You might think that logistics is all the same and as such, all third party logistics providers are alike. But nothing could be further from the truth. You’ll find differences in the infrastructure of the public warehouse, the technology in running operations, the breadth of services offered, and the price and what it includes.

How Brendamour Stands Out From the Rest

When it comes to differentiating ourselves from other 3PLs, it comes down to three words: flexibility, proactive and innovative. Here’s how we deliver the warehousing, distribution and auxiliary services that our clients need:

Management Expertise: Public warehousing and distribution is only as good as the people at the helm. At Brendamour, our founding team has the education and business experience necessary to properly manage and run an economically efficient logistics company.

Advanced Technology: Since opening for business in 1983, technology has been our backbone. Logistics cannot be performed effectively or efficiently without it, which is why we are constantly updating our operations with the latest technology enhancements. Very few warehousing and distribution services compare with our advanced technology systems, including a:

• Web-based warehouse management system, complete with barcoding applications, for real-time inventory control, shipping and tracking;
• Highly automated order fulfillment and order picking, including a gravity conveyor system and fully adapted shipping and routing computer;
• Computerized office, complete with computer equipment and programs, for accurate and efficient handling and inventorying of your goods.

High Quality Service: The infrastructure of warehouse and distribution facilities makes all the difference in the performance of 3PL companies. At Brendamour’s four public warehouses serving the Midwest, including the Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky areas, you’ll find modern facilities with the most complete security measures, including 24/7 security monitoring that includes recording systems and camera monitoring, and protection devices, including motion, door and sprinkler alarms. Our sophisticated infrastructure also includes high-tech equipment that allows us to provide high quality services not found at other public warehousing companies. Among them are:

• Lift Trucks that handle any type of goods, whether arriving by truck or rail. Our complement of hydraulic lift equipment includes fork trucks, roll clamp trucks, slip sheet handlers and box clamp trucks.
• Racking Systems that accommodate storage of any size or type of merchandise, particularly items that can’t be stacked.
• Food-Grade Warehousing to meet the needs of clients with food-related products that require sanitary conditions.
• Support Services, such as light assembly, premium fulfillment, pick and pack, custom labeling/barcoding and more.

Why Our Diverse Services Matter to You

When businesses seek out public warehousing and distribution, they’re looking for an extension of their company to handle certain or all aspects of supply chain management. By offering a wide range of warehousing, processing, packing, import and export, and distribution services, we can fulfill any application our clients require. To us, outsourced logistics does not mean having to compromise control, processes, quality, or customer satisfaction. Rather, logistics services provided by Brendamour ensure that you will:

• Continue to provide your customers with the high level of excellence they have come to expect from doing business with you.
• Have more streamlined and efficient handling, storage, inventory control and distribution.
• Gain greater control over your supply chain because you can manage in real-time.
• Save money in your logistics operations.

When it comes to trusting a public warehouse to store and move your product, Brendamour Warehousing has the track record and achievements for delivering competitive warehousing, distribution and other logistics services that will allow your company to run more efficiently so you can deliver the highest level of excellence to your customers.

For most businesses, third-party distribution is essential for getting their goods out to suppliers, stores, customers, agents, or other parties in their supply chain. However, the ability of a distribution service to distribute quickly, accurately and cost efficiently can make or break a business.

When outsourcing your transportation management to a warehousing and distribution company, it’s important to do your research ahead of time so you know exactly what the distribution center can handle and how it handles it.

Ask Questions First

At Brendamour Warehousing, Distribution & Services, we love getting questions from prospective clients. Since the distribution segment of our third-party logistics company is technology-driven, we handle a full range of distribution avenues and can customize our services to address unique needs. Nevertheless, it’s important that we have a good understanding of your needs and that you know our distribution capabilities.

These five main questions can get the conversation started:

1. What is included in your distribution service?
2. How many distribution channels can you manage simultaneously?
3. What are the various transportation methods that you use?
4. How do you track distribution?
5. Can your distribution system quickly adjust to handle peak times or growing demand?

Evaluate the Services

Distribution services may vary between 3PL providers. For some public warehouses, distribution may just cover transportation management, such as shipping and receiving. At others, it may incorporate a wider range of services. For instance at Brendamour Warehousing and Distribution, our distribution services include shipping and receiving and delivery services, as well as computer inventory, palletizing; stock rotation; fulfillment and order processing; and storing and compiling special materials. Of course, you only pay for the services you use, when you need them.

Compare the Differences

As a leading logistics warehouse in the Ohio area, Brendamour Warehousing takes proactive steps to ensure our distribution methods are keeping pace with (or exceeding!) the needs of our clients. As an example, on-demand transportation has become a much-requested service among our clients. As a result, we fine-tuned our existing on demand transit services so we could offer lower rates for clients who needed this specialized service, whether it’s transport by plane, train, full truck load, direct exclusive courier, or international.

To make sure our distribution services continuously deliver in customer satisfaction and cost-savings, we give them a three-point examination every year that includes the following:

1. Contract Renegotiations – We’re able to optimize freight costs for our warehousing and distribution clients because each year we renegotiate our freight and carrier contracts. Our knowledge in identifying pricing opportunities, route differentials and carrier selection gives us leverage in securing low rates.
2. Data Analysis – We have the most advanced warehouse management system that allows us to pull supply chain data and analyze it to find cost saving opportunities in all phases of our logistics, including transportation management services. The leaner and more efficient we perform, the greater the savings to you.
3. Distribution Optimization – We look at areas that will provide cost-savings to our clients while still maintaining the highest level of distribution services. Some distribution strategies we review and enhance as necessary include route optimization, load consolidation, zone skipping, mode shifting and cross docking.

Brendamour Delivers

Your business deserves a warehousing and distribution company that delivers expertise in centralized transportation management, including all modes of transportation and full use of a real-time distribution system. Brendamour delivers in all facets of distribution. Contact us today and let us put our distribution expertise to work for you.

As we start a new year, many businesses take the opportunity to review business performance and identify ways to improve or enhance certain aspects of their business processes. One major way companies can streamline business functions and realize significant savings that provide a measurable return on investment is outsourcing their logistics to a third-party warehouse and distribution provider.

Numerous research reports show that businesses gain a competitive advantage when they restructure their distribution network, an important factor when you consider the ever-increasing global competition in retail, e-commerce and manufacturing. Two influential studies on logistics outsourcing, one conducted by the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Irvine and the other by the Hamburg School of Logistics in Germany, indicate that businesses use a third-party logistics provider (3PL) for basic services like warehousing, material handling and transportation for three main reasons.

Reason #1: Brings the Focus Back to Core Competencies

Logistics encompass a wide breadth of services, from product packaging, labeling, warehousing, stock rotation and order fulfillment to packing, shipping and receiving, distribution and returns. And that’s just the main functions. There’s no denying logistics take up a lot of time, energy and resources, and if it’s not your company’s core competency, then logistics is taking attention away from the main focus of your business.

It stands to reason when you are able to do what you do best, business improves. Outsourcing warehousing and distribution allows companies to put their resources on their core competencies, whether it’s making a product or selling merchandise, and expand those money-making activities. At Brendamour, we’ve been helping businesses from small to large with a wide array of fulfillment and back-end operations so they can succeed in growing their company or becoming the best in their industry.

Reason #2: Cost Reduction

Business costs that can be eliminated or reduced through public warehousing are far-reaching. For starters, expenses associated with maintaining your own warehouse structure, such as overhead, insurance, staff, security measures, etc., are eliminated. So are related expenses, like building and equipment maintenance, fleet fuel, insurance and maintenance, cross-docking expenses, logistics software, and the like. These expenses are replaced by much lower costs paid to a logistics provider for warehousing and distributing your merchandise. Compared with in-house warehousing, the costs for outsourced logistics are much lower because infrastructure expenses are shared among all those using the warehouse. Costs are also lower because you share in the savings a 3PL receives from doing volume transporting with trucking companies and volume shipping with the major delivery carriers.

Reason #3: Improved Service

It’s a known fact: when your logistics are running smoothly, your business will experience improved customer satisfaction. That’s because logistics are the core competency of logistics services companies, so they invest in the best and most advanced processes, technology and services. For example, Brendamour Warehousing, Distribution & Services has the most state-of-the-art warehouse management system that handles our clients’ inventory, fulfillment, shipping, billing, order tracking and reverse logistics needs quickly and accurately. Plus, the system can quickly adapt to increased volume demands so satisfaction to your customers never wavers. By investing in logistics IT, we can accomplish things that are often beyond the capabilities of in-house warehouses. These advancements generally translate into high quality service to your customer base.

Let outsourcing your logistics be a New Year’s resolution you actually fulfill before year end. Call or email us today to learn how we can enhance your business operations and improve your bottom-line.

Location…Location….Location – It might be essential when buying a home, opening a business, or planning a vacation, but location might not be as important when looking for the best public warehousing provider. Rather, businesses deciding which public warehouse to use may want to follow this criteria checklist before making their final decision.

Main Factors to Consider When Choosing a Public Warehouse Provider

• Capabilities – The technology in use in a public storage warehouse is of the utmost importance. These computer systems and programs are what support the management and movement of inventory. For example, Brendamour Warehousing, Distribution & Services utilizes automated shipping and routing computers and a gravity conveyor system for preparing orders for shipment. In addition, Brendamour provides its clients with a warehouse management system (WMS) that comes complete with barcode applications and is compatible with most enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Many public warehouses do not have these capabilities and some require the use of your own WMS system. Keep in mind that the more technology a public warehousing company uses, the more accurately and efficiently your goods will be handled, inventoried, shipped and tracked.
• Other Services Available – While warehousing may be the basic service offered by public warehouse providers, the best warehouse companies provide complementing services to meet the specialized needs of its clients. As an example, Brendamour Warehousing provides office rentals and corresponding office services, order fulfillment and order picking, pick and pack support services, custom packing and labeling, assembly work, kitting, foreign trade customizations, advertising kit preparation, contract trucking, reverse logistics and a multitude of other services that pertain to getting your goods to market.
• Geographic Network – Depending on your type of business, the location of the public storage warehouse may not be important to you. However, its geographic network should be, especially as your company grows into other markets or if you need to move goods from various company facilities to different areas of the country. Not all warehouse facilities can provide countrywide or worldwide supply chain management services that warehouses with multiple locations can. As a complete 3PL and logistics operation, Brendamour has warehouse locations strategically located throughout the Midwest, including the Northeast, Northwest, South/Kentucky and South/Airport, to create interconnecting distribution hubs that are close to major highways, ports, railways and airports.
• Scalability – This is all about flexibility and how well a public warehouse can respond to your company’s growing needs. You need a facility that has the capacity to expand your warehouse space as needed and can do so in short notice.

5 Warehousing and Distribution Service Essentials

Whenever possible, a site visit to a public warehouse is a good idea for evaluating in person how it operates. It’s also important to ask for references, such as current clients or industry sources, and contact them for feedback.

Some things to look for during your visit are:

1. Security measures in use at the facility and if they are around the clock;
2. Organization and cleanliness of the storage areas;
3. A temperature controlled environment;
4. Maintenance of the facility’s infrastructure and equipment;
5. Whether it’s a bonded warehouse or insured in the event of product loss while stored there.

Brendamour welcomes site visits from potential and current clients. Our clean, secure, innovative and technology advanced facilities have ranked Brendamour among the leading warehouse and distribution facilities in the midwestern United States.

It’s a quandary that many businesses of all types and sizes face at some point in time – the need for more space while operating with limited resources and capital. It’s the point where using outsourced services might be a worthwhile consideration. Nowhere is this more in practice than with supply chain management and logistics. For diverse reasons that range from outgrowing a facility to controlling costs, more and more companies are turning to public warehousing to handle inventory storage, distribution and other logistics. Your business also might be better served by a public warehouse, especially if any of these circumstances are evident.

Telltale Signs Your Business Could Use Public Warehousing

Businesses that turn to public warehouses all have one or more of the following situations in common. If your company is experiencing any of these circumstances, it’s a sign that your business is ready for offsite warehousing.

• You’re a growing business looking for more space without changing your existing infrastructure.
• You’re a new business with no space for storing and distributing your products.
• Sales have increased, yet you’re not confident the upward trend will continue in future years to invest in a larger facility.
• Your business has seasonal increases in inventory that put a strain on your current infrastructure and operations.
• You’re borrowing staff from other departments to handle inventory, shipping and receiving and other logistics duties.
• You’re unable to add new product lines because you’ve run out of space in your existing building.
• You’re ready to expand internationally or into a wider market, but don’t have the infrastructure to support it.

What Public Warehousing Offers

A public storage warehouse offers long, short, or fixed term storage to businesses. These facilities store all types of goods, such as raw materials, finished goods and machinery, and provide the required essentials, like docks, forklifts, racks and around the clock security. A public warehouse acts as an extension of your company, providing a solution that makes good business sense for companies that don’t have the staff, space, information technology, or time to manage storage and/or the movement of inventory.

Besides storage, many public warehouses offer a wide range of complementing services at affordable rates. For example, although Brendamour Warehousing, Distribution & Services specializes in public warehousing, the Ohio warehouse also offers other value-added services, such as computerized inventory; fulfillment and order processing; stock rotation; custom packing and labeling; and all phases of distribution, from shipping and local deliveries to import and export services. You pick and choose which services you need and only pay for those services you use.

Advantages of a Public Warehouse

Cost-benefit analysis shows that third-party logistics providers deliver significant savings to businesses. Immediate cost savings are realized since leasing space in a public warehouse is more economical than building an extension on a current location or moving to a larger facility. But public storage warehousing also eliminates the following major costs to companies:

• Leasing or purchasing of additional storage units or buildings,
• Investing in inventory management systems,
• Purchasing or leasing warehouse equipment and maintenance contracts,
• Hiring and training additional staff,
• Paying taxes on owning additional property.

Using public warehousing also allows businesses to:

• Lower shipping costs since warehouses do greater volumes of shipping and can take advantage of consolidated freight rates.
• Free up storage space at their existing facility.
• Have a better handle on inventory management so they can better serve their customers in supply and demand situations.
• Streamline their supply chain management with storage and shipping done in one centralized location.
• Focus on the core areas of their business and allocate the applicable resources to them.

Your business will show signs it’s ready for a public warehouse arrangement. By recognizing them and taking immediate action, you’ll boost your bottom line and stay on target for growing a successful company.

For companies looking to streamline inventory control, shipping and receiving, billing and other business operations, plus enhance customer service, a warehouse management system (WMS) is the way to go. But Brendamour Warehousing takes such a system to a higher level by providing its clients with an innovative web-based warehouse management system. With it, you can:

• Get real time updates of warehouse activities so you can perform more succinct warehouse planning and better inventory management.
• Access all your warehousing and logistics matters 24/7/365 from any computer or mobile device with Internet access. You or any authorized employees can go online at any time and view your company’s inventory information in real-time. Having up-to-the-minute information means you can better manage your stock and deliver reliable customer service to your customers.
• Enhance customer service. With a real-time warehouse inventory system, you’re in the loop with warehousing and logistics activities being performed for your business. Instant communications can take place between you and Brendamour Warehousing, between you and your supply vendor(s) or manufacturers, and between you and your customers.

Advantages of Online Warehouse Management Software

As a third-party logistics provider, Brendamour Warehousing uses a web-based warehouse management system simply because it gives clients more tools, greater options and mobile flexibility without the costs of purchasing hardware, hiring IT personnel, performing system maintenance, or entering into long-term contracts. An on-demand system software integrates into your existing infrastructure and gives a real-time look into warehousing solutions being performed for you offsite.

What’s particularly beneficial about a web-based inventory management system is it’s all inclusive. Better still, with all-in-one warehouse software, you pay only for the services you use. For example, Brendamour Warehousing can offer its clients a la carte warehouse management services based on their needs and scale the services as their business grows. This makes warehouse inventory management affordable for small businesses and adaptable for large companies.

Functions of a Web-Based Warehouse Management System

A web-based WMS can perform a host of activities that save time, provide better business practices and deliver higher quality customer service. Here are some of the many automated functions a web-based warehouse management system can do for you:

• Online real-time inventory management that you can view by serial number, pallet ID number, lot number, or expiration date so you can track supply and demand fluctuations and ensure your goods are available to your customers when they need them. Real-time stock management prevents shortage of stock, which means greater customer satisfaction.
• Bar code tracking using the system’s barcode tools enables your business to quickly and easily track the movement of your goods during the entire distribution process. This allows you to easily provide your customers with the latest details about their transaction.
• Supply chain activities that save time, including cost estimating; order allocation management; receiving goods; barcode scanning; pick management by bin priority or FIFO; kitting functions; creating customized packing slips; shipping orders; billing; accounting and reporting; and notification of customer relations concerns.
• Electronic data exchange (EDI) for complete order management so your company can communicate quickly and efficiency among manufacturers, distributors, vendors and customers.
• Real-time, customized reports that give up-to-the-minute status and monthly, quarterly and yearly views of inventory, shipments, parcel tracking, billing and other warehousing activities. Your business can practice environmentally sound “green” measures by reducing your use of paper. An online WMS promotes paperless transactions, with all documentation saved in secured servers for access anytime.

With the Brendamour web-based warehouse management system, your entire fulfillment process is automated, ensuring a streamlined, error-free procedure. Learn more about it today by visiting our Contact Us page.