Logistics and Warehousing is inherently dynamic, with numerous moving parts and potential hazards. Implementing comprehensive safety protocols helps reduce the likelihood of accidents and injuries.
3. Enhancing Efficiency: A safe work environment is also about optimizing operational efficiencies. By streamlining processes, minimizing downtime due to accidents and injuries, and ensuring proper functioning of equipment, businesses can enhance productivity and maximize output.
4. Compliance and Reputation: Failure to adhere to high standards can result in legal repercussions, financial penalties, and reputation damage. Demonstrating a commitment to health and safety ensures regulatory compliance while also enhancing brand reputation and credibility.
5. Adaptability and Resilience: This is an essential business stance for long-term sustainability. Prioritizing health and safety fosters a culture of continuous improvement and innovation. This translates to enabling businesses to adapt to changing circumstances quickly, mitigates risks effectively and allows teams and brands to thrive in the face of adversity.

As we observe World Day for Safety and Health at Work, let’s collectively reaffirm our commitment to creating safer, healthier workplaces within the logistics and warehousing sector. On April 28^th we celebrate World Day for Safety and Health at Work in conjunction with National Day of Mourning. On this day, we will remember and honor those who have suffered from work-related tragedies within Canada.

On this #DayofMourning, we can collectively renew our commitment to improving health and safety in the workplace and acknowledge the pride and recognition toward Brimich operational staff, for helping us operate for over 2500 days without lost time.

Each day, we work to protect our most valuable asset – our people – while helping to drive operational excellence, regulatory compliance and sustainable business growth. Our health and safety commitments are displayed this week, and every single day. Together, we can make a difference. Together, we are building a safer, healthier future for all!

Incredible changes are currently redefining the path of moving goods from one business to another. As we continue to move into the future of B2B third party logistics and order fulfilment, what signs should we be paying attention to?

The challenges of dealing with the pandemic both revealed and accelerated opportunities in the supply chain. Combined with technological advances enabling the ability to drill down on specific customer needs, B2B 3PL partnerships have in front of them new paths to success on all fronts.

Let’s have a closer look at the challenges facing B2B 3PL operations, and how emerging technologies are providing solutions.

B2B 3PL Defined

To be specific, B2B 3PL is the process by which businesses outsource their order fulfilment, warehousing, shipping, and other logistics needs to a third-party provider.

This allows businesses to focus on their core competencies while leaving the logistics to the experts. Thanks to the rise of e-commerce, B2B third party logistics is a booming industry, with many businesses outsourcing their logistics needs to third-party providers in order to save time and money.

Differences Between B2B and B2C

A quick look at the interior of a related 3PL warehouse will give you a very good idea of whether an operation is B2B or B2C.

For example, a B2B fulfilment warehouse will tend to handle large items or irregularly shaped products on their way downstream through the manufacturing chain. A B2C warehouse on the other hand will often store large quantities of the same item such as FMCG products bound for retail store shelves, or multiple types of items in smaller quantities being prepared for last mile delivery.

With the ongoing evolution of the supply chain, unified supply chains are streamlining processes even further to include more wholistic B2B2C operations within some market segments. This provides complete control over the entire logistics process from intake of raw materials and manufacturing to final delivery.

Challenges Facing B2B Shipping

The major challenges in fulfilment faced by both B2B, B2C and even B2B2C, lie in the immediacy of demand for timely delivery of goods and the ability of logistics partners to keep up with operational needs.

“Only when fulfillment demands are met can a manufacturer plan for exponential growth”

Source: John Hayes: Director of Sales for Balyo USA as quoted in Forbes

From a 3PL point of view, a growing B2B client will not only require more flexible warehouse space, but the means to handle orders quickly, efficiently and accurately.

In the best of times, some businesses must have the ability to adjust to the massive roller coaster swings of seasonal trends. There are also labour issues, both of which tend to be relatively constant compared to the need for staying on top of technologies designed to make orders and tracking more efficient.

Like it or not, the pandemic spurred a 77.6% increase in e-commerce due to the need for safety and fuelled by convenience. 3PL providers had no choice but to adapt by proving themselves to be agile and more flexible than ever before. As we’ve seen in the last couple of years, the pandemic also exposed liabilities in a fragile supply chain that manifested in a shortage of truckers and empty store shelves.

With B2B e-commerce taking up more and more market share, and ever-impatient customer demands, business leaders find themselves with their hands full trying to navigate developmental challenges.

In general, the rapid growth of e-commerce has significantly impacted B2B shipping expectations and the logistics industry as a whole. With the rise of online shopping, businesses feel more pressure to ensure that their products are delivered quickly and accurately. This has led to an increase in demand for 3PL providers who can offer fulfillment services such as warehousing, packaging services, inventory management, and last-mile delivery.

Opportunities and Solutions

Wherever there’s a bottleneck in the supply chain, whether it be in the physical transportation of goods or in data management, there’s an opportunity.

“Companies are facing unprecedented change due to innovation, technology disruptions, and evolving customer expectations. Supply chains are becoming unbundled and customized to reduce costs and meet evolving customer needs. Logistics structures will also shift to more specialized solutions tailored to different customer segments, modes of transportation, and distribution networks.”

Source: KPMG Advisory on the Future of Logistics

If you drill down into the specifics of oncoming capabilities, the opportunities are staggering – and fully capable of becoming new market segments all on their own. Take for example the drone technology and fully automated vehicles which, quite possibly, could become the mainstays of  intelligent logistics.

Nonetheless, here’s an overview of some of the more immediate solutions both currently in use and on the horizon:

Automation And Robotics

Automation and robotics are revolutionizing the logistics industry, and by extension providing serious benefits to B2B shipping. Robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI) are being used to streamline processes, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Automated guided vehicles (AGVs) are used in warehouses to transport goods, while drones are being tested for last-mile delivery.

Big Data Analytics

Data is the new oil in today’s digital age. Big data analytics is a game-changer for the logistics industry. Businesses can use data to optimize their supply chain, identify inefficiencies, and make informed decisions. Predictive analytics can help 3PL providers to forecast demand and optimize inventory levels.

Sustainability And Green Logistics

Sustainability and environmental concerns are increasingly becoming critical issues for businesses. Consumers are demanding eco-friendly products and environmentally responsible practices. Green logistics is an approach that focuses on reducing the environmental impact of logistics operations. It involves using renewable energy, reducing waste, and optimizing transportation routes.

Personalization And Customer Experience

Personalization and customer experience are crucial in today’s consumer-centric world. B2B businesses are also starting to recognize the importance of providing a personalized customer experience. 3PL providers can help businesses to achieve this by offering customized logistics solutions tailored to their specific needs.

In Closing

The future is coming, some would say the future is already here. Either way one thing is for certain, there will always be advancements and challenges in B2B logistics. Moving forward, the dependancy on technology to provide solutions may be the answer, but benefits do not always come without associated costs.

Does your 3PL provider live up to your expectations and deliver what your company needs? Are they paying attention to the trends and demands shaping the future of your business? As a growing family owned company with operations in Brantford and Etobicoke Ontario, Brimich Logistics and Packaging is willing and able to serve all your transportation and climate controlled warehouse needs. Contact us today!

If you’ve designed your packaging to only look good to your customers, you may be in for a nasty surprise. What do you need to know to make absolutely sure your products can withstand the rigours of the journey through the supply chain?

The Importance of Packaging in the Supply Chain

There’s little doubt that retail markets, manufacturing methods, logistical flows and the environment in general are evolving. With this fluid landscape in mind, it’s important to anticipate how your product packaging fits with what’s just over the horizon.

Remember McDonald’s burgers served up in styrofoam containers? Nope, gone.

With respect to the gist of this article, that’s perhaps a little too far down the consumer FMCG supply chain. But the point is, if you don’t keep up with customer trends and expectations (as McDonalds was wise enough to do), you will become history sooner than expected.

Why is Proper Packaging so Important?

Imagine for a second, what condition do you think your smartphone would be in if it had left the factory without any packaging? Would it have wound up in your hand unscathed, in perfect working order without damage? Probably not.

Now imagine that same product perfectly packaged to presumably withstand any hardship on its journey to you, but has to experience severe heat, humidity or other conditions that were not anticipated.

The above examples may be extreme, but they illustrate how the success of each is dependant on the other. Both currents in the supply chain flow, the product deliverable and delivery system itself, have to be in harmony to keep the wheels of any economy turning smoothly.

Just as transportation systems must be efficient, packaging is just as important with respect to the total delivery process. Proper packaging serves as the protective barrier for goods from the time they leave the manufacturer, through transportation to distribution channels and finally landing in the hands of the customer.

Sustainable Packaging and Its Role in the Supply Chain

Making changes towards more sustainable packaging design, even minor ones, can make a world of difference, and a difference in the world. Small improvements in production, materials and operations decrease pressures on resources and reduce environmental impact.

Is there an end point where we say packaging is perfect? The answer lies in understanding that over time, change is inevitable. Therefore as a business owner, it’s imperative that you continually re-assess your packaging efforts, look for opportunities. Smart packaging means refining your processes to be more in line with consumer trends and current supply chain management conditions.

A few solutions that can increase packaging sustainability in the supply chain include:

• Minimal Packaging: Efficient and effective packaging is not only in line with lean manufacturing, it sheds a more favourable light on a company’s reputation as an environmentally conscious and authentic sustainability partner.
• Packaging Weight: By intelligently reducing the weight and mass of packing without sacrificing structural integrity, logistics-related costs can be reduced through decreased fuel consumption and maximized storage space.
• Single-Source Materials: While a see-through plastic window may help sell a pastry or pie, it does nothing in terms of sustainability when it’s hidden inside another opaque container. Wherever possible, alternatives for mixed-materials, especially in consumer packaged goods (CPG) should be considered.
• Dissolvability: Compostable, plant-based packaging continues to be a more favourable marketing alternative. From forks and spoons made of starch to protein-based edible flexible films, their value lies in their efficient ability to return to the earth.
• Re-ability: Reusable packaging in the supply chain along with multi-use containers is not only widely accepted, but continues to gain traction every day. Reusable, refillable, returnable items such as plastic containers are expected to enjoy a CAGR of 9.5% through to 2028.
• Waste Controls: Whether through efficient movements in physical handling and storage, or partnering with 3PL services that practice green logistics, controlling waste of any kind is an imperative throughout the supply chain.
• Legitimacy: Counterfeit products, especially in the e-commerce sector, dilute consumer confidence across the board. By offering a method of verification, such as QR codes on labels or tamper-proof packaging, provide customers with the security they feel is necessary to qualify a purchase.

Essential Packaging Requirements in the Global Supply Chain

If you package your products, you are by default a contributor to the betterment of the global supply chain. As part of a responsible supply chain management strategy, proper protective packaging helps ensure the shipping industry is not encumbered by excess losses and insurance claims due to substandard or inadequate packaging.

While every market segment has its own specific baselines for packaging requirements, all related systems must work together to ensure the delivery process runs smoothly from iteration to destination.

Regardless of the type of item, from a toothpick to a new refrigerator, there are fundamental packaging functions that must be considered:

• Protection: Product packaging must protect the goods from the rigours of shipping, handling and other external factors to make sure that products arrive in good condition.
• Storage: Since products can travel through multiple storage locations before they reach their final destination, packaging and associated materials must allow for convenient storage and meet storage requirements.
• Transportability: Better packaging design allows for more efficient handling, stowing and stacking capabilities. By maximizing available space, all aspects of the transportation process become more cost-effective.
• Tertiary Packaging: The extra layer of protective packaging that safeguards the secondary and primary packaging levels of the goods. Not only is there an organizational benefit through grouping products into a single container, using eco-friendly materials for this function is generally more favourable as we move towards global awareness and environmental responsibility.

Final Thoughts

There are many aspects to packaging that work with and within an evolving supply chain system. Major influences include the ability to draw from data-based feedback, making forward-thinking decisions based on solid information and managing the supply chain responsibly.

To successfully accomplish this year after year, we must be able to predict and control key resources such as product protection, specifications, delivery times, inventory levels, workforce stability and perhaps most importantly the safety of all who are part of the global supply chain network.

What Does Packaging Optimization Mean?

In simple terms, “packaging optimization” is a process that utilizes smart packaging. This refined method of packaging is designed to safely contain, protect and communicate the specific contents of your packaging as your products travel through the various handling processes within the supply chain.

The product’s journey starts with the manufacturer, then may go on to a warehouse or in-store fulfillment centre, and ultimately wind up being delivered at its final destination. This  last mile of delivery could be a consumer’s home, an office building, retailer or other end point.

At each step along the way, there are factors which determine in what condition your products will ultimately arrive. Optimizing your packaging for the rigours of your product’s journey can make all the difference in the world.

Start by Choosing Optimal Packaging Materials

The first step in choosing optimized packaging for your product is in fully understanding its vulnerabilities .This involves going the testing stage (if applicable), then determining the best packaging materials.

Once your product has gone through testing using established protocols for its shipping class, the next task is developing the the proper packaging to help protect the product as it navigates through all supply chain environments.

This packaging system is broken down into three levels:

1. Primary Packaging – The packaging directly in contact with the product itself and is often designed with the “unboxing” experience in mind. Other considerations are product protection and perhaps store display.
2. Secondary Packaging – Packaging that’s just outside of the primary packaging and typically used to create a stock-keeping unit or SKU. Also part of the unboxing experience, this protective layer also helps guard against moisture and humidity.
3. Tertiary Packaging – Referred to as transit or bulk packaging which often forms a group quantity of SKUs. This level of packaging is the final layer used to protect the products in transport, safely and securely, from point A to point B. For example, this could be from a manufacturer’s loading dock to the final point of sale.

How Much Packaging is Just Enough for the Environment and Supply Chain?

In order to save on costs, many products wind up being under-packaged. This results in avoidable damage that sends the product into reverse logistics. This also produces product waste along with associated fees and other costs.

Conversely, there are some products which are over-packaged using far more material than is necessary. This excess is not only wasteful in its own right, but has an impact on our environment. Not just in terms of landfill or limited recycling, but in transportation costs due to size and weight issues. These overages in turn lead to excess fuel and energy consumption, along with higher transportation fees throughout the supply chain.

The sweet spot in optimal packaging should be designed to fit the requirements of your supply chain with these key points in mind:

• The right type and thickness of packaging films or rigid plastics
• Effective thickness and properties of foam or protective packaging
• An appropriate strength and flute of corrugated board used
• An efficient use and amount of winds of stretch wrap
• An efficient use of packaging tape or adhesive in the right location

Optimize Package Design

Whether you’re designing a package from the ground up or updating an existing design, there is value in following best practises within your industry, along with taking cues from consumer feedback.

Some considerations may include using fewer materials or lowering packaging weight. For example, modern packaging materials may include a dissolvable bag-in-container for non-solid or semi-solid products such as cereals. Or a bio-degradable rigid container might offer the right benefits for transport and storage space for other products.

Now with the right packaging and materials selected, it’s on to actually designing and engineering the packaging. Keep in mind this can impact different sections of not only the supply chan, but you own general packaging operations:

• Manufacturing & Operations – Your package design should ideally work within your current manufacturing processes and automation equipment. Additionally, these optimized packaging requirements should enable your systems to run at their optimal speeds.
• Material Vendors – Is your current material vendor able to produce the package to your specifications, and are they in line with your packaging objectives? Upgrading design factors can affect material vendor capabilities, as well as your own manufacturing systems. Therefor, make sure your provider’s equipment capabilities, material competencies and visions for the future are up to the task.
• Supply Chain Costs – Unique or non-standard shapes can impact your transportation expenses. Your packaging is truly optimized when all systems and touch points are maximized – or minimized as in the case of wasted air space. Shipping air, unless it’s absolutely necessary and relevant to the product, is wasteful.

Optimize Product Counts for Better Cost & Efficiency

End-users and customers often dictate the order quantities and case counts – that is, with the exception of the number of hot dogs in a package with respect to the number of hot dog buns  – a mysterious mismatch. Regardless, this demand is true for not only consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers, but B2B manufacturers as well.

Fitting more product on a pallet without compromising product safety can improve your overall cube or product shipping density. This is an important part of transportation optimization especially when you use less-than-truckload (LTL) freight extensively. Similarly, fitting more product on a retail shelf or within storage can also help reduce inventory and storage requirements.

What is the Right Amount of Packaging Protection?

The right level of packaging protection will ultimately mitigate or at least minimize damage during transit or stacking. Effective packaging protection designed for specific products can have a wide array of requirements. For example:

• Protective barriers for pharmaceuticals and food products to help extend and maintain shelf life. This industry-specific packaging protects against environmental damages and penetration from oxygen, moisture or other contaminants.
• Fragile products require additional shock protection. This helps keep products from suffering damage due to mishandling and impacts.

Standardize Your Product Package Designs

Consider standardizing package sizes and dimensions across multiple products. This lets you increase efficiencies by streamlining manufacturing, reducing system changeover times, and improving line utilization. The added benefit is less risk of wastage as excess packaging can be redirected to other products with minimal loss in time, effort and materials.

Build Sustainability in Your Supply Chain

Baking in energy-efficient production will not only help reduce stress on the environment, it can also help your bottom line. Choosing to use energy-efficient machines and forward-thinking packaging materials with lower manufacturing temperature requirements, can produce very real and tangible savings.

Incorporating sustainable practices, recyclable materials and reusable packaging helps keep your packaging agile, adaptive. and generates goodwill towards the public’s growing awareness that environmental problems indeed need to be addressed now more than ever.

Green logistics or eco-logistics encompasses a set of sustainable policies and measures aimed at reducing environmental impacts caused by the activities of the shipping industry.

This forward-thinking logistics concept affects how processes are configured. This includes structures, systems and equipment used in the transport, distribution and storage of goods.

Traditionally, the decision making process has left environmental sustainability on the sidelines. Only until recently has the industry begun to effectively incorporate green logistics as a method of finding a balance between ecology and economy.

This action generated a number of questions: How do you manage it? What’s the incentive to include green logistics policies in your company? What challenges does a green logistics paradigm face?

Let’s have a look at the main issues related to sustainable logistics.

The Objectives of Green Logistics

Green logistics goals:

• Reduce water, soil, air, and noise pollution by analyzing the impact of each logistics segment, especially those related to transport.
• Measure the carbon footprint of logistics operations. A baseline must be established as a  to develop sustainability measures and control further results through calculating energy consumption.
• Use supplies efficiently by reusing containers and recycling packaging.
• Spread sustainability throughout the supply chain. Eco-logistics also includes the materials used in the design of products as well as product packaging. Both must be developed to minimize their environmental impact.

Current Challenges

At present, the logistics industry isn’t widely recognized as having a high degree of sustainability. Due to several factors, logistics companies face significant obstacles in implementing environmental policies:

1. Fossil fuel dependency

Effective and economically viable incentives have yet to be fully developed to wean the sector’s fuel reliance – particularly in goods transportation.

2. Last Mile Deliveries’ impact on urban traffic

Most recently, e-commerce deliveries have greatly increased the volume of delivery vehicles in large cities and urban areas. Many operate without carrying full loads when faced with mixed orders.

3. Inadequate infrastructure

Many local authorities realize the need and are in the process of regulating emission limits. However, a wider agreement is needed that improve existing facilities and build new systems to meet the needs of everyone involved in logistics activities.

4. Cost Controls

Whether carried out in-house or outsourced, logistics operations face tight rates and margins. These financial pressures push investing in infrastructure, process automation or more efficient handling equipment further down the list of importance.

5. Consumer demands

For the customer, logistics is an intangible process until a package actually arrives. With the demand for 24-hour deliveries it’s difficult to consolidate loads to maximize your transport flows, let alone consider green logistics policies.

Moreover, logistical costs are often not itemized on an invoice making them invisible to the consumer. This diminishes delivery cost relevance and therefore, reduces the incentive for a business to invest in environmental sustainability.

Sustainable logistics strategies

1. Include environmentally friendly criteria in your procurement policies

When it comes to assessing suppliers’ proposals, sustainability standards can be included in a company’s purchasing and procurement policy.

This helps to evaluate the possibilities of purchasing eco-friendly supplies. As an example, more efficient industrial vehicle options help to curb greenhouse gas emissions – especially in the light duty class.

Furthermore, it’s worth looking into whether funding or a subsidy is available to help purchase them.

2. Minimize transport fleet environmental impact

Transport is a major contributor to the carbon footprint area in the logistics chain. Aside from retrofitting existing vehicles to limit emissions, or buying cleaner running vehicles, it’s also necessary to use systems that assist delivery route planning and prioritize load pooling.

With the help of systems such as real-time monitoring, not only do you achieve higher efficiency in fleet management, but you also cut back the overall emissions produced by the transport.

3. Follow sustainable warehouse construction and management standards

The current boom in the logistics sector is driving demand for new warehouses or forcing companies to redesign their infrastructure to meet market requirements.

As such, there are different ways in which an environmentally friendly operation can be reflected in warehouse design.

4. Reduce and recycle the waste produced in your warehouse

One of the measures to help apply environmental logistics in a warehouse is to use sustainable standards to manage the waste generated:

• Establish a waste sorting procedure according to the materials to be recycled.
• Reduce in-warehouse paper usage by implementing IT solutions such as the ProVision warehouse management software.
• Manage special waste controls so that they comply with appropriate recycling procedures.

5. Improve stock management and implement reverse logistics processes

Achieving more efficient storage facilities follows one of sustainable logistics management core principles: reduce waste through overall process improvement. Some measures of which include:

• Use a combination of good storage location management and optimized picking plans to reduce overall movements in your warehouse.
• Incorporate the use of robots and automated systems in your warehouse to help prevent stock damage caused by manual handling of goods.
• With perishable goods, accurately manage the FIFO criterion to control expirations and prevent goods from spoiling.
• Leverage reverse logistics management by establishing quality control processes for returned products.

The Advantages of Green Logistics

There are compelling reasons why green logistics continues to gain ground:

• A forward-thinking company that uses green logistics policies gives it a strategic advantage over the competition. Not only do they level-up your brand and set it apart, but they also future-proof your company, which inevitably must be sustainable.
• Energy saving measures are an effective strategy for coping with rising fuel and supply costs.
• Green logistics participation ensures that a company is prepared to comply with environmental regulations.

At Brimich, not only do we go green in our company, we also offer our customers our experience in managing multiple types of warehouses to make them more efficient and sustainable.

Partners Moving Towards Sustainability

Through intelligent observation and leveraged opportunity through Canada’s SmartWay program, Brimich has positioned itself to take full advantage of the future.

In the article Rick Fergus, VP of Sales and Operations, states:

“Becoming a more environmentally responsible transportation logistics company is an advantage we want to leverage—for ourselves, our customers and our environment. Being a SmartWay partner holds our company accountable, prompting us to live up to our commitment to environmental sustainability.”

Values, Vision, and Excellent Leadership.

The article goes on to explain some of the extraordinary details that go into running a lean, efficient, and environmentally conscious logistics business.

Getting Smarter

From the article:

– Brimich Logistics uses its SmartWay partnership as a logistics provider not only to choose from the most environmentally responsible carriers, but also to improve the fuel efficiency of its emerging transportation division.

– As a third-party logistics provider, the company takes advantage of the SmartWay portal to identify and hire carriers that are also program partners. Brimich also uses the SmartWay newsletter to stay up to date about the latest advances in transportation sustainability. As an added bonus, Brimich considers being a SmartWay partner as a further means—along with Safe Quality Food certification—of standardizing and improving key aspects of its operations.

For more insight into what makes smarter partnerships, read the full article on the Government of Canada website here: SmartWay Partner Profiles

Many businesses do not monitor the life of their products after they reach the end user. They leave it at that, and continue producing new products and pushing them into the market. In a world where sustainability is an issue, reverse logistics is an important aspect of any business.

What is reverse logistics? How can reverse logistics impact your business? Read on to discover more about reverse logistics.

• What is meant by reverse logistics?

Many people reading this right now may be scratching their heads, wondering,“What is reverse logistics?” This is because it is a fairly new term, having been mentioned in a white paper for the first time in 1992 by James R. Stock.

According to Wikipedia, reverse logistics refers to the process of moving goods from their intended final destination back to the manufacturer for the purpose of capturing value or proper disposal.

Many companies experience the need for reverse logistics when a customer sends back a product.

Reverse logistics are also used for electronic devices, where refurbishment and remanufacturing are common practices. In essense, reverse logistics occur when goods are being sent backwards. 

• What is green supply chain management?

Green supply chain management involves integrating environmental thinking into the supply chain process. Consumers are becoming more aware of environmental issues, and they want to buy from manufacturers that are taking care of the environment and using sustainable methods. 

• How does reverse logistics work?

In the retail industry today, return policies are being used as a competitive element; this is when a company allows the consumer to send a product back to the manufacturer and get a refund or another product if it doesn’t work as they expected. The product is returned to the retailer, usually to a centralized holding facility. The product is assessed for problems; if it is repairable, it can be categorized as such and sent back to the manufacturer.

Large retail stores expect the manufacturers of the products they sell to have good return policies, to remain competitive by meeting customer needs.

Successful retailers now understand that it is imperative to have a working and well-managed reverse logistics system; customers are happy with retailers that have good return policies.

How can reverse logistics be improved? If you intend to use reverse logistics, or want to implement it in your company, here are some factors that can help improve your reverse logistics performance:

1. Invest in durable packaging. The packaging should be able to protect your product on the trip forward and backward, so you avoid further damage to the items during the return.
2. Repair, refurbish and resell damaged items. Reselling the returned items for a little less money can help you recoup money that would have otherwise been lost. There are many people looking for discounted products.
3. Consider outsourcing your reverse logistics to a 3PL, so the process is handled effectively for you.
4. Having a dedicated returns area can make it easy for you to process returns as quickly as they come in.