Logistics for manufacturers: what to look for in a logistics partner

Choosing a logistics partner for a manufacturing business comes down to whether they can handle your goods properly, cope with the way your volumes change and get products where they need to go without creating more work for your team.

Manufacturing logistics can become complicated quickly, and often for reasons that have little to do with the distance the goods need to travel. A customer site might not be ready when production finishes, machinery that is easy to handle in a warehouse can prove much harder to unload at its destination, while changing production schedules and delivery dates can leave finished stock needing a home at short notice.

After more than 30 years in logistics, we've learned that the difficult part of a job isn't always the obvious one. Moving a piece of equipment 200 miles might be easy enough; getting it through the final doorway, arranging delivery around other contractors or finding somewhere to hold it when a project slips by three weeks can take far more planning.

That's why choosing a commercial logistics partner shouldn't only be about comparing warehouse rates or transport costs.

You need to know whether the company you're trusting with your goods understands what happens throughout the journey, including the parts that don't always go to plan.

If you're looking for a logistics partner that understands your business, get in touch with SFI today.

 

What logistics services do manufacturers need?

 

For logistics, manufacturers normally need a combination of warehousing, goods-in, inventory management, distribution, specialist handling, project movements, B2B deliveries, final positioning and returns.

What you actually need will depend on what you manufacture, where your products come from and how they reach your customers. One business might need somewhere to hold finished goods until customers are ready, while another needs products received from a factory, checked into stock, stored, picked against orders and distributed across the UK.

For manufacturers of machinery, furniture, equipment or other big products, there can be another layer to consider because getting the goods to the destination is only part of the job. They may need specialist unloading, careful movement through a building, assembly or final positioning, all of which need to be considered before the vehicle leaves the warehouse.

It's useful to map the whole journey before approaching a logistics company: where will the goods come from, how will they arrive, what needs to happen while they're in storage and what will the customer expect when they eventually turn up?

As we explain in our guide to what a logistics partner does, the value of outsourcing logistics often comes from connecting these stages rather than buying each service in isolation.

As part of this, it's worth asking some important questions:

 

Does the logistics company have experience with your products?

 

Your logistics partner should have experience handling goods with similar weights, dimensions, values and handling requirements to your own, rather than relying on general experience of working with manufacturers.

Manufacturing covers a huge range of products, from boxed items and palletised stock to furniture, machinery and equipment weighing hundreds of kilograms or more, so experience in one area doesn't automatically translate into another.

When we plan a job, we want to know what we're dealing with before the goods arrive. How big is it, how heavy is it, can it be stacked, does it need mechanical lifting and is there anything about its shape or construction that changes the way it needs to be handled? If it's high value or fragile, that needs to be factored in too.

The same thinking should extend to the destination. A product might be easy to move around a warehouse with the right equipment, but if it's eventually going through a standard doorway, into a lift or across a finished floor, the logistics company needs to know that before delivery day.

We'd always rather find the difficult part of a job while we're planning it than with a vehicle sitting outside the customer's premises, and that's the sort of conversation you should expect a logistics partner to have with you.

 

Can your logistics company handle heavy, bulky or difficult goods?

 

If you manufacture heavy, bulky or awkward products, you need a logistics company with the equipment and hands-on experience to move them safely, both in the warehouse and once they reach their destination.

The weight of an item is only one part of the problem. A bulky piece of equipment might need to be unloaded somewhere without a loading bay, moved through an occupied building or delivered within a short time slot because other contractors are working on site, while an awkward shape can make an item difficult to manoeuvre even when its weight is relatively manageable.

We've worked on enough difficult deliveries to know that the final part of the journey can require more thought than the miles that came before it. This is why it's worth looking closely at a provider's heavy and bulky logistics capabilities, including the equipment available, the experience of the delivery teams and what they can do when an item can't just be taken off the vehicle and left at the kerb.

For movements involving storage, timed deliveries, specialist handling or work at the destination, it can also make sense to manage everything as one job. Our project logistics service brings those different stages together, so the final delivery is considered from the point the goods first arrive with us.

Get in touch with the team to find out more.

 

What should manufacturers look for in a warehouse?

 

A manufacturer's warehouse needs the right access, handling, storage space and stock management for the products being stored, not just enough square footage on paper.

A warehouse may have plenty of capacity but still be the wrong environment for oversized or difficult goods, which is why we'd look at what actually happens when your stock arrives. The team needs to be able to unload it safely, identify and record it, store it in the right location and retrieve it when it's needed, without every request turning into a hunt around the warehouse.

How you intend to use the space matters too. Some manufacturers need ongoing storage for regular stock, while others need somewhere to hold finished products between production and delivery, maybe because a project has moved, a customer isn't ready or stock has been produced ahead of a busy period.

At SFI, our warehousing and storage service combines 45,000 sq ft of warehouse space with inventory management, handling, staging and distribution. For manufacturers, having those services in the same operation means goods can arrive, be managed while they're with us and move on to the next stage without another supplier needing to become involved.

If you're currently keeping stock wherever you can find room, our guide to self storage vs warehouse storage also looks at the difference between renting space and using a warehouse as part of a wider logistics operation.

 

How should a logistics partner manage your stock?

 

A logistics partner should give you a clear record of what has arrived, what is currently in storage and what has left the warehouse, so your team isn't relying on phone calls or spreadsheets to find out where stock is.

For manufacturers holding finished goods away from their own premises, that visibility matters. If a customer brings an order forward or a project manager asks whether equipment is ready to go, you need an accurate answer rather than waiting for somebody to physically check.

Ask potential logistics partners how goods are booked in, how stock movements are recorded and what warehouse management system they use. If your business relies on an ERP, inventory platform or another internal system, it's also worth discussing integration at the beginning rather than discovering later that the two systems can't work together in the way you expected.

Technology should make stock easier to manage, but it doesn't need to become the centre of the conversation. What matters is that your team knows what's in the warehouse and that the warehouse team knows exactly what needs to move when an order comes through.

 

Can the logistics company cope when manufacturing volumes change?

 

Your logistics company should be able to increase or reduce warehouse, handling and distribution capacity when production levels or customer demand change.

Few manufacturers produce and dispatch exactly the same amount every month, and there are plenty of reasons why stock can build up even when production is running exactly as planned. A big order may be manufactured ahead of schedule, a customer could postpone a project or seasonal demand might mean building inventory before a busy period, leaving finished products taking up space that your own operation needs for something else.

Taking on another warehouse to cover a temporary peak rarely makes sense, which is where overflow warehouse storage can help. It gives manufacturers somewhere to move excess stock without committing to permanent additional space, with the goods still available when customers or projects are ready for them.

When you're comparing logistics companies, don't only ask whether they have capacity today. Ask what would happen if your stockholding doubled next month, how quickly additional space could be made available and whether the handling and transport side of the operation could increase with it.

It's much better to have that conversation before a busy period than when finished stock is already filling the space around your production line.

 

Can the logistics partner deliver directly to your customers or sites?

 

A manufacturing logistics partner should be able to deliver to the places your customers actually need their goods, whether that's another warehouse, commercial premises, an active project site or a specific position inside a building.

This is where it's worth finding out exactly what a logistics company means when it talks about nationwide delivery. Moving a pallet between distribution centres is very different from delivering machinery, furniture or equipment to a working site where there may be booked delivery slots, security, restricted vehicle access or other contractors working around the delivery team.

Sometimes the customer's requirement goes further again, with products needing to be unpacked, assembled or moved into their final position before the job can be considered finished. If that's part of what you've promised your customer, you need a logistics partner capable of delivering the same standard of service once your product leaves your hands.

Our white glove delivery and installation service is designed for goods that need more than a loading-bay delivery, including careful movement into a building, final positioning, installation where required and removal of packaging.

From your customer's point of view, the delivery company is an extension of your business, so how the product arrives matters almost as much as getting it there on time.

 

Can a logistics partner help when your warehouse is running out of space?

 

Yes, manufacturers can use outsourced or overflow warehousing to move finished goods out of production space while keeping stock available for customer orders and future deliveries.

We've seen businesses reach the point where finished products start creeping into areas that were never intended for storage, not because they lack space altogether but because production and customer demand aren't moving at exactly the same pace.

Holding more stock at your own site can eventually affect loading areas, working space and the room available for production, while taking on another building creates a much bigger commitment than many businesses need.

Using overflow storage gives you somewhere for those peaks to go, whether you need extra capacity for a few weeks, a project has been delayed or you're building stock ahead of demand.

For manufacturers considering whether to keep managing logistics internally or bring in outside support, we've also looked at the wider risks of outsourcing logistics and what businesses should consider before handing parts of their operation to another company.

 

Can one logistics partner manage the whole manufacturing journey?

 

Yes, one logistics partner can manage the whole journey if it has the warehousing, handling, transport, delivery and returns capabilities needed for your products.

This is often where a logistics partnership starts to make the biggest difference to the manufacturer's own workload.

Take a piece of equipment that finishes production six weeks before the customer's site is ready. It needs collecting, unloading and booking into stock, then storing safely until the project moves forward; when the date is confirmed, it needs picking, loading onto the right vehicle and delivered within the agreed time slot, perhaps with specialist unloading and final positioning once it gets there.

You can use a different supplier for each part of that journey, but somebody within your business still has to coordinate them all.

With one partner, the process can run:

Receive → store → manage → pick → transport → deliver → position → return

There are fewer handovers and fewer companies for your team to chase, while the people making the final delivery already know what the product is, where it has come from and what needs to happen when it arrives.

That's what we mean when we talk about a logistics partner, rather than a company brought in to complete one part of the job.

 

What questions should manufacturers ask a logistics company?

 

Manufacturers should ask questions based on their real products, volumes, destinations and potential problems, because this will tell you far more about a logistics company than a general list of services.

• Have you handled products like ours before?
• What weights and dimensions can your warehouse and delivery teams handle?
• How will our goods be booked in and tracked?
• What stock information will our team have access to?
• Can your systems integrate with ours if we need them to?
• What happens if we suddenly need more warehouse space?
• Can you manage regular distribution and one-off projects?
• Can you make timed deliveries to commercial and project sites?
• How do you plan deliveries where access is difficult?
• Can your team take products beyond the loading bay and into their final position?
• Who will we speak to if a delivery changes?
• How do you deal with damaged or returned goods?
• Can you collect goods as well as deliver them?
• How do you measure warehouse and delivery performance?
• Can your operation grow with ours?

A good logistics company should be happy to get into this level of detail because, in our experience, the more we know about the product, destination and possible challenges at the beginning, the easier it is to plan the job properly.

 

How do you choose the right logistics partner for your manufacturing business?

 

Choose a logistics partner that understands your products, has the capacity to accommodate changes in volume and can take responsibility for the parts of the journey that would otherwise fall back on your own team.

Price will always form part of that decision, but it needs to be considered alongside what the service actually includes. A low warehouse rate isn't much use if the facility can't handle your goods, just as a cheap transport quote can become expensive very quickly if the vehicle arrives at the customer and the item can't be unloaded.

At SFI, we've spent more than 30 years moving, storing and delivering goods for businesses across the UK, and today our services bring together warehousing and storage, heavy and bulky logistics, project logistics, distribution, white glove delivery and installation and reverse logistics.

Some manufacturers come to us because they've run out of warehouse space, others have a difficult product to move or a project that needs more planning than their usual transport operation can provide, while some want one logistics company to take care of storage, distribution and final delivery together.

Whatever has prompted the search, the best place to start is by telling us what you're moving, where it needs to go and anything about the job that could make it difficult. From there, we can work out the logistics around it.

Speak to SFI about your manufacturing logistics requirements.