Value Added Logistics Services For UK Businesses
Value Added Logistics Services For UK Businesses
Value added logistics services including kitting, repacking, labelling, product prep, warehousing, inventory management and distribution.
Not everything that happens in a warehouse involves putting something on a shelf or loading it onto a van.
Sometimes goods arrive and need work before they can go anywhere.
A retailer might need different labels applied to different products, items could arrive in bulk but need splitting into new bundles, or stock may need unpacking and reorganising before it can go out to customers.
We've dealt with plenty of these situations over the past 30 years.
At SFI, our value added logistics services cover the work that needs to happen around your stock while it's with us.
Alongside warehousing and storage, we can help businesses with jobs like kitting, repacking, labelling and sorting.
That way, your stock doesn't have to leave the warehouse, travel somewhere else to be worked on and then come back into the logistics chain.
It arrives with us, we do what's needed, then we get it where it needs to go.
What does value added logistics include?
Value added logistics, often shortened to VAL, covers the extra work carried out on goods beyond standard warehousing and transport.
The easiest way to explain it is with an example.
Imagine 1,000 products arrive at our warehouse. If we receive them, store them and later send them out again in exactly the same format, that's warehousing and distribution.
If those products need unpacking, sorting into different quantities, combined with another item, labelled and then prepared to be sent off, that's where value added logistics comes in.
Depending on the job, VAL can include:
- Kitting and product bundling
- Packing and repacking
- Labelling
- Barcoding and sorting
- Product preparation
- Quality checks
- Inventory management
- Order preparation
- Returns processing and reverse logistics
There's no set list that every job has to follow.
If your stock arrives with us and needs some work before it's ready to go out again, that's where we come in.
How do value added logistics services work with SFI?
Tell us what you've got
We start with the products. What are they, how many are there, how will they arrive and what needs to be different by the time they leave?
We receive the stock
Goods can arrive at our 45,000 sq ft warehouse from your own premises, manufacturers, suppliers or elsewhere in your supply chain.
We check what's arrived
We receive and record the stock so we know exactly what's arrived and what we're working with before the job starts.
We do the work
This could mean unpacking products, repacking them, adding labels, sorting stock, putting kits together or carrying out another agreed job.
We get everything ready to leave
Once the work is finished, goods can be organised according to their next destination, whether that's one customer, several sites or hundreds of individual orders.
We send it where it needs to go
Rather than handing everything back to another logistics company, SFI can manage the onward distribution too
What value added logistics services can SFI provide?
A lot of value added work starts with a client coming to us with a problem.
“We've got 500 units that need different labels.”
“These products have arrived in the wrong packaging.”
“We need these three items putting together before they go to the customer.”
After more than three decades in logistics, we're used to jobs that don't fit neatly into a standard service.
Depending on what you need, we can help with:
Kitting and bundling
If several products or components need to arrive together, we can bring them into the warehouse, organise them and prepare them as individual kits or sets.
Packing and repacking
Stock doesn't always arrive in the format needed for its next destination. Goods can be unpacked and prepared in different packaging before they leave us.
Labelling and barcoding
Labels, barcodes and other agreed product information can be added while stock is being held with us, rather than sending everything elsewhere to have the work completed.
Sorting and order preparation
A bulk delivery might ultimately be destined for dozens of different places. We can separate stock into the quantities needed for each order, site or destination.
Product checks
Where you've given us agreed checking criteria, our team can inspect products before they leave the warehouse and flag anything that doesn't look right.
Rework
Sometimes goods arrive and something needs changing before they can be distributed. Tell us what's happened and what needs doing; we'll look at whether it's something our warehouse team can take care of.
What's the difference between value added logistics and warehousing?
With standard warehousing, the main job is to receive your goods, store them safely and release them when they're needed.
Value added logistics introduces another stage: something happens to the goods while they're with us.
They might be repacked, a label might be changed, ten individual products could become one kit, a pallet might be broken down into 20 separate site deliveries.
The two services often work side by side.
In fact, that's one of the reasons value added logistics can work so well. If your stock is already being held in our warehouse, it makes sense to see whether the work it needs can happen there too.
Why choose SFI for value added logistics?
We've been working in logistics since 1992.
In that time, we've learnt that some of the most useful things we do for clients aren't always the easiest services to give a name to.
Sometimes a client needs long-term warehousing and distribution, sometimes they need complicated project logistics.
And sometimes they have 1,000 products sitting in a warehouse that need something changing before Friday.
That's where flexibility matters.
Businesses choose SFI because we offer:
- More than 30 years of logistics experience
- 45,000 sq ft of warehouse capacity
- Flexible value added logistics services
- Experienced warehouse teams
- Kitting and product preparation
- Packing and repacking
- Sorting and order preparation
- Inventory management
- Warehousing and storage
- Nationwide distribution
- Ecommerce fulfilment
- Reverse logistics
- Support for one-off and ongoing projects
- One team managing your stock from receipt through to dispatch
You don't need to work out whether the job is technically kitting, rework, fulfilment or something else before you speak to us.
Tell us what you've got and what needs to happen to it.
After more than 30 years doing this, there's a good chance we've dealt with something similar before.
FAQs
Value added logistics (VAL) is extra work carried out on goods as part of the logistics process, beyond storing and transporting them. It can include kitting, repacking, labelling, sorting, product preparation, quality checks and returns processing.
Kitting products together, changing packaging, adding labels, sorting a bulk shipment into individual orders and preparing stock for different destinations are all examples of value added logistics.
The terms VAL and VAS are often used interchangeably. Value added logistics usually refers to additional work carried out on goods within the logistics process, while value added services can be a broader term covering other additional services provided to a customer.
Yes, some clients need ongoing VAL support, while others come to us with a one-off job caused by a product launch, promotion, seasonal peak or unexpected issue with stock.
Yes, SFI has 45,000 sq ft of warehouse capacity and can combine value added work with storage, inventory management and onward distribution.
Yes, we can receive goods from manufacturers, importers or other parts of your supply chain and carry out the work needed before onward distribution. This can help when stock arrives in the UK and needs repacking, sorting, labelling or preparing before it can go to customers or sites.
It depends on the job. Product type, quantities, storage, labour, the work required and how frequently it needs to happen can all affect the cost. Give us an idea of what you need and we'll provide a personalised quote.
Talk to people who understand value added logistics
Tell us what's arriving, what needs doing to it and where it needs to go afterwards. We'll work out the logistics around it.