Do you purchase products from abroad? Or are you an importer of certain goods? Then you have to deal with various logistics steps when transporting and importing these items and possibly a long delivery time. The modules Container Management and Shipments help you get a grip on this logistical process.
In Wholesale, the Shipments module is a module that can be additionally added to your ERP package. In SAP Business One, this requires an add-on: Resolv+ Mobility. However, the operation is more or less the same.
Monitoring logistics steps
The Container Management and Shipments modules follow the entire transport process of your goods, step by step. A step or shipment is a movement from A to B, for example in a shipping container, truck or cargo plane.
Every shipment involves a status change that the carrier will communicate to you. The order status helps you plan more accurately and also helps you communicate clearly to your customers about when they can expect certain items. The impact of this can even be forwarded to your webshop or online portal so that the delivery time is exactly right there as well.
Understanding transportation status helps you plan and communicate more accurately to your buyers.
Even if there are unexpected delays, with these modules you will always know exactly where your goods are.
A major advantage of Container Management and Shipments is that you can distribute order lines across multiple containers. This way you maintain a certain flexibility and orders are not waiting unnecessarily until the order is ready for shipment in total.
Monitoring logistics costs
The various shipments or logistics steps also involve costs. For example, the costs of the carrier or the person who arranges the transport, the handling costs, customs costs, import costs, insurance, etcetra. If all goes well, you will have estimated these costs in advance or you will receive them via an airway bill or bill of lading, for example.
However, actual costs can sometimes vary depending on the economy, supply and exchange rates. These fluctuations affect the margin of the products you sell.
After all, especially if the production cost of the items you order is low, it is the logistics costs that should largely determine the selling price.
The Container Management and Shipments modules help you get a better grip on the actual (pure) transportation costs of the goods you order.
The Container Management and Shipments modules help you get a better grip on the actual (pure) transportation cost of the goods you order and avoid fluctuations. You can retroactively calculate the pure delivery price and base your sales price on that.
The fixed transfer price or average purchase price can be high enough to overcome transportation fluctuations. But, if you are using FIFO, you can also choose to have the transfer price depend on the current pure transportation costs. You can do this by having these lot prices automatically valued based on landed costs included in the shipments. This creates a more accurate profit and loss determination.
New insights, new opportunities
Real-time visibility into shipping status and transportation costs may also offer new opportunities for your business.
For example, you can try to bring down the cost or delivery time for transportation by planning smarter (splitting orders between different loads), charging more competitive prices to your buyers, budgeting smarter, or making better deals with carriers or manufacturers.
Goods receipt also benefits!
Once the ordered items are at their destination (your warehouse), the Container Management and Shipments modules also make order entry easier.
This is especially true if 1 container load contains many different purchase orders. You no longer have to search for all the individual orders and book them in by hand, but can book 100 orders bundled together, so to speak.
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Would you like to know more about Container Management or Cargo Handling? We would be happy to tell you more about its possibilities for your company. Contact one of our consultants or request a demo or customization.
+ White Paper on Shipments (Wholesale, formerly Unit4 Wholesale)
+ Container Management Brochure (Resolv Mobility)
