(Operation Management)

Summer Internship Project to Be Submitted in Partial

Fulfilment of The Requirements For
The Degree Of
Bachelor In Business Administration
From
CCS University, Meerut

Submitted To Submitted By
Dr. Manpreet Kaur Student Name: Raj Aryan
Assistant/Associate Professor Roll No. 11203105145

GNIOT Institute of Professional Studies

Plot No-7, Knowledge Park II
Greater Noida
CertifiCation
 aCknowledgement

I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all those who gave me the possibility
to complete this report. Special thanks are for my Superior Mentor Dr. Manpreet Kaur,
Assistant professor, Ashutosh Singh, Alok Mohan whose help, stimulating suggestion and
encouragement helped me in all time of fabrication process and in writing this report. I also
sincerely thanks for the time spend proofreading and correcting my many of the mistakes.

I would also like to acknowledge with my appreciation the crucial role of the staff in
Operational field in the office, who gave me the environment and their knowledge about the
logistical work, and also the authorization of the necessary permissions to use and to command.
My Special thanks is for my manager Anuja Bharadwaj who supported with the never give up
attitude on me. She literally supported me with my work helped me with late night MIS reports.
I was also supported by my Senior Co-Worker Rahul Shivraj Soni, he was the backbone for
me. Many a times he covers my mistakes and supported me as his little brother.

Many thanks go for the lecturer and supervisor who have given their full effort in grooming
the team and achieving the goals as well their encouragement to completion of project. My
aggregate thanks go to all my classmate, especially to my friends for sharing their time in
helping and giving support which, I need to fabricate my project.
 DECLARAATION

I Raj Aryan, S/o MR. Yubraj Thakur, ID No. 321021 Roll No. 211203105145 a
bonafide student of B.B.A. in GNIOT Institute of Professional Studies, Greater Noida,
would like to declare that the class project entitled OPERATIONS MANAGEMEMT
submitted by me in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree
of BACHELOR IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION is my original work.

Place: HOD OFFICE

Date: 18/10/2023 Signature of Student
 Table of Content

Preface
Acknowledgement
Internship Certificate
Institute Certificate
Student Declaration
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….
2. Theoretical Background………………………………………………………………………...
a) Industry profile…...........…………. …..………………………………………………….
b) Literature Review……….……………...………………………………………………….
3. Research Methodology…....................................…….……………………………………….
a) Objective of study...............................................................................................................
b) Scope of work.....................................................................................................................
c) Period of study....................................................................................................................
d) Data Collection....................................................................................................................
e) Sample Area & Size ..............................................................................................................
f) Sampling Technique............................................................................................................
g) Tools of Analysis................................................................................................................
4. Data Analysis............................................................................................................................
5. Findings....................................................................................................................................
6. Conclusion...............................................................................................................................
7. Recommendations and Suggestions………………………………………………… …...
8. References...............................................................................................................................
 introduCtion

Operation management is concerned with designing and controlling the production of goods
or services, ensuring that businesses are efficient in using resources to meet customer
requirement

It is concerned with managing an entire production or service system that converts inputs (in
the forms of raw materials, labour, consumers, and energy) into outputs (in the form of goods
and/or services for consumers). Operation management covers sectors like banking systems,
hospitals, companies, working with suppliers, customers, and using technology. Operations is
one of the major functions in an organization along with supply chains, marketing, finance and
human resources. The operations function requires management of both the strategic and day-
to-day production of goods and services.

In managing manufacturing or service operations several types of decisions are made including
operations strategy, product design, process design, quality management, capacity, facilities
planning, production planning and inventory control. Each of these requires an ability to
analyse the current situation and find better solutions to improve the effectiveness and
efficiency of manufacturing or service operations.

The industrial revolution was facilitated by two elements: interchangeability of parts and
division of labour. Division of labour has been a feature from the beginning of civilization, the
extent to which the division is carried out varied considerably depending on period and
location. Compared to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery were
characterized by a greater specialization in labour, which was a characteristic of the growing
cities and trade networks of Europe. An important leap in manufacturing efficiency came in the
late eighteenth century as Eli Whitney popularized the concept of interchangeability of parts when
he manufactured 10,000 muskets. Up to this point in the history of manufacturing, each product
(e.g., each musket) was considered a special order, meaning that parts of a given musket were
fitted only for that particular musket and could not be used in other muskets. Interchangeability
of parts allowed the mass production of parts independent of the final products in which they
would be used. An entire new market to fill the need for the sale and manufacturing of muskets
began at this time.
Report about company’s performance must be understable and accurate. Generally, Operation
provides a common set of working tools and a standard format for public companies to use
when they prepare their internal report. This standardization also makes it easier to compare
the overall performance of employee working there.

Inside report of every employee is mandatory for evaluation of their overall performance.
Corporation need this report to decide either the working hands are enough or they need more
of it. This report also helps them to decide their working model and for employee appraisal.

Operations management is concerned with ensuring that the company’s operations are efficient
and effective and that they meet the customers’ needs. It is also responsible for ensuring that
the company’s products and services are delivered on time and within budget.

Operations management is vital in ensuring that a company’s operations are aligned with its
strategic objectives. It helps to ensure that the company uses its resources in the most efficient
way possible and responds quickly to changes in demand.

Introduction to Operations Management is essential for businesses of all sizes, but it is

significant for businesses that are growing rapidly or are undergoing major changes. In these
situations, operations management can help ensure that the company’s operations can keep up
with the market’s demands.

Logistics operation is an essential aspect of the supply chain of any eCommerce brand today.
These operations impart a business's ability to meet the demands of their customers and drive
future sales for the running of the business.

Through strategic planning and development, businesses can optimize logistic operations and
management with the help of advanced technology and software. There are also vital and
practicable processes that a business can incorporate into its logistical function to have a
competitive advantage in the market.

For many businesses, logistical functions include inventory management, order fulfilment,
inbound and outbound transportation management, project management, material handling,
warehousing, and third-party logistics management. Because businesses are focused on
delivering quality goods and services to their customers, logistical operations play an essential
role in determining the success of an eCommerce business in the long run.
Furthermore, the size of a business can determines how the logistical process is handled.
Therefore, for small and medium-sized companies that manage their logistics process
themselves, there are crucial aspects they need to focus on to create an optimized operations
system.

Logpro Supply Chain Solution is the single stop solution for all the logistical kinds of problem.
The objective of this company is to serve the customers with the best solution and experience
for directing their goods to right spot. They work with vendors with a good grab on their
trucking business. Since, they have large client base in logistical services they are experiencing
a boom in expansion of their branch.
Logpro Supply Chain Solutions Pvt. Ltd. are a market leader in the Logistics and Supply Chain
industry with specialization in 3PL logistics, International Freight Forwarding and Customs
Clearance both in the Domestic and International segment. We combine a process-driven
approach with action to deliver measurable business value to make our clients more efficient.

Logo of Logpro Supply Chain Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

Key facts about Logpro Supply Chain Pvt. Ltd

Name of the Company Logpro Supply Chain Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

Company Category Company Limited by shares
Incorporated 18th April,2020
Register Office B-9, Ground Floor, Sardar Nagar, Delhi
110009.
Corporate Office Vipul Square, Sushant Lok-1, Gurugram,
Haryana 122009.

Organization Mission

To become the world’s preferred supply chain logistics company- applying insight, service
quality, and inclusion to create sustainable growth for business and society.

Organization Vision

At Logpro, we combine a process driven approach with action to deliver measurable business
value to make your business more efficient.

Team Structure

Directing Level Managing Director

Management Level Support Function
Operations
Sales
Delivery Level Support Function-
o Finance
o HR & Admin

Operations-
o Traffic
o Service Specialist

Sales-
 o Field Sales
o Inside Sales
o Sales Coordination

Specialization: 3PL

A 3PL (third-party logistics) provider offers outsourced logistics services, which encompass
anything that involves management of one or more facets of procurement and fulfillment
activities. In business, 3PL has a broad meaning that applies to any service contract that
involves storing or shipping items. A 3PL service may be a single provider, such as
transportation or warehouse storage, or it can be a systemwide bundle of services capable of
handling supply chain management.

The primary benefit of using a 3PL service to handle logistics, such as packaging, warehousing,
fulfilment and distribution, is cost savings -- for example, not having to maintain a warehouse
or the staff to monitor supply chain operations.

A 3PL service likely offers better performance on efforts such as shipping while also enjoying
an easier ability to scale its operations. If the publishing company in the example above
suddenly needs to ship more copies of a popular title, a fulfilment centre will have an easier
time meeting that demand than if the publisher itself had to ship additional copies of the book.

Third-Party Logistics or 3PL is essentially outsourcing a company’s logistics activities to a

third party with expertise in this area. With the proper infrastructure, network, and specialised
knowledge, 3PL providers can be exceptionally useful to their clients by providing them with
the benefits of scalability, flexibility, reduced costs and allowing them to take care of their core
operations.
Workspace Network

Services

➢ Contract Logistics:
Logpro SCS has expertise in all kind of contract logistics such as warehousing,
transporting and distributing goods, processing orders, supply chain planning, customer
service support, etc.
➢ Freight:
Surface Services: Our Specializations are –

• Local Pick-Up and Delivery

• Less-than Truck load
• Full Truck Load
• Containerized fleet
• Different types of trailers
• Refrigerated fleet
• Customized Fleet
• Trailers (Flat-bed Trailers, Roller-bed Trailers, etc.)
Air Services:
Logpro is a committed to provide Air Transport services on a domestic level at highest
standard of safety, security & on time delivery. We specialized in taking best care of
cargo right from the time of shipping of the consignment till the time of final delivery.
The Air Transport service of Logpro includes:

• Domestics Air freight Services

• Hand-Carry Services

• International Air Freight Service (through channel partners)

Ocean Services:

We offer Freight Forwarding Services through our channel partner which includes
Import & Export shipments. We offer competitive prices on Air Freight, Sea Freight for
LCL / FCL Cargo, Break Bulk or Over dimensions cargo.
Our time bound services is designed to meet your just-in-time requirements.
• Break-Bulk/Out-of-Gauge
• Consolidation Services
• Deconsolidation Services
• Full Container Load (FCL)
• Less than Container Load (LCL)
• Temperature-Controlled

Rail Services:

The supply chain and logistic service of Logpro is not just limited to roadways as we
also have major expertise in delivering your precious goods via rail from major to trunk
lines. We ensure safe and proper handling of SLR & VPU or Break-bulk facilities as
per your requirement and on a cost-effective price. We manage major load from pan
India and take pride of a strong network.
 Our highly efficient and cost-effective train carriage service include the following
services:

• Door-to-Door
• Railway Station-to-Railway Station
• Door-to-Railway Station
• Railway Station-to-Door
➢ Warehousing:
Shared Warehouses for different industry verticals
• Dedicated & customized warehousing solutions
• In plant stores management, line feeding
• Distribution center, JIT services
• Value added services including stock planning
• Custom bonded, excise bonded operations
• Documentation, system support
• Inventory Management Solution
• Product Delivery
• Seamless Integration
• Holistic Storage Facilities

➢ Customs Brokerage:
We offer:
• Online Customs Processing
• Remote Location Filing
• Import & Export Clearance & Documentation
• Wheels-Up Clearance
• Classification
• Duty Drawback

Function and working model of Logrpo Supply Chain Solution

Logpro Supply-chain Solution is a cross-functional approach that includes managing the

movement of raw materials into an organization, certain aspects of the internal processing of
materials into finished goods, and the movement of finished goods out of the organization and
toward the end consumer. As organizations strive to focus on core competencies and become
more flexible, they reduce ownership of raw materials sources and distribution channels. These
functions are increasingly being outsourced to other firms that can perform the activities better
or more cost effectively. The effect is to increase the number of organizations involved in
satisfying customer demand, while reducing managerial control of daily logistics operations.
Less control and more supply-chain partners lead to the creation of the concept of supply-chain
management. The purpose of supply-chain management is to improve trust and collaboration
among supply-chain partners, thus improving inventory visibility and the velocity of inventory
movement. In this section, we have to communicate with all the vendors and suppliers, make
some comparisons, and after that, we have to place the order.

Supply Chain Centroid

In the study of supply-chain management, the concept of centroids has become a useful
economic consideration. In mathematics and physics, a centroid is the arithmetic
mean position of all the points in a plane figure. For supply chain management, a centroid is a
location with a high proportion of a country's population and a high proportion of its
manufacturing, generally within 500 mi (805 km). In the US, two major supply chain centroids
have been defined, one near Dayton, Ohio, and a second near Riverside, California.

The centroid near Dayton is particularly important because it is closest to the population center
of the US and Canada. Dayton is within 500 miles of 60% of the US population and
manufacturing capacity, as well as 60% of Canada's population. The region includes the
interchange between I-70 and I-75, one of the busiest in the nation, with 154,000 vehicles
passing through per day, of which 30–35% are trucks hauling goods. In addition, the I-75
corridor is home to the busiest north–south rail route east of the Mississippi River.

A supply chain is the network of all the individuals, organizations, resources, activities and
technology involved in the creation and sale of a product. A supply chain encompasses
everything from the delivery of source materials from the supplier to the manufacturer through
to its eventual delivery to the end user. The supply chain segment involved with getting the
finished product from the manufacturer to the consumer is known as the distribution channel.
Supply chain solution Centroid Origin
In 2010, Logpro announced a big change in its sourcing strategy. Initially, Logpro relied on
intermediaries in the sourcing process. It bought only 20% of its stock directly, but the rest
were bought through the intermediaries. Therefore, the company came to realize that the
presence of many intermediaries in the product sourcing was actually increasing the costs in
the supply chain. To cut these costs, Logpro decided to do away with intermediaries in the
supply chain and started direct sourcing of its goods from the suppliers. Eduardo Castro-
Wright, the then Vice President of Logpro, set an ambitious goal of buying 80% of all Logpro
goods directly from the suppliers. Walmart started purchasing fruits and vegetables on a global
scale, where it interacted directly with the suppliers of these goods. The company later engaged
the suppliers of other goods, such as cloth and home electronics appliances, directly and
eliminated the importing agents. The purchaser, in this case Logpro, can easily direct the
suppliers on how to manufacture certain products so that they can be acceptable to the
consumers. Thus, Logpro, through direct sourcing, manages to get the exact product quality as
it expects, since it engages the suppliers in the producing of these products, hence quality
consistency. Using agents in the sourcing process in most cases lead to inconsistency in the
quality of the products, since the agent's source the products from different manufacturers that
have varying qualities.

Logpro managed to source directly 80% profit its stock; this has greatly eliminated the
intermediaries and cut down the costs between 5-15%, as markups that are introduced by these
middlemen in the supply chain are cut. This saves approximately $4–15 billion. This strategy
of direct sourcing not only helped Logpro in reducing the costs in the supply chain but also
helped in the improvement of supply chain activities through boosting efficiency throughout
the entire process. In other words, direct sourcing reduced the time that takes the company to
source and stocks the products in its stock. The presence of the intermediaries elongated the
time in the process of procurement, which sometimes led to delays in the supply of the
commodities in the stores, thus, customers finding empty shelves. Logpro adopted this strategy
of sourcing through centralizing the entire process of procurement and sourcing by setting up
four global merchandising points for general goods and clothing. The company instructed all
the suppliers to bring their products to these central points that are located in different
markets. The procurement team assesses the quality brought by the suppliers, buys the goods,
and distributes them to various regional markets. The procurement and sourcing at centralized
places helped the company to consolidate the suppliers.
Establishment of Logistics
The company has established four centralized points, including an office in Mexico City and
Canada. Just a mere piloting test on combining the purchase of fresh apples across the United
States, Mexico, and Canada led to the savings of about 10%. As a result, the company intended
to increase centralization of its procurement in North America for all its fresh fruits and
vegetables. Thus, centralization of the procurement process to various points where the
suppliers would be meeting with the procurement team is the latest strategy which the company
is implementing, and signs show that this strategy is going to cut costs and also improve the
efficiency of the procurement process.

Strategic vendor partnerships are another strategy the company is using in the sourcing process.
Logpro realized that in order for it to ensure consistency in the quality of the products it offers
to the consumers and also maintain a steady supply of goods in its stores at a lower cost, it had
to create strategic vendor partnerships with the suppliers. Logpro identified and selected the
suppliers who met its demand and at the same time offered it the best prices for the goods. It
then made a strategic relationship with these vendors by offering and assuring the long-term
and high volume of purchases in exchange for the lowest possible prices. Thus, the company
has managed to source its products from same suppliers as bulks, but at lower prices. This
enables the company to offer competitive prices for its products in its stores, hence, maintaining
a competitive advantage over its competitors whose goods are a more expensive in comparison.

Another sourcing strategy Logpro uses is implementing efficient communication relationships

with the vendor networks; this is necessary to improve the material flow. The company has all
the contacts with the suppliers whom they communicate regularly and make dates on when the
goods would be needed, so that the suppliers get ready to deliver the goods in time. The
efficient communication between the company's procurement team and the inventory
management team enables the company to source goods and fill its shelves on time, without
causing delays and empty shelves. In other words, the company realized that in ensuring a
steady flow of the goods into the store, the suppliers have to be informed early enough, so that
they can act accordingly to avoid delays in the delivery of goods. Thus, efficient
communication is another tool which Logpro is using to make the supply chain be more
efficient and to cut costs.

Cross-docking is another strategy that Logpro is using to cut costs in its supply chain. Cross-
docking is the process of transferring goods directly from inbound trucks to outbound
trucks. When the trucks from the suppliers arrive at the distribution centers, most of the trucks
are not offloaded to keep the goods in the distribution centers or warehouses; they are
transferred directly to another truck designated to deliver goods to specific retail stores for sale.
Cross-docking helps in saving the storage costs. Initially, the company was incurring
considerable costs of storing the goods from the suppliers in its warehouses and the
distributions centers to await the distribution trucks to the retail stores in various regions.

Roles and Responsibility in Logistical organization

Supply chain professionals play major roles in the design and management of supply chains.
In the design of supply chains, they help determine whether a product or service is provided by
the firm itself (insourcing) or by another firm elsewhere (outsourcing). In the management of
supply chains, supply chain professionals coordinate production among multiple providers,
ensuring that production and transport of goods happen with minimal quality control or
inventory problems. One goal of a well-designed and maintained supply chain for a product is
to successfully build the product at minimal cost. Such a supply chain could be considered a
competitive advantage for a firm.

Beyond design and maintenance of a supply chain itself, supply chain professionals participate
in aspects of business that have a bearing on supply chains, such as sales forecasting, quality
management, strategy development, customer service, and systems analysis. Production of a
good may evolve over time, rendering an existing supply chain design obsolete. Supply chain
professionals need to be aware of changes in production and business climate that affect supply
chains and create alternative supply chains as the need arises.

In a research project undertaken by Michigan State University's Broad College of Business,

with input from 50 participating organizations, the main issues of concern to supply chain
managers were identified as capacity/resource availability, talent (recruitment), complexity,
threats/challenges (supply chain risks), compliance and cost/purchasing issues. Keeping up
with frequent changes in regulation was identified as a particular concern. Complexity within
supply chains has also been highlighted in Supply Chain Digest and by Gartner as a perennial
challenge.

Supply chain consultants may provide expert knowledge in order to assess the productivity of
a supply-chain and, ideally, to enhance its productivity. Supply chain consulting involves the
transfer of knowledge on how to exploit existing assets through improved coordination and can
hence be a source of competitive advantage: the role of the consultant is to help management
by adding value to the whole process through the various sectors from the ordering of the raw
materials to the final product. In this regard, firms may either build internal teams of
consultants to tackle the issue or engage external ones: companies choose between these two
approaches taking into consideration various factors.

The use of external consultants is a common practice among companies. The whole consulting
process generally involves the analysis of the entire supply-chain process, including the
countermeasures or correctives to take to achieve a better overall performance.

Reverse Supply Chain Solution

Reverse logistics is the process of managing the return of goods and may be considered as an
aspect of "aftermarket customer services". Any time money is taken from a company's
warranty reserve or service logistics budget, one can speak of a reverse logistics operation.
Reverse logistics also includes the process of managing the return of goods from store, which
the returned goods are sent back to warehouse and after that either warehouse scrap the goods
or send them back to supplier for replacement depending on the warranty of the merchandise.

Digital Supply chain Solution

Consultancies and media expect the performance efficacy of digitizing supply chains to be
high. Additive manufacturing and blockchain technology have emerged as the two
technologies with some of the highest economic relevance.

Additive manufacturing
The potential of additive manufacturing is particularly high in the production of spare parts,
since its introduction can reduce warehousing costs of slowly rotating spare parts. Digitizing
technology bears the potential to completely disrupt and restructure supply chains and enhance
existing production routes.

Blockchain
In comparison, research on the influence of blockchain technology on the supply chain is still
in its early stages. The conceptual literature has argued for a considerably long time that the
highest performance efficacy is expected in the potential for automatic contract
creation. Empirical evidence contradicts this hypothesis: the highest potential is expected in
the arenas of verified customer reviews and certifications of product quality and standards. In
addition, traditional supply chain has many drawbacks such as lack of transparency and trust,
and some of them can be solved by blockchain technology. The technological features of
blockchains support transparency and traceability of information, as well as high levels of
reliability and immutability of records. That helps traditional supply chain management to be
more efficient and reliable.

Logistics and Operations Management with easy ship

Logistics operations are a significant determiner of any business performance. Besides
ensuring the flow of goods from the source to the consumers, a brand's logistics process imparts
the relationship between a business and its customers.

Many aspects of the supply chain can affect the smooth running of logistics operations which
makes improving the logistics operations of any company essential. In addition, logistics
operations can be time and resource-tasking for companies who single-handedly handle that
aspect of their business.

Rather than optimizing your logistics operations by yourself, Easy ship can handle order
fulfilment for your business. In addition, easy ship gives you a competitive advantage with
integrated software and features, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business and
satisfy your customers better.

• Free Shipping Rates Calculator: Access high-volume discounts from major couriers.
Plus, get instant access to delivery lead times from premium shipping couriers
• Global Fulfilment: Easy ship has warehouse partners on four continents to reach your
customers worldwide. Plus, Easy ship helps scale up fulfilment capabilities without
increasing overhead costs
• Shipping Policy Generator: Our shipping policy generator helps merchants and
crowdfunding campaigns generate their shipping policy by providing tracking and
insurance options, plus other vital information for your shipping process.
How to optimize your warehouse shopping experience? This is the only point
where every new vendor and merchant faces difficulties.

Eighty-three percent of respondents use a warehouse management system, according to

Statista. This statistic highlights the importance of implementing a world-class warehouse
shipping procedure.

For instance, automated warehouse software, a suitable shipping courier, and warehouse
management software are some steps you can take to get one step closer to your goal. We’ll
cover everything you need to know about creating an optimized warehouse shipping procedure
so that you can save time and improve efficiency for your business.

What Are Warehouse Shipping Procedures?

Warehouse shipping operations refer to the processes involved in transporting items from a
warehouse to their final destination. Your warehouse shipping procedure falls into small parcel
shipping or freight shipping.

Generally, you’re warehouse shipping procedure involves steps such as the following:

• Order receiving
• Order processing
• Order fulfilment
• Order shipping

We’ll give a more detailed overview of shipping operations so that you can understand the
entire process of shipping and order fulfilment for your business.

A Step-by-Step Breakdown of the Warehouse Shipping Procedures

You’ll need to understand the step-by-step process of warehouse shipping to create an optimal
shipping process for your customers (without human error). Shipping warehouse operations go
beyond just placing an order and arriving at a customer’s doorstep. This fact alone is why it’s
vital to understand picking, packing, and shipping orders for your business.

1. Order receiving
This warehouse shipping process involves orders being received in a warehouse. More
specifically, this step consists in accepting and virtually logging orders so that they can move
on to the next stage.

In the order receiving stage, this step also involves ensuring enough product in stock so the
order can move on to the next step. Merchants can improve efficiency by using inventory
management software (IMS) to save time and improve the accuracy of order receiving.

2. Order processing

Following order receiving, you can move on to the order processing step. This specific step
involves verifying the customer’s information, such as their address, to ensure the accuracy of
the order.

Utilizing an automated order processing system can help improve the efficiency of your
shipping operations. This type of shipping software allows merchants to verify order
information and data to process orders quickly.

3. Order fulfilment

Following the order receiving and processing steps, the order fulfilment step is next. Order
fulfilment deals with warehouse employees picking and packing orders for shipping. A
warehouse employee uses a pick list of items for a specific order in this step. This slip contains
information about the order, the quantity, and where to find the item in the warehouse. After
the warehouse employee “picks” the item, they “pack” the item in the “packing” area so that
the order can be shipped.

4. Order shipping

This step is the final stage of your warehouse shipping procedures. The order shipping process
involves sending and shipping out customer orders to their final destination.

In this stage, shipping labels are also generated and placed on a shipment box before it’s sent
out. Then, your chosen shipping courier will pick up your orders and transport them to their
recipient. Merchants also receive tracking information as soon as it’s in transit.
Use automated warehouse software
According to inbound logistics, sixty-three percent of operating budgets are made up of labor
costs. Automated order processing systems drastically improve your warehouse shipping
procedures by automating data collection and inventory, eliminating inventory misplacement,
shipping issues, or loss. Plus, automated warehouse software reduces labor costs and other
operational expenses. So, to keep up with the competition, consider using automated warehouse
software for your business.

Utilize the right courier or shipping platform

Choosing a suitable shipping courier for your business can make or break your
business. Thirty-three percent of consumers have high expectations for fast shipping, which
means you want to choose a courier that meets your customers' needs. However, retail shipping
rates can quickly add up and often be costly for your business.
Instead, using a shipping platform that offers high-volume discounts can help you cut costs for
your business while providing ample benefits and shipping tools. For example, Easy ships
offers up to 89% off discounted shipping rates on 250+ couriers. Plus, you'll gain access to
shipping tools like our shipping rates calculator, duties and taxes, calculator, and many more
tools designed to ace your shipping operations.

Establish a proper warehouse management system

A proper warehouse management system (WMS) improves efficiency and visibility for your
warehouse shipping procedures. A WHS helps your shipping process by enhancing your
warehouse productivity with features such as automatic updates and barcode scanning. This
way, you can reduce human error by maintaining accurate picking, packing, and shipping
processes.
The closer you are to your customers, the cheaper your shipping costs and faster delivery lead
times. Easy ships offer a global fulfilment network of warehouse partners on four continents
so you can reach your customers all over the world. Plus, with discounted shipping rates up to
89% off, you can focus on scaling your business globally.

How Easy ships Helps with Warehouse Shipping

At this point, you should know everything about how to improve efficiency for your
eCommerce business and shipping operations. Establishing an optimal warehouse managing
system reduces human effort and saves on automated shipping processes for warehouse
operations and all steps of the shipping process.
For instance, utilizing a shipping platform can help you cut back on shipping costs to focus on
other areas of your business. Easy ships help users streamline their shipping processes with
automated shipping tools for your warehouse shipping procedures. With Easy ships, you gain
instant access to tools such as the following:

• Easy ships Shipping Rates Calculator: Access high-volume discounts from major
couriers. Plus, get instant access to delivery lead times from premium shipping couriers
• Global Fulfilment: Easy ships have warehouse partners on four continents so that you
can reach your customers all across the world. Plus, Easy ships helps scale up fulfilment
capabilities without increasing overhead costs
• Duties & Tax Visibility: Easy ships works out all duties and taxes for your international
shipments so you can handle your international orders with ease. Calculate your duties
for overseas shipments here.

literature review

Origin of the logistics and their terms

In 1982, Keith Oliver, a consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, introduced the term "supply chain
management" to the public domain in an interview for the Financial Times. In 1983 Wirtschafts
Woche in Germany published for the first time the results of an implemented and so called
"Supply Chain Management project", led by Wolfgang Partsch.

In the mid-1990s, the term "supply chain management" gained currency when a flurry of
articles and books came out on the subject. Supply chains were originally defined as
encompassing all activities associated with the flow and transformation of goods from raw
materials through to the end user or final consumer, as well as the associated information flows.
Mentzer et al. consider it worthy of note that the final consumer was included within these
early definitions. Supply-chain management was then further defined as the integration of
supply chain activities through improved supply-chain relationships to achieve a competitive
advantage.

In the late 1990s, "supply-chain management" (SCM) rose to prominence, and operations
managers began to use it in their titles with increasing regularity. A supply chain, as opposed
to supply-chain management, is a set of firms who move materials "forward", or a set of
organizations, directly linked by one or more upstream and downstream flows of products,
services, finances, or information from a source to a customer. Supply-chain management is
the management of such a chain.

Other commonly accepted definitions of supply-chain management include:

➢ The management of upstream and downstream value-added flows of materials,

final goods, and related information among suppliers, company, resellers, and final
consumers.
➢ The systematic, strategic coordination of traditional business functions and tactics
across all business functions within a particular company and across businesses
within the supply chain, for the purposes of improving the long-term performance
of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole.
➢ A customer-focused definition is given by Hines (2004: p76): "Supply chain
strategies require a total systems view of the links in the chain that work together
efficiently to create customer satisfaction at the end point of delivery to the
consumer. As a consequence, costs must be lowered throughout the chain by
driving out unnecessary expenses, movements, and handling. The main focus is
turned to efficiency and added value, or the end user's perception of value.
Efficiency must be increased, and bottlenecks removed. The measurement of
performance focuses on total system efficiency and the equitable monetary reward
distribution to those within the supply chain. The supply-chain system must be
responsive to customer requirements.”
➢ The integration of key business processes across the supply chain for the purpose
of creating value for customers and stakeholders.

➢ According to the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP),

supply-chain management encompasses the planning and management of all
activities involved in sourcing, procurement, conversion, and logistics
management. It also includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners,
which may be suppliers, intermediaries, third-party service providers,
 or customers. Supply-chain management integrates supply and
demand management within and across companies. More recently, the loosely
coupled, self-organizing network of businesses that cooperate to provide product
and service offerings has been called the Extended Enterprise.

Supply chain visibility, in its origins, was concerned with knowledge of the location/production
stage and expected delivery date of incoming products and materials, so that production could
be planned, but the development of the term has enabled it to be used to plan orders using
knowledge of potential supplies, and to track post-production processes as far as delivery to
customers.

Supply-chain-management software includes tools or modules used to execute supply chain

transactions, manage supplier relationships, and control associated business processes. The
overall goal of the software is to improve supply chain performance by monitoring a company's
supply chain network from end-to-end (suppliers, transporters, returns, warehouses, retailers,
manufacturers, and customers).

In some cases, a supply chain includes the collection of goods after consumer use for recycling
or the reverse logistics processes for returning faulty or unwanted products back to producers
up the value chain.

What is Warehouse Inventory Management for eCommerce?

The concept of an eCommerce warehouse differs from a traditional warehouse or storage

facility. eCommerce warehousing is storing and managing inventories of physical goods before
they are sold online. Plus, eCommerce warehousing refers to all the activities involved in safely
securing and storing products in the storage space. It also includes:

➢ Tracking and managing the location of a product

➢ Time of arrival
➢ Duration of storage (short term vs. long term)
➢ Quantity available in the storage space

How Does eCommerce Warehousing Affect the Operations of Your Business?

Regardless of the size of your business, warehousing dramatically affects your business's
operations and management. Below are the benefits of warehousing: Ship to your customers
faster Merchants can reach their customers faster when choosing a warehouse location closest
to their customer base. When merchants choose a strategic place to store their items, merchants
can improve delivery lead times while boosting customer satisfaction.

Better organization of products

The organization of both incoming and outgoing products prevents mix-ups while delivering
orders to customers. Customers' trust depends intricately on the accuracy of businesses to
deliver the orders just the way the customer wanted it. Warehousing, which involves inventory
management, ensures products are arranged and stock levels are in order.

Less stress with online store inventory management

Managing inventories, sorting, packaging, and transporting products becomes an easy task in
an organized warehouse. As a result, it becomes less of a job and reduces errors.
While eCommerce warehousing solves these tasks efficiently, online businesses can monitor
the processes and performances. Plus, merchants can use the data provided to grow and make
better business decisions.

Save time
Forty percent of customers wish to deliver their products within two days with fast shipping,
while 18% want next-day delivery. Therefore, customer satisfaction depends majorly on
consistent, timely delivery. Plus, organized eCommerce warehouses result in timely and
accurate package deliveries.

Best Practices of eCommerce Warehousing

Leveraging on best practices for eCommerce warehousing will provide the ideal solution to the
exponential growth of your business. Here, we'll give you all the tips and tricks of inventory
storage ideas. That way you can meet your goal of customer retention and satisfaction.
However, most people determine the storage space needed for storing products and cartons
only and forget other activities in the warehouse. These activities include:

1. Receiving: Unloading, quality control, labelling, and arranging.

2. Storage: Extra storage for the development phase
3. Shipping: Includes packaging, labelling, quality control, and shipping.
 4. Space for returns and dead stock: Extra storage space for goods returned by customers
or goods that couldn't be delivered.

Use the right warehouse management software

A warehouse management system specializes in different features that optimize an eCommerce
warehouse. Below are some of its features:

1. Inbound receiving and inventory control: The WMS controls the processes in
receiving products and taking inventory as it leaves the warehouse.
2. Pick/pack/ship workflow management: WMS schedules and directs the warehouse
workflows.
3. User-defined reports: WMS generates reports as Key Performance Indicator, KPI.
KPI is a measurable result that effectively quantifies how a business achieves its key
objectives and goals.
4. Easy API integration: WMS can be integrated within the Application Programming
Interface (API) by setting a communication interface between various software.
5. Scale your business globally: WMS integrated with APIs have the ability to scale your
business globally. Plus, it has the potential of reaching international customers all over
the world.

Integrate your eCommerce warehouse systems

The integration with API allows KPIs to share business data seamlessly and globally. It opens
up many global opportunities by reducing costs and increasing business efficiency.
Systems that need to be integrated with APIs to create opportunities for scaling your business
globally, such as:

1. Shipping scheduling and calculator software

2. Shopping cart payment software or POS
3. Accounting system
Define KPIs for setting up your warehouse management system.
Setting up a warehouse is a vast task, but converting sales is a step higher. Key Performance
Indicators that measure the goal achievement process help identify customer reviews and
satisfaction, inventory turnouts, and plan warehouse operations.
Depending on the goal of the merchant, there are KPIs for an optimal warehouse management
system, which are:

1. Inventory turnover: The number of times a company sells and replaces its stock
2. Rate of returns: This refers to the frequency that customers return their online
orders. The eCommerce return rate also highly impacts customer satisfaction and
revenue
3. Order lead time: The duration used to complete an order, from packing and shipping
to customers' pick up.

Be organized and label locations and boxes

An excellent organizational system in a warehouse ensures active time management, accuracy
in customers' orders, and a better inventory management system. The organizational system
involves picking, packing, taking inventory, labelling, transporting, and tracking packages until
they get to the customers.

Share your inventory across warehouses

Distributing your inventory across multiple warehouses across the globe reduces transportation
or shipping costs. As customers place orders, they will be redirected automatically to the
nearest distribution centre or warehouse to the customer. This strategy will secure faster and
cost-efficient delivery, improving customers' experience.

Implement mandatory inventory minimum points

Determining the right amount of product to order and stock is challenging. Ordering too many
products than needed and stocking insufficient amounts of products affect the business and
customer's experience.
The smart move to implement is setting a mandatory inventory minimum. Also, an efficient
warehouse management software will notify the businesses once the stock reaches a specific
threshold.
Connect with a reliable shipping platform
Connecting your warehouse with a reliable shipping platform can help scale your business
globally. Other vital benefits include space to store your inventory, more staff to manage
packaging and orders, and lowering storage costs. In addition, external shipping platforms
reduce shipping costs and speed up delivery times.
Nothing beats reliability in this case. Networking with reliable shipping platforms adds more
value to your brand and generates more traffic through professional methods and campaigns.

Test different methods to pick the right one

Practice makes perfect; choosing the right warehousing strategy takes time. This is because
you have to test each of these strategies to know which best fit your policy and method.
Implementing a trial-and-error pattern helps choose from the wide range of warehousing
strategies.

How to Manage Inventory on eCommerce with Easy ship

Applying the right eCommerce warehousing strategy can be challenging. This is why choosing
the most efficient warehousing strategy is necessary for your business to improve scale, profits,
and traffic.

However, choosing and implementing the most efficient warehousing strategy requires
experts’ involvement to ensure a good customer experience.

Easy ship warehousing and fulfilment team offer 24/7 support and insight. In addition, you can
also have access to the following perks when you hire the Easy ship Warehousing team:

• Reduced logistics costs: Discounted shipping rates and global warehouse locations
reduce costs and drive significant savings.
• More happy customers: Shorter delivery times ensure the best customer experience.
Package tracking also drives repeat customers.
• Scale your business globally: Scale up your order fulfilment capabilities without
increasing overhead costs.
eCommerce warehouse management is a vital strategy poised to bring about a skyrocketed
increase in revenue in subsequent years. That’s why eCommerce businesses can cash in on the
golden opportunity to scale their businesses.

What is a Warehouse Management System?

If you are running an eCommerce business, you should be aware of the importance of
warehousing and its management. If you effectively streamline this process, it'll give you
more time to manage other aspects of the business.
Today, cloud computing and back-end administrative software have made this possible. A
warehousing management software (WMS) can help you easily understand stock
management and warehousing, providing guidelines of what needs to be documented for all
the items you're selling.

What does WMS software do?

You can expect WMS software to manage the following:

• Administer inventory
• Transportation of goods
• Auditing
• Distribution process
• Picking process

There are many types of WMS available according to the needs and size of the company. If
you are using a third-party logistics company, you may be given access to a WMS to manage
stock until when they are supplied or shipped out.

Why Would You Need WMS Software?

A WMS, or warehouse management system, is software that helps companies manage and
control daily warehouse operations, from the moment goods and materials enter a distribution
or fulfilment centre until the moment they leave. WMS software systems are a key component
of supply chain management and offer real-time visibility into a company’s entire inventory,
in warehouses and in transit. In addition to inventory management, a WMS offers tools for
picking and packing processes, resource utilisation, analytics, and more.
To make a good impression in eCommerce, customers demand faster processing and timely
shipments. Small to medium eCommerce businesses that have access to a good WMS system
will be able to handle the influx of these orders and fulfill them accurately, which is
especially important for cross-border clients.

If you want to sell to large retailers, you will need to automate your warehousing and
logistics to coordinate with them. Most of the large-scale retailers use Electronic Data
Interchange (EDI) so it's making sure that your WMS can be integrated with this.

How to Choose a WMS

Choosing a WMS is a one-time investment for the company, so it's best to do your research -
think about what your business requirements are, and look at what's available on the market.
Get your management team involved in the process too.

Last but not least, make sure that your warehouse staff is trained (or can be trained) on
whichever system you choose!

Types of WMS
WMS can be categorized into three main categories, according to their functionality and
operation.

Standalone WMS

These systems are mainly focused on the warehouse management process. You won't find
any supply chain functions or transportation features, though some may offer very basic
transportation management tools. You can incorporate this type with an existing solution you
have, or future ones.

Supply Chain Modules

This type of system is actually a combination of the supply chain system and warehouse
management system. You can invest in an extended supply chain system that also offers
WMS as one of its features. Incorporating the WMS with other systems ensures the
communication and transfer of data within different departments and functions are easy. This
increases the efficiency of your business.
Integrated with ERP
ERP is the main control panel of the business automation systems. It covers every aspect of
the business process, with subsystems like HR management, order and sales management,
supply chain, accounting, warehouse management, and many more. If you are planning to set
up an ERP system for your company, make sure your vendor includes a robust WMS.

Five benefits of a warehouse management system

A robust, digital warehouse management system is essential for any business with on-hand
inventory – and can help save money and gain new efficiencies in many areas. The top five
benefits of a WMS system are:

➢ Improved operational efficiency: WMS systems automate and streamline warehouse

processes from inbound receipts to outbound deliveries – for improved efficiency,
smoother operations, and the ability to handle higher volumes. They reduce errors in
picking and shipping goods and eliminate duplicate and unnecessary work. A WMS
also shares data with ERP and transportation management systems, giving you a holistic
outlook that extends beyond your warehouse and helps expedite the movement of
goods.
➢ Reduced waste and costs: If you have date-restricted or perishable stock, WMS
software can identify which items need to be picked first, or which might need a sales
push, to minimise waste. It can also help you determine the most effective use of
warehouse space, from inventory placement to optimal travel paths. Some systems offer
advanced simulations to create floor plans and place pallets, shelves, and equipment in
the best locations to run at peak efficiency and save time and money.
➢ Real-time inventory visibility: Using barcoding, RFID tagging, sensors, or other
location tracking methods, a WMS system gives you real-time insight into your
inventory as it moves into your warehouse, around it, and on to the next location. With
this visibility, you can create more accurate demand forecasts, run a just-in-time
inventory strategy, and improve traceability – which is especially important in the event
of a recall.
➢ Improved labour management: A WMS can help you forecast labour needs, create
schedules, optimise travel time within a warehouse, and assign the right task to the right
employee based on skill level, proximity, and other factors. A good WMS system can
 also assist in boosting employee morale by creating a more relaxed, organised, and safe
environment where workers feel their time is valued and being used wisely.
➢ Better customer and supplier relationships: With a WMS, customers enjoy
improved order fulfilment, faster deliveries, and fewer inaccuracies – which increases
their satisfaction and loyalty and improves your brand reputation. Suppliers can also
experience reduced wait times at loading bays and docks, for improved relations
 Research Methodology

Objective of study

Product Selection and Design

Product selection and design is a key operations management function determining which
products or services the company will offer its customers. The objectives of product selection
and design are to:

1. Identify customer needs and wants: The first step is to understand what customers
want and need from the products or services offered by the company. This can be done
through market research, surveys, focus groups, etc.

There are more types of customer needs

1. Functionality — Functionality reflects how well your products meet the specific
customer’s needs.
2. Price — Price reflects how affordable your product is to your audience.
3. Convenience — This aspect demonstrates how much effort your customers need
to put in to make your product fulfill their needs.
4. Experience — If your customers run into problems while using your product, they
might be reluctant to ever buy your product again.
5. Design — Your product has to be sleek and practical to leave an excellent
impression on your buyers.
6. Reliability — The product’s functionality needs to match the advertising material
to provide excellent customer experience.
7. Performance — Your product has to work adequately to help your client reach
their goal successfully.
8. Efficiency — Your product mustn’t prove time-consuming for your customers, or
it will result in low customer satisfaction.
9. Compatibility — Compatibility reflects how well your product performs
alongside other products your loyal customer already owns.
 2. Develop products or services that meet customer needs: Once customers’ needs are
understood, the next step is to develop products or services that meet those needs. This
includes designing products or services that are safe, reliable, and efficient.
3. Select the right mix of products or services: Once the products or services are
developed, the company must decide which ones to offer to customers. This decision is
based on several factors, such as market demand, production capacity, cost, etc.
4. Continuously improve product or service offerings: Even after products or services
are launched, it is important to continuously improve them based on feedback from
customers and other stakeholders. This helps ensure that the company remains
competitive and offers high-quality products or services.

Materials Handling
The primary objective of materials handling is to move materials from one location to another
efficiently and effectively. Other objectives of materials handling include:

• Minimising the amount of time spent handling materials

• Minimising the cost of moving materials
• Maximising safety
• Minimising damage to materials

Capacity Planning
The main objective of capacity planning is to ensure that the company has the necessary
resources to meet customer demand. This involves ensuring enough capacity to produce the
required products or services and that this capacity is available when needed.

To achieve this, capacity planning must consider several factors, such as customer demand,
product mix, production rates and lead times. It must also consider the availability of raw
materials, equipment and labour. Considering all of these factors, it is possible to develop a
plan to ensure the company has the necessary resources to meet customer demand.

Production Planning and Control

The main objective of production planning and control is to ensure that the production process
runs smoothly and efficiently. A number of factors need to be considered when planning and
controlling production, such as demand forecasting, capacity planning, inventory management,
scheduling, and quality control.
Production planning and control are vital in operations management, ensuring that all resources
are used optimally to meet customer demand. By carefully planning and controlling production,
businesses can minimise waste, reduce costs, and improve quality.

Above discussed point was just the outbound, to get more of it lets dive into a detailed thesis.

5 Things to Keep Track of When Looking to Meet Your Customers’ Needs

Customer Demographics
No marketing campaign can begin without thorough market research. Some of the most
valuable metrics for any marketer are customer demographics, so that is the first thing you
should focus your attention on. These help you better understand what kind of people you are
targeting, making it easier to adapt your strategy accordingly. Here are some of the factors you
will find invaluable on your journey:
• Location
• Gender
• Age
• Interests
• Occupation

Why They Shop

How do you expect to get into your potential customers’ shoes if you don’t ask yourself why
they’re buying your products? That’s right — you won’t. So answering this question is essential
to gaining a better understanding of your consumers’ needs and how to adapt to them.

Where They Shop

The “where” is just as essential as the “why.” Today, we live in a digital
world where everything is accessible online, and many consumer habits changed because of it.
That’s why you must learn whether your customers prefer purchasing products online or in
physical stores. It would be pointless to focus on improving your retail part of the business if
most of your sales come from your website!
Spending Habits
Knowing how your audience likes to spend and how often will make it much easier to tailor
your strategy to their habits. Here are a few pieces of information that could help you get a
better picture of your customers’ spending habits:
• Their income.
• The portion of their income they spend on your products and services.
• Are they big spenders or do they like to budget.
Once you collect this data, all you have to do is adapt your strategy accordingly! If your
audience predominantly consists of big spenders, putting out more products with lower
production quality might be a sound choice. On the other hand, thriftier consumers are more
likely to make a single big spend on a high-quality product than buying frequently.

Customer Feedback
We’ve already mentioned this point before, but it’s worth repeating. You must keep tabs on
customer feedback using feedback collection tools to track their satisfaction if you wish to keep
growing your business. Dissatisfied customers are a slippery slope that can quickly lead to your
demise. There are a few points, in particular, you should research:
• What they think of your products.
• What their opinion on your customer service is.
• If they like any of your competitors better.
Depending on the results, you can focus on improving the necessary aspects of your business.

A Happy Customer Is a Paying Customer!

Keeping your customers happy is essential for your brand to prosper, and identifying their
needs and wants is the first step toward that goal! So remember to take it step by step. Begin
by identifying their needs, which types of needs you must work on, and things like their
spending habits, where and why they shop, and the customer demographics. After that, you can
focus your efforts on meeting their needs by creating products that will comply with your
research results!

Identify Your Target Markets

Detailed research on a store's customers enables a business to understand which approaches

work best. For example, if your target market is made up of senior citizens, that would require
a different marketing approach, different products and different services from those that a
preteen would want.

Many similarities do exist, however, among the various key demographics in your target
market. Target identifiers such as profession and professional level of income; where they
live; any hobbies or recreational activities; and age, as well as gender and orientation, all
inform a business as to which characteristics are shared, and which characteristics marketers
should appeal to.

Establish How Customers Shop

Some customers prefer to do their research online and then they purchase online, as well.
Others will research and choose their products, but will prefer to buy them in brick-and-
mortar stores. Still, others want to shop the old-fashioned way and do everything in the store.
This is also when there is potential for establishing how they shop, as to whether it is a spur-
of-the-moment, impulse purchase or is a purchasing decision that has resulted from a
measured, cautious decision. Studying these patterns will enable businesses to know how to
lay out their stores, both virtual as well as brick-and-mortar stores.

Understand Why Customers Buy What They Buy

Identifying which customer types make up your target market and then establishing how they
shop, will inform you as to why customers buy the products they buy. A customer’s
motivation to buy certain products is based on several possible factors: Do customers Favor
particular brands over generic counterparts? Do they watch their money very, very carefully?
Do they make choices based on impulsive or emotional needs, such as buying to keep up with
the latest trends and fashions?

Getting to the root of these questions enables a company to promote what works and to do
away with what isn’t as cost efficient. Maximizing the number of things offered that suit what
customers want is the key to lasting in business.
Listen to What Customers Say

Customers speak with their dollars but they also speak loudly on social media and in person.
As tough as it can sometimes be to hear critiques of the goods or services you offer, it is
invaluable information that no marketing strategy can give you. It’s also important to find
out what people think of your competitors' offerings because you may be able to take
advantage by offering something they're lacking.

Knowing what a customer wants is now more important than ever, because there's more
competition in the marketplace. Some 50 years ago, the only real competition was from shops
in the same zip code, but consumers now can purchase what they need from nearly anywhere
in the world. Consumers now are less loyal and more discerning than in the past. Staying on
top of what customers are asking for and anticipating what they haven't actually stated as a
want, is the key to financial success.

Customer Characteristics for Marketing

Marketing a business's products and services is no easy task. However, by paying particular attention
to customer characteristics, small-business owners can shape their marketing and promotion
strategies to meet the wants and needs of their potential and current clients.

Demographics

Demographics are the basic building blocks of marketing. You will often hear demographics
being referred to as "segments" of a market, because they refer to identifiable characteristics
of your customers. Demographics include traits such as age, gender, race and ethnicity,
profession, income level, education level and marital status. All of these characteristics can
be grouped so that your business targets its marketing to women between the ages of 25 and
35 or professionals earning more than $50,000 per year. In other words, demographics are
useful ways to categorize your customers and potential customers based on their lifestyle and
innate characteristics.

Psychographics

The concept of psychographics is used by marketers to identify customers based on their

personalities, values and interests. These factors all influence the loyalty customers will show
to your business. Brand loyalty is important for small-business owners, because those
businesses often are competing against larger, more-efficient companies for the same
customers. If you are able to identify the characteristics that motivate people to want to buy
from your company, you are on the right path to retaining these customers in the long haul.

Behavioural Analysis

Closely related to psychographics, behavioural analysis can be used in marketing to seek out
the likelihood of developing strong relationships with your potential customers. The
questions that you should seek to ask here include: Why would the customer buy from me as
opposed to my competitor? What are the attitudes of my current customers? Are the costs of
my products in line with consumer expectations? The answers to these questions will help
you price your products and market them accordingly.

Linguistics

Finally, an important task in marketing for small businesses is being able to speak the
"language" of your customers. The way that customers communicate varies depending on
age, gender, ethnicity, level of education and spending power. Small businesses that want to
be successful in engaging with customers are able to target their marketing messages in a
way that makes sense to the consumer.

How Is a Hypothesis Important in Business?

Much of running a small business is a gamble, buoyed by boldness, intuition and guts. But
wise business leaders also conduct formal and informal research to inform their business
decisions. Good research starts with a good hypothesis, which is simply a statement making
a prediction based on a set of observations. For example, if you’re considering offering
flexible work hours to your employees, you might hypothesize that this policy change will
positively affect their productivity and contribute to your bottom line. The ultimate job of the
hypothesis in business is to serve as a guidepost to your testing and research methods.
Scope of Work
The operation Management trainee role is mainly to implement the right processes and
practices across the organization. The specific duties of an operations Management trainee
include formulating strategy, improving performance, procuring material and resources and
securing compliance.
What is the role of operation management?
An operations management trainee oversees and manages various aspects of the production
process. As a branch of management, operations management involves supervising the entire
production timeline, from input to finished product or service. One of the primary roles of
operations manager is to optimize day-to-day activities and streamline workflows to enhance
profitability. Additionally, they analyze and improve operational processes, identifying areas
for enhancement and implementing strategies to increase productivity and efficiency.

Furthermore, operations managers optimize resource utilization and eliminate waste to

contribute to the organization’s overall success and growth. In addition to process
improvement, they provide leadership and guidance to the operations team, fostering a positive
work environment and ensuring alignment with organizational goals.

Operation Responsibilities:

➢ Provide inspired leadership for the organization.

➢ Make important policy, planning, and strategy decisions.

➢ Develop, implement, and review operational policies and procedures.

➢ Assist HR with recruiting when necessary.

➢ Help promote a company culture that encourages top performance and high morale.

➢ Oversee budgeting, reporting, planning, and auditing.

➢ Work with senior stakeholders.

➢ Ensure all legal and regulatory documents are filed and monitor compliance with laws and
regulations.

➢ Work with the board of directors to determine values and mission, and plan for short and
long-term goals.
 ➢ Identify and address problems and opportunities for the company.

➢ Build alliances and partnerships with other organizations.

➢ Support worker communication with the management team.

Operations Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in operations management or related field.

• Experience in management, operations, and leadership.

• Understanding of general finance and budgeting, including profit and loss, balance sheet,
and cash-flow management.

• Ability to build consensus and relationships among managers, partners, and employees.

• Excellent communication skills.

• Solid understanding of financial management.

Period of study
The internship program was a truly rewarding experience. I encountered with real life HR
activities and received the opportunity to perform in those activities. My knowledge of HR was
helpful to add new perspective while we gathered for department meetings. I am witnessing
the execution of all the HR functions in real life however I only had the theoretical knowledge
about them which answered many "whys" of mine. It was commendable to see how
wholeheartedly they welcomed, acknowledged, and appreciated new ideas and knowledge. I
also attempted to gather more information on basic job functions of other departments to have
better understanding of the relation between them and the HR department.

The company offered a friendly and cooperative environment. Everyone in the HRD was
occupied with their own routine work which I believe limited my learning possibilities.
However, this internship has helped me to bridge the gap bet real life practice. My primary
objective was to observe, evaluate and compare the relationship between the knowledge that I
have gained in my BBA and workplace. This internship till date has certainly helped me learn
how tasks are performed in a workplace. However, some of the practices of the HR department
during my internship raised my concerns.
If I am to highlight on the most significant aspect of my internship learning, then it would be
the importance of communication. Good communication is crucial in any organization and it
holds more importance in bigger organization with significant number of workers.

As proverb goes, "a book cannot be judged by its cover", it is difficult to tell where an
organization stands just by looking at its physical infrastructure unless you get into it. And
this experience has given me a rare opportunity to take a closer look at a workplace and
understand the differences between the classroom knowledge and real corporate world.
Naturally, in a country like ours, we certainly have a big gap between the bookish knowledge
and the one earned from experience. It is extremely difficult for those to understand the real
world without any prior working experience.

Our curriculum has provided us with an extremely relevant academic knowledge. All the
academic learning may have not been applied in practice, I could still see the need of its
implementation and how it could bring about positive changes to the HR department.

Organizational Behaviour

Organizational Behaviour (OB) is the study and application of knowledge about how people,
individuals, and groups act in organizations. It interprets people-organization relationships in
terms of the whole person, whole group, whole organization, and whole social system. Its
purpose is to build better relationships by achieving human objectives, organizational
objectives, and social objectives.

My previous work experiences had prepared me well to fit in an organization and understand
their organizational cultures. So, I was prepared and started performing the very day I joined
as it didn’t take me too long to understand my responsibilities. I was impressed by the nice,
welcoming ambience and even more with the friendly behaviour of the coordinators which
demonstrated that the HR department was successful in keeping a stress-free working
environment. They explained and fully assisted me to learn the different systems of the
recording information of the employees. They were very patient with me; I needed to improvise
because of which I made almost mistakes at all. The HR Development and Training Manager
was very motivating and appreciative. My ideas, efforts and work were always acknowledged
and appreciated. I was able to make an impression on the HR seniors by my technological
knowledge which at times solved evensome of the complex problems.
Data Collection

All the data could be collected on the swot analysis method, this is the inly method where each
point of the company and its employees are collected.

STRENGTHS:

The strengths of a company are the most important building blocks required for growth to take
place. The following are a few of the most prevalent strengths that Logpro has at the present
time.
Operation: Their working environment enhances and the business module of company
remains very strong. Logpro recruits talented candidates from the market through proper
testing- written and interview.The written part contains questionnaires that are of IBA standard
which is a renowned education institution of our country.

Work environment: During my stay I found the work environment very satisfactory. Everyone
is cordial and helpful and cooperative. There is less internal conflict or politics at play which
is essential for conducting a productive working environment.

Transparency: For clear communication to the employees of the HR Practice in Logpro, they
have a service rule book which they give to every employee. The guide articulates important
and covers all HR Practice followed by the organization. This is very helpful both for the
employees and the employer as it removes chances of misinterpretation, bias etc.

Training and development system is a prime reason of their success: Logpro SCS Pvt Ltd
gives regular training to the officer of both middle and lower levels. Again, if there is any
strategy or technology change, there will be special training program arranged based on
individual needs. They arrange special training on their software also which they use in the
office to operate their system, which eventually becomes beneficial not only for the employee
but also for the organization, because if they do not know the exact procedure of carrying out
work in their system then that might affect them both the employee end into making mistake,
and as a result the reputation of the organization also might get hampered.

WEAKNESS:

Though Alliance Capital Asset Management Ltd is a company that has many strengths but it
also has some weakness. The followings are few of the most common weakness that Alliance
Capital has at the present time:

Inadequate human resources:

The human resources are not sufficient in terms of its service providing system. It has to
maintain a number of formalities to recruit employees.
Leaves Formulation

OPPORTUNITY:

In organization opportunities are positive external environmental factors. An organization

should explore all possible opportunities available to it. These opportunities are intended to
improve the organization. By making improvements, the organization should be able to become
more competitive in the market. The following are available opportunities to Logpro for it to
become more aggressive:

Recruitment:
Most recruitment in here is through internal recruitment, they can spread the pool of entry
level employees through campus recruitment.

Expanded market:
As new industries are coming into the market, capital market is being large enough and long-
term financial demand is being created. The open-ended mutual fund is a new sector, so there
are high possibilities of growth in this sector. Open ended mutual fund is a largelyuntapped
market, and Alliance Capital will be able to capture many institutional clients from
competitors, as well as new clients.

THREATS:

An organization’s threats are negative external factors. An organization should explore all
possible threats available to it. These threats are intended to diminish the organization. By
making improvements and proper monitoring of the threats, the organization should beable
to turn more competitive in the market. The following are threats are available to Alliance
Capital Asset Management Ltd in order to threaten its existence.

The Lack of Motivation of Employees:

Sometimes the lack of motivation in employees can create a threat to the organization.
Employees may be overburdened with tasks that are not their core-competencies. As a result,
the quality and accuracy of deliverables duties may fall. Employee turnover may have a
negative effect on the overall performance of organization.

Compensation and Benefits:

Compensation basically consists of direct and indirect compensation and Alliance Capital is
very much concerned about both these types of compensation. They offer attractive package
that is in per with current market practice in similar sector. They also offer bonuses and yearly
incremental. For long term benefits, Alliance Capital has provision of Gratuity, Provident Fund.
They also have leave planning for employees consisting of different kind of leaves according
to employee needs.

Service quality of Logpro SCS is commendable. It is very important for every organization
serve its customers so that it creates a loyal customer base who willrepeatedly buy its products
and carry a long-time relationship with the company as well as work as a spoken person to
promote the products of the company to peers, friends, relatives, etc. This organization is really
good at its service quality.

Recommendations:

➢ The organization should practice proper Logpro SC guideline. The purpose of

Operation is to improve the productive contribution towards business.
➢ To get effective and efficient employee, the organization should arrange proper training
and development programs.
➢ The entire HR department should be well informed regarding the employment personal.
➢ The organization should provide well direct compensation as well as direct to its staffs.
➢ The management should have job evaluated salary structure, which is most competitive
than other organizations in the country.
➢ To evaluate employee’s performance; the management should follow promotion policy
properly.
➢ In order to get competitive advantage and to deliver quality service, top management
should try to modify the services.
➢ Periodical performance appraisal and giving recognition and rewards to the qualified
employees to keep motivating them.
➢ Proper training needed for ensuring efficient performance of the employees.
 ➢ The management should create customers database and continuously informing the
investors about the available facilities or opportunities which will work to achieve twin
goal at a time; one is direct marketing and another is large pool of customers database.

Sample Area and Size

The India freight and logistics market size is estimated at billion USD, and is expected to reach
483.43 billion USD by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 9.04% during the forecast period (2023 –
2029).

INDIA FREIGHT AND LOGISTICS MARKET SIZE & SHARE ANALYSIS -

GROWTH TRENDS & FORECASTS UP TO 2029
The India Freight and Logistics Market is segmented by End User Industry (Agriculture,
Fishing and Forestry, Construction, Manufacturing, Oil and Gas, Mining and Quarrying,
Wholesale and Retail Trade, Others) and by Logistics Function (Courier, Express and Parcel,
Freight Forwarding, Freight Transport, Warehousing and Storage). Market Value (USD) and
Market Volume (ton-km, number of parcels, warehousing & storage space in square feet) are
both presented. Key Data Points observed include Freight Transport Volume (ton-km) by Mode
of Transport; Production Trends (Manufacturing, E-Commerce etc. in USD); Import and
Export trends (in USD); and Freight Pricing Trends (USD per ton-km).
India Freight and Logistics Market Analysis
The India Freight and Logistics Market size is estimated at 288.18 billion USD in 2023, and is
expected to reach 484.43 billion USD by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 9.04% during the
forecast period (2023-2029).
Growing government initiatives and programs like Bharatmala
Pariyojana and the Sagarmala projects driving industry demand

➢ The government is constantly changing the regulations associated with the road
freight transport industry, such as restricting trucks above the age of 15 years to
phase out older and polluting vehicles from the country. The implementation of GST
has shifted all manual transactions to digital mode, with e-way bills and Fastags
ensuring more transparency into the system. The government has even revised Axle
norms to increase load capacity, which has negatively impacted small fleet
operators.

➢ Small fleet owners dominate the industry, accounting for 70% of all fleets, operating
at a margin of 8-12% and with an average of 12-15 transaction days per month. SFOs
primarily operate on spot bookings, while MFOs and LFOs work on LHAs. The
Indian Road freight market has witnessed an average CAGR during 2014-19, thanks
to the revision of BF VI norms, the scrappage policy, GST, and new axle norms
from the government, as well as a rise in average highway construction of roads.

➢ The development of the Bharatmala Pariyojana and the Sagarmala projects, along
with the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors and developments of
 ports through public-private partnership projects, has stimulated growth in the
market. To assess seasonality fluctuations in demand, freight rates are usually high
during the festive season in September-December, with WAFC being USD
0.036/tonnes/km in 2019.

Owing to numerous tax hikes in the country fuel prices are expected to
increase in 2023
➢ Fuel costs sky-rocketed to current levels due to the combined effects of rising
benchmark brent prices and numerous tax hikes over the past few years. According
to the All-India Motor Transport Congress, which represents more than 14 million
truckers and bus and tourist vehicle operators, the soaring fuel prices are impacting
India's truckers as they have limited ability to pass on the rising prices, which
account for 70% of the cost of operating a truck. India's oil demand growth is
expected to reach 2,46,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2023, revised higher by 14,000
bpd on robust petrol and diesel sales. The country's oil demand will likely grow by
about 11% in 2024.

➢ As per the official data by Petroleum Planning and Analyses Cell, petrol prices rose
by a whopping USD 0.28 per liter between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, the
highest ever levels to be recorded so far. India’s petrol demand rebounded to above
pre-COVID-19 levels in 2021 and is expected to be 24% higher than 2019's level in
2023.
 ➢ The diesel price increase was less sharp than the increase in petrol prices due to VAT
cuts offered by several state governments to keep the price rise of diesel under
manageable levels. Oil marketing companies have been lenient on diesel price rises
lately, reducing the quantum of a hike compared to petrol. In 2022, global crude
prices reached an all-time high as Russia's invasion of Ukraine threatened to curtail
supply, whereas the impact on fuel in India has been minimal. Domestic demand for
gasoline, used mainly in passenger vehicles, is expected to rise by 7.1% to 37.8
million tonnes in 2023. However, fuel prices were hiked, and the consumption
demand decreased due to high inflation, which impacted the economic recovery of
India.

Sample area of logistics

The contribution of logistics in India’s GDP is about 14.4% of the GDP and is expanding at a
rapid pace. The logistics market in India is expected to grow at Compound Annual Growth
Rate (CAGR) of 15.5% by 2024. Moreover, the logistics sector in India employs over 22
million people and is further expected to create employment to another 1.2 million by 2025.

Some of the growth drivers in the sector includes government’s focus on infrastructure
development, FDI reforms and the recently implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST) that
will have an impact on the logistics industry in India. Different initiatives like Make in India
and Digital India are also expected to contribute towards the growth of the logistics industry in
the country.

This article will give you an overview of logistics industry in India – its existing and emerging
scenarios, its challenges and the trends that is likely to contribute to its transformation.

Types of Logistics Services in India:

➢ Transportation logistics
➢ Warehousing logistics
➢ Distribution logistics
➢ Supply chain management
➢ Project logistics

Transportation logistics

Transportation services include the movement of goods and services, people, and animals from
one location to another by rail, road, air, sea, cable, space, or pipeline. Transportation services
can be divided into three different areas: infrastructure, vehicles, and
operations. Transportation allows communication and trade between the two parties.

When planning the shipment process, the method of transportation is a significant

consideration. You need to determine the costs, how important is it to get the shipment to the
end user in what period, the value of the goods as well as the size and weight of the goods.

In the highly competitive transportation and distribution service industry, it is imperative that
information and physical products move with efficiency and at lower costs. Customers are
demanding improved services that only technology can provide. Successful supply chain
management and logistics are the difference between surviving and success in transportation
and distribution services. As the supply chain management, logistics system is improved,
immediate benefits can be seen in terms of lower transportation costs and optimized deliveries.
Warehousing Logistics

Moving to this day and age, it is undeniable that warehousing plays an important role in the
whole business since the world is becoming a global village. Warehousing accounts for the
foundation of storing products, making it better customer service and reducing costs for firms.
While it may not be the most exciting topic, warehousing and inventory storage have an impact
on everything from procuring raw materials to properly managing inventory to sending orders
to customers on time. In this article, let’s see what warehousing in logistics is and the functions
of warehousing in logistics.
Warehousing is essential in supply chain management as goods are transported from the maker
to end recipient. The benefits of warehousing in logistics indicates that if a warehouse operation
is ineffective, the entire supply chain may be immobilized, for example, a lack of goods, delays,
or blockages. All logistical efforts performed within the scope of a warehouse should avoid the
warehouse from becoming a bottleneck of the supply chain.

The purpose of warehouses is to support manufacturing processes, which can be accomplished

by maintaining sufficient resources, materials, and packaging for production, allowing for
uninterrupted output. Permanent access to packages allows for the systematic receipt of
finished goods and delivery to the intended recipient. It’s worth noting that warehouses support
marketing processes by providing constant access to resources required for the completion of
a promotional action or the production of promotional sets.

Distribution logistics

Logistics is the entire process involved in thorough planning, management, ensuring an

adequate flow, and storing commodities and associated information and data for efficient
processing. As a result, logistics establishes a unified, integrated, and optimal flow throughout
the supply chain to achieve customer satisfaction.

But what if the product cannot be delivered to the consumer on time, and all initial efforts are
for nothing? That is why distribution logistics are essential to the eCommerce supply chain
between the point of sale and the delivery of a consumer order. The heart of an online business
is distribution. Without it, delivering and meeting client expectations would be challenging.
But it’s frequently a balancing act to get retail distribution correct. For starters, you must have
sufficient inventory to satisfy demand while making the best use of available storage to
minimise expenses.

Logistics is the entire process involved in thorough planning, management, ensuring an

adequate flow, and storing commodities and associated information and data for efficient
processing. As a result, logistics establishes a unified, integrated, and optimal flow throughout
the supply chain to achieve customer satisfaction.

That is why distribution logistics are essential to the eCommerce supply chain between the
point of sale and the delivery of a consumer order. The heart of an online business is
distribution. Without it, delivering and meeting client expectations would be challenging.

But it’s frequently a balancing act to get retail distribution correct. For starters, you must have
sufficient inventory to satisfy demand while making the best use of available storage to
minimise expenses.

Supply chain management

Supply chain management is the handling of the entire production flow of a good or service —
starting from the raw components all the way to delivering the final product to the consumer.
A company creates a network of suppliers (“links” in the chain) that move the product along
from the suppliers of raw materials to those organizations that deal directly with users.

According to CIO, there are five components of traditional supply chain

management systems:

Planning
Plan and manage all resources required to meet customer demand for a company’s product or
service. When the supply chain is established, determine metrics to measure whether the supply
chain is efficient, effective, delivers value to customers and meets company goals.
Sourcing
Choose suppliers to provide the goods and services needed to create the product. Then,
establish processes to monitor and manage supplier relationships. Key processes include:
ordering, receiving, managing inventory and authorizing supplier payments.

Manufacturing
Organize the activities required to accept raw materials, manufacture the product, test for
quality, package for shipping and schedule for delivery.

Delivery and Logistics

Coordinate customer orders, schedule deliveries, dispatch loads, invoice customers and receive
payments.

Returning
Create a network or process to take back defective, excess or unwanted products.

Modern supply chains take advantage of massive amounts of data generated by the chain
process and are curated by analytical experts and data scientists. Future supply chain leaders
and the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems they manage will likely focus on
optimizing the usefulness of this data — analysing it in real time with minimal latency.

Project logistics

Project logistics is a specialised service offering within the global logistics industry. It
combines traditional freight forwarding and transport capabilities with unique skills and
competence needed for project planning, transport engineering, procurement, Health Safety,
Security, Environment and Quality (HSSEQ) compliance, and contract and vendor
management. It covers the combination of solution design, special cargo transportation, and
project management services, including detailed planning, orchestration, and sequencing of
end-to-end shipments from suppliers to destination sites ensuring that all cargo converges and
arrives on time.
The logistics activities needed to successfully complete a project cover the integrated process
of planning and executing the complete flow of containerized and non-containerized cargo
from suppliers spread across the globe, ensuring that all cargo eventually converges

What are the challenges faced by logistic industry in India?

It is a fact that logistics industry in India is evolving rapidly and is regarded as the backbone
of the economy for moving goods across the country. However, evolutionary changes like
technological innovations, change in consumer demands and new regulations often bring
challenges to this sector. In addition to that, the meaning of logistics services has also expanded
over the years, especially with the advent of eCommerce business, posing different challenges
with reference to timely delivery, cost reduction, returns and refund management, and more.
Here are some of the challenges that logistics companies face in India:
➢ Transportation cost: One of the biggest heads in any logistics company is
transportation cost and unstable fuel prices and maintenance can increase it further. If
you are looking at saving transportation cost, you can adopt alternatives like combining
shipments, installing routing software and reducing carriers. Many businesses today
switch between partial-truckload, less-than truckload, and full truck load shipments
(FTL vs PTL vs LTL) to manage costs based on cargo.

➢ Manpower management: Manpower plays a significant role in logistics and

communicating with drivers and staff who mostly are on the road gets difficult. The
logistics sector needs skilled manpower and shortage of drivers is a never-ending
challenge. Moreover, there is a lack of training institutions too.

➢ Handling customer experience: The logistics industry is highly competitive, and

customers are spoilt for choices. Logistics companies are expected to deliver the best
to create customer delight and thereby generate repeat business. Providing assistance at
every touchpoint can be challenging for providers and affect customer experience.

➢ Visibility: Lack of complete control and visibility of the supply chain map is often a
challenge for logistics companies. It is important to have complete visibility of the
 supply chain at all stages to ensure that shipments are been transported through the
correct route and delivered on time.

➢ Regulations: Logistics rules and regulations in India that are enforced by national,
regional and local authorities keeps changing at times and needs constant monitoring.
If not handled in a timely manner, these impact logistics and delivery timelines, and
efficiency is compromised.
➢ Technology adaption: It is a must to adopt technology in logistics, and inability to
implement tools like shipment tracking systems, automation systems, data analytics,
etc. often prove to be a deterrent for logistics companies.

Who are the major players in logistics industry in India?

Every business requires an efficient logistics partner to take care of their logistics and delivery
operations. Finding an end-to-end logistics company may get challenging considering the range
of players and types of logistics and transportation services offered. Depending on the size of
your business and the requirement, you can choose from these major players for your logistics
needs.
➢ Blue Dart: A global carrier with a huge network across India and abroad, Blue Dart
offers you options to select your preferred date of delivery and time, through scheduled
and slot-based delivery. It also offers specialised services like automated proof-of-
delivery updates, weather-resistant packaging, cash-on-delivery and online payment
options.

➢ Delivery: Another Indian logistics company that handles logistics for 7,500+ e-
commerce businesses across India. Their USP includes on-demand delivery, including
next-day and same-day delivery services and scheduled deliveries. Equipped with API
integration, Delivery ensures picking, packing, shipping label generation, and delivery
of orders within timelines.

➢ FedEx: FedEx is a well-equipped logistics provider with trained personnel and top-
of-the-line transportation services equipped to handle all kinds of cargo. They also aid
in customs clearances for cross-border and interstate shipments.
 ➢ Ekart Logistics: Originally a Flipkart initiative to serve inhouse orders, Ekart has
now evolved to provide logistics support to various other eCommerce enterprises.
Popular due to low rates and delivery to remote locations, Ekart caters to same-day
delivery in 13 cities in India and next-day delivery in 50.

➢ DHL: An international logistics company, DHL has an extremely wide distribution

network across India to optimise supply chain and logistics solutions domestically and
globally. DHL logistics also provides warehousing services and has over 800 fulfillment
centres scattered throughout the world.

Alternatively, you can also explore operation on nexrax logistics- an online platform that offers
you the best prices on road transportation services from trusted logistics partners. You can
explore services, compare prices, and work with a logistics partner of choices, to transport
goods at affordable prices across 19000+ PN codes in India.
What are the key trends in logistics industry in India?

The transportation and logistics sector in India is witnessing transformational growth with the
rise e-commerce and retail businesses and has been successful to keep pace with the latest
demands of the sector. Some of the trends in logistics are highlighted below:
➢ The eCommerce boom in India has deeply impacted the logistics industry. Customers
prefer to shop online, and this has led to a huge increase in demand for logistics services.
➢ Another upcoming trend is the importance of last-mile delivery in logistics as
businesses strive to complete deliveries to their customers as efficiently and quickly as
possible.
➢ Express delivery also has shown a strong growth in the logistics sector with customers
expecting faster deliveries like never before. With availability of options like same day
deliveries, logistics companies need to up their operations to meet this demand.

Another service that is fast trending is the rise of reverse logistics. Companies to create better
customer satisfaction are ensuring that returns are handled efficiently and on time.
How to improve logistics efficiency
➢ Monitor Key Progress Indicators (KPIs)
➢ Invest in new technology
➢ Train your staff thoroughly
➢ Good communication
➢ Outsource to 3PL

What is the future of the logistics industry in India?

As per a study titled ‘India E-commerce Logistics Market Performance and Future Outlook to
2027’, the size of the Indian logistics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5% from 2022-
27, generating market revenue of USD 633.6 billion by 2027. Some of the recent developments
in the logistics sector are discussed below.
The pandemic had a positive impact on the Indian eCommerce logistics sector. Logistics
providers were forced to take several actions to streamline operations during the period when
there were severe supply chain disruptions due to prolonged lockdowns. Players expanded their
service in small towns and rural areas to ensure business continuity and this helped in building
larger networks.
Further, government initiatives like Make in India and the Secured Logistics Document
Exchange (SLDE) along with a calculator for Green House gas emissions has helped this sector
to improve the ease of doing business.
There has been maximum adoption of digitisation in the past two years as businesses realised
the importance of embracing a computerised supply chain ecosystem for business growth. On
the other hand, Indian consumers are increasingly becoming tech-savvy thus creating an
opportunity for e-Commerce logistics service providers to grow. The fact that there are 820
million smartphone users in India has given rise to better opportunities for penetration of e-
commerce.
To sum up: Choosing the right logistics partner in India

The logistics and warehousing industry in India need to invest in technologies to develop
innovative and efficient solutions to reduce the reliability on human assistance. Businesses
looking for logistics support should look for providers who offers the best in terms of efficiency
and price. It is recommended to collaborate with 2-3 different logistics partners. This will give
you the option to have backups and identify partners who offer efficient services.
LEADS 2021 Overall State-wise Rankings

➢ National Logistics Policy: The government has planned to release the National
Logistics Policy. The planning of the strategy involved detailed conversations on the
supply and demand sides with all central ministries and takes a broad view of the sectors
defining precise action points. The proposed policy's objective is to boost the nation's
economy and corporate competitiveness by establishing an integrated, seamless,
effective, dependable, green, sustainable and cost-efficient logistics network that makes
use of best-in-class tools, procedures and qualified personnel. The policy aims to reduce
the logistics cost, which stands at 14% of GDP to 9-10%. The strategy will establish a
single-window e-logistics market and emphasize developing skills, competitiveness
and employment for MSMEs.

➢ National Logistics Law: A national logistics law has been drafted and is
under consultation. Through a unified legal framework for the paradigm of One Nation,
One Contract, it would support the One Nation, One Market objective and provide a
flexible regulatory environment (single bill of lading across modes). The law's
provisions will make it possible to assign a distinct logistics account number in place
of cumbersome registration processes.
➢ Logistics Master Plan: This initiative is in the works which takes a geographical
strategy as opposed to an industry approach. Several projects and activities will be
integrated into the plan to expand the mix of intermodal and/or multimodal
transportation. Coordinated construction of relevant infrastructure (gas and utility
pipelines, optical fibre cable networks) is planned to prevent problems in the future. An
Inter-Ministerial Committee will be used to supervise the master plan's execution. The
state and local logistics strategies will be created in coordination and cooperation with
the federal plans.

➢ National Multimodal Facilities and Warehousing: In order to promote

intermodal and Multimodal Logistics Parks (MMLPs) as a separate class of
infrastructure and to encourage efforts with a national registry of multimodal facilities
to enable price discovery, ensure optimal utilisation, and support planned development,
the National Grid of Logistics Parks and Terminals is being planned. Furthermore, the
government has begun to devise certain standards and guidelines that will be
implemented for the development of warehousing. The government plans to optimise
procedures for obtaining clearances that make the procedure of establishing warehouses
more efficient, along with setting up a system for rating and certifying those
warehouses for excellence.

➢ The logistics division has designed a digitisation initiative to provide an integrated IT

foundation that would boost productivity, reduce wasteful travel and provide a slick
user experience. The standards for the National Logistics Platform (iLOG) are currently
being finalised in conjunction with the Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology (MEiTY). The iLOG will work to integrate a single platform for the various
IT solutions that have been developed by various stakeholders, including logistics
service providers, purchasers, and central and state government agencies such as
customs, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), railways, ports, airports, inland
waterways and coastal shipping.
 ➢ National Logistics Workforce Strategy: For the integrated skill development
of professionals in the logistics sector, the government is developing a national logistics
workforce strategy. Building on the framework of skill development centres already in
place, which are currently based on modes of transportation, it is planned to enable
cross-sectoral exchange of ideas and best practices as well as create a workforce of
professionals who will be the primary force behind the development of logistics in the
nation. The approaches include a coordinated effort to analyse and address present and
future skill needs, mainstreaming logistics education and training in regular formal
education from school through post-graduate level, and introduction of a Certified
Logistics Professional (CLP) scheme, and to incentivise the engagement of such
professionals. The Driver Employment and Empowerment Programme is one of the
strategies, and it aims to lower logistics costs by making truck driving a desired career
due to the severe scarcity of truck drivers.

➢ Roads Ahead
The initiatives taken by the government will lead to the progress of the logistics sector. The
integration in the form of a multi modal network of transport and warehousing will lead to
increased efficiency in the transportation and storage of goods throughout the country. By
focusing on the digital aspect, the government’s aim is to upgrade the existing system that will
lead to faster, better communication with fewer errors that will benefit the sector significantly.
The plan has a strong monitor system with periodic audits in order to check the implementation
of policies and application of required corrective measures. With the aforementioned
initiatives, India intends to raise its ranking in the Logistics Performance Index to 25 and cut
bring down the logistics cost from 13% to 8% of GDP, leading to a reduction of approximately
40%, within the next five years. These goals were set by the National Logistics Policy. This
would guarantee the logistics industry acts as a growth engine and a major factor in upgrading
India to a US$ 5 trillion economy.

Sampling technique
Sampling technique can’t be expressed in the given format though primary data is not available,
no questionnaire is made so no data is available.
Tools of analysis
All quality management and improvement movements share the same basic foundation, regardless of
what your company calls its quality program (some companies spend more time coming up with clever
names for the program than actually implementing it). This foundation is built on continuous
improvement and statistical analysis.
Several tools are commonly used to support this foundation. (Do be aware that they may be
called by different names.)

• Process flow diagram: This diagram is at the heart of continuous improvement. It

represents everything that happens in a process, and you must complete it before
embarking on process improvement. The initial process flow diagram is necessary to
understand what’s actually being done and provides a document that you can use to
communicate process changes.

• Histogram: You may remember the histogram from school because it’s a basic method
to display data. The histogram simply displays the frequency of different measurements
and shows their distribution.

For example, you can use a histogram to show the distribution of test grades to students.
A range of the students’ scores is plotted on the x-axis, and the frequency of those
grades is usually represented by a bar chart on the y-axis. The histogram is very useful
to identify any outliers from the rest of the data.

• Pareto chart: Another common bar chart is the Pareto chart. In this chart, the events
are displayed on the x-axis, and the number of occurrences is displayed on the y-axis.
The Pareto chart allows you to instantly identify the vital few events that are causing
most of your problems. You want to allocate your limited resources to these high-
frequency events because you’ll get a bigger bang for your buck if you can solve the
higher-frequency issues.

• Ishikawa diagram: The Ishikawa diagram (often called a fishbone diagram because
of its resemblance to a fish skeleton) is one of many cause-and-effect tools. The diagram
starts at the head with a problem statement. Running along the spine are possible causes
for the problem.
 These causes are usually grouped in categories such as management, manpower,
materials, methods, or machines. The fishbone diagram provides a useful visual tool to
identify the root cause of a problem.

• Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA): You can use this tool to identify the root
cause of a problem. It’s a very structured approach that begins by identifying all
possible things that can go wrong, or the failure modes of your process or product.

After you identify the failure modes, you rank each one according to the likeliness of it
occurring, its impact if it did occur, and the likelihood of it being discovered before
reaching the customer. You calculate a risk priority number (RPN) from these rankings,
which can help prioritize the critical failure modes.

• Run chart: This chart is a simple but powerful tool used to monitor a process over
time. You can use it to identify changes in mean measurement and trends that may
occur. Unlike the control chart discussed next, the run chart doesn’t require any
statistical analysis.

• Control chart: Statistical process control (SPC) is a statistical technique used to

monitor and control processes. The most common SPC tool is the control chart, which
is usually a line graph showing a particular measurement taken over time.

The control chart is a simple visual tool you can use to monitor a process to see whether
it’s performing as expected. Using the recorded data from a run chart, you can calculate
upper and lower control limits. You plot these limits on the control chart and compare
them to additional measurements. A measurement that falls outside the limit indicates
that something has happened to the process, and you may need to take action.
Data Analysis
An operational analysis compares current business performance with historical data to review
business operations. The analysis focuses on consistency and costs incurred by a company.
Upon completion, the analysis highlights errors and suggests measures to overcome them.

Operational Analysis & Performance Reporting

Tools and Resources

Operational analysis is a method of examining the current performance of an operational (or

steady-state) investment and measuring that performance against an established set of cost,
schedule, and performance parameters. An operational analysis is, by nature, less structured
than performance reporting methods applied to developmental projects (such as Earned Value
Analysis). It is less structured in nature, and should trigger considerations of how the
investment’s objectives could be better met, how costs could be saved, and whether, in fact,
the organization should even be performing a particular function.

Beyond the typical developmental performance measures of “Are we on schedule?” and “Are
we within budget?”, an operational analysis should seek to answer more subjective questions
in the specific areas of:

➢ Customer Results,
➢ Strategic and Business Results,
 ➢ Financial Performance, and
➢ Innovation.
In addressing Customer Results, the analysis should focus on whether the investment is fully
meeting the customer’s needs and whether the cost to the customer is as low as it could be for
the results delivered. The focus here is on how well the investment is delivering the goods or
services that it is intended to deliver. Discuss such issues as:

➢ Is the investment delivering the agreed-upon products or services on schedule?

➢ Does the quality delivered meet the customers’ expectations?
➢ Have the customers requested additional features or services that are not being
delivered?
Strategic and Business Results measure the effect of the investment on the performing
organization itself, and should provide a measure of how well the investment is meeting
business needs and contributing to the achievement of the organization’s strategic goals. The
operational analysis should address itself to questions such as:

➢ “Does this investment help us get our job done?”

➢ “What strategic goal does this investment address, and how does it help us achieve that
goal?”
➢ “Is there another organization that could be doing this work better, more efficiently or
at lower cost?”
In measuring the Financial Performance of a steady-state investment, the operational analysis
should compare current performance with a pre-established cost baseline. While financial
performance is typically expressed as a very quantitative measure, the investment should also
be subjected to a periodic (annual?) review for reasonableness and cost efficiency.

Addressing Innovation in the operational analysis is an opportunity to conduct a qualitative

analysis of the investment’s performance in terms of the three previous factors. This aspect of
the operational analysis should address questions such as:

➢ “How could we better meet the customer’s needs?”

➢ “Could we meet these same customer needs at lower cost?”
➢ “How could this investment be combined with others to better meet our organization’s
strategic goals?”
 ➢ “How could we make better use of technology to provide a better level of service at
lower cost?”
The following are some guidelines for conducting an operational analysis. They can be
considered as a “checklist” of things that should be included. While they provide an outline of
items that should always be included in an operational analysis, the exact format and detailed
content are the choice of the organization doing the analysis:

Describe the baseline against which you measure the investment’s performance. Is there an
approved and up-to-date charter or program plan? The baseline could be defined in documents
such as an Annual Performance Plan, or the Strategic IT Plan. The important point is that you
discuss the continued need for the investment, along with performance metrics for measuring
its performance. The performance metrics should have a clear relationship to both the
investment’s business need and your organization’s strategic direction.

Describe the method you are using to measure and track cost, schedule and performance
metrics. Describe the investment’s cost, schedule, and performance baseline, and describe the
management technique you are using to monitor metrics against the baseline (monthly status
review meetings, budget reviews, etc). Also describe the quantitative metrics you are using to
measure variances from the baseline, and the frequency with which you apply these
measurements. It could also be helpful in this section to describe any tools you are using to
track performance metrics (Microsoft Project, Excel spreadsheets, etc).

Describe the investment’s management control process. What are the operational, mid-
management and senior management policies for review and intervention? If the investment’s
variances exceed defined boundaries, what action is taken to rectify the situation? How, and
how often, does management ensure the continued strategic fit of the investment with the
organization’s strategic direction?

Discuss the current performance of the investment. Is performance within limits of

variance? If not, what corrective actions are you taking to get back on track? Has upper
management concurred in the planned corrective actions?

Discuss the results of the most recent review of the investment. Is the investment still
considered viable? Does it continue to be aligned with your organization’s strategic
direction? Discuss the most recent alternative analysis conducted. How could the business
need for the investment be met more efficiently, more effectively, or at lower
cost? Demonstrate that you have actually done a thorough analysis of the need for the
investment, the performance being achieved by the investment, the advisability of continuing
the investment, and alternative methods of achieving the same investment result.
Findings
Operational outcomes are specific, measurable statements about improvements a unit would
like to make to its programs or services.
Each outcome should flow directly from a more general goal of the unit. For example, if an
academic department has a goal of increasing diversity, then the department might have
separate outcomes addressing the recruitment of more diverse students and recruitment of more
diverse faculty.

Important Points about Operational Outcomes

First, do not confuse outcomes with action plans. For example, setting up a table at Open House
is not an appropriate outcome even though it may be part of an academic department's action
plan to meet an outcome about increasing enrolment. One common problem with assessment
reporting is that a unit might list tasks accomplished like a check list rather than focus on goals
for continual improvement.
Second, it's ok to set lofty goals and outcomes. Always remember that assessment is about
improvement. If the unit is constantly setting outcomes that are immediately attainable, then
the unit probably has not set expectations high enough. Units are encouraged to set goals that
may be a stretch and will take some time to achieve. What is important is that the unit can show
that they are making progress on achieving that which is most important to the unit.
Outcomes should be SMART.
➢ Specific
➢ Measurable
➢ Attainable
➢ Realistic
➢ Timely
This framework shows that the operations management role is divided into three areas:
• Managing input resources – Operations managers must ensure that the right
resources, such as people, equipment and materials, are available in the right
quantity at the right time for the operation’s needs.
• Managing processes – All operations managers are responsible for processes.
Processes are defined as a series of interlinked activities or steps that consume
resources to meet a goal or output.
• Managing outputs – The operations function is responsible for meeting
customers’ needs by delivering required products or services. The effectiveness
and efficiency of the operation dictates how much resource is needed and this
feeds straight through to unit cost and (where relevant) profitability.
Transformation processes
Walley (2017) identifies three types of transformation processes:
➢ material processing
➢ information processing
➢ customer processing.
There are also listed six types of transformational change that occur within processes:
➢ physical transformation
➢ informational transformation
➢ possession transformation
➢ location transformation
➢ storage transformation
➢ physiological or psychological transformation.
Conclusion
The decisions where and when to locate a facility and how big to make it are critical to
the success If every business be it a manufacturing or service operation. As a result, significant
analysis and planning are required to ensure that a potential location will properly support the
long-term strategy and objectives of the firm. In addition, the decision where to locate a new
facility is complex involving both qualitative and factors. Like so many topics in
operations management today location decisions and capacity planning are being significantly
influenced, not only by advances in information technology but also by the trend toward
globalization. As more firms continue to focus on their core competencies, management has
changed its perspective on available capacity, while at the same time becoming more dependent
on its suppliers. The growth in international markets as well as cheaper labour and other
incentives offered by foreign countries, also has significantly affected decisions on where to
locate new operations.

The aim of this course has been to give you an introductory overview of operations
management. Operations is one of the central functions of all organisations The first learning
outcome was that you should be able to ‘define “operations” and “operations management”’. I
took the view in this session that operations embrace all the activities required to create and
deliver an organisation's goods or services to its customers or clients.

The second outcome was that you should be able to ‘identify the roles and responsibilities of
operations managers in different organisational contexts.

The third outcome was that you should be able to ‘identify the operations management aspects
of your own work’. Some managers have a specific and central role in the management of
operations such as a production manager in a factory or an operations manager in a hotel chain.
However, as you may have discovered from Activity 3, most managers have at least some
operations management aspects to their job.

The fourth outcome was that you should be able to ‘apply the “transformation model” to
identify the inputs, transformation processes and outputs of an organisation’. The
transformation model is a tool for analysing any type of organisation in terms of the inputs,
transformation process and outputs involved in the operations function. Section 2 of this
session described the transformation model and Activity 4 gave you the chance to apply it to a
number of very different organisations.
The fifth outcome was that you should be able to ‘identify the operational and administrative
processes in your own organisation’. David Garvin's article discussed the way in which a
process perspective can enable managers to gain greater insight into the management of
organisational performance. As you read the extract, I hope you took notes on how this could
be applied in your own organisation.

The final objective was that you should be able to ‘describe the boundaries of an operations
system and recognise its interfaces with other functional areas within the organisation and with
its external environment’. I extended the transformation model to include suppliers, customers
and the external environment. I also drew an important distinction between the closed system
mentality that keeps the operations function separated from suppliers and clients, and the open
systems mentality where communication with customers and suppliers is encouraged.
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https://www.open.edu/openlearn/money-business/business-strategy-studies/introduction-
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