3RD Party Logistics with reference to prudent logistics solutions Pvt Ltd.

ABOUT US: Our Values & Mission:

Consistently striving towards excellence. Our aim is to support customer in improving their productivity and quality performance through our PSS - Processes, Services and Systems. With high degree of integrity and involvement with our customer, we believe in becoming integral part of our customer's business. We believe in doing things differently than doing different things and with that to provide value addition in our services to our esteemed customers. Ultimate aim to provide competitive advantage to our customer's business.

Our Core Competencies:

Group is primarily involved in providing C & F services We have people who has work experience of more than decade in providing various solutions to multinational companies as well as local companies in the areas of

Custom clearance - Import/Export Warehousing Distribution & Logistics services Customer Service - Order processing activity Third party logistics - Consignment sales agent System & Software - Web enabled inventory management software & tool Consultancy service - pre-setup of operation Consultancy service - post-setup of operation

Our Strength:

People

Our people are our strength. We have Group of Professionals who strongly believes that Team work is the motto of success. Dynamic, Flexible and Aggressive team with Go Getter attitude along with high level of Integrity provides good mix of qualities.

Ethics We believe and follow our ethics. We strongly feel that Customer's Trust is our Asset.

Technology IT Savvy team. With the help of various tools, we provide value added service to customer's organization.

Strong Internal Control We have our own internal control system for Process implementation - supported with Work Instructions. Documentation Good Housekeeping of records. Inventory control Cyclical Count. Temperature control - wherever required. Safety measurement Insurance Policy Internal Audit.

Well Balanced Our Team is Sensible, Far Sighted, well judged, Cautious and Careful in our services to our customers. After all that's the definition of our name Prudent.

Management:
M. D. and Founder member, Mr. Viraj Shah has vast work experience of 18 years. Has worked with MNC, like Boston Scientific Corporation - a medical device company for almost a decade. Great exposure in International trade In his career, Managed the operations for Al India as well as for SAARC countries and won various awards for excellence in customer service and satisfaction. Known as Systems person Has Developed various software & tools to mange inventory in more efficient way. Also developed web enabled browsers for stockist and distributors, electronic approval system for transparent and quick approval process. Well experienced in leading & managing the complete operational activities

From Demand planning to Supply chain management and Custom clearance Management of inventory by balancing both the standard of measurement Days of Inventory on Hand (DIOH) and Line Item Fill Rate (LIFR) for customer service. Managing the Warehouse, Distribution & Logistics by International Standard (in line with ISO). Managed C&F and Distribution network all over the country. A well balanced multi facet personality, a professional who go all out for customer satisfaction and continuously strive for excellence.

SERVICE OFFERD:
Import Export Custom Clearance: Our associates are authorized Custom House Agent - CHA Managing Import clearance for various business lines from Medical devices to Leather apparel. From small disposable items to Capital Equipment. Timely and efficient clearance is the key of success. In depth product knowledge, good affiliation built up with Govt. authorities helps in reducing clearance period which ultimately helps customer to reduce in-transit inventory. Warehousing : We treat our selves as custodian of clients products and we do take extra care for the same. We follow all the warehousing principles for Inventory movement. Customized services to suit the industry requirement - Say for Disposable Medical Device Company Strong and sturdy racks to stake the products nicely. Bin card system as supporting tool for better inventory control. Inventory ageing analysis to control the near expiry products. Dust free environment and temperature control. Handling of the Product with delicacy. Heavy duty storage facility, storing on pallets. Set and maintain high standard of Cyclical Count accuracy. Distribution & Logistics : We understand the importance of reaching the Right Products at the Right Time at the Right Place. We even provide Flexibility in delivery schedules. Delivery of the products even at odd hours to support any unexpected emergencies. Strong packaging to avoid any damages.

We can provide Logistics solutions through our own vehicles. Customer can rest assure for safety and security of their products. We can arrange for transportation of getting the products from customs to warehouse, making local delivery to the Stockists / Distributors / Depots. Again we take due care about documentation of deliveries and can provide instant traceability of shipments through our tracking systems.

Customer Service Order Processing activity: Apart form transfers of materials to sales Depots in various part of country, we can also manage the order processing activity of our customers. We can receive the orders from Stockist / Distributors / End customers directly to our warehouse. We can do sales order processing in software, allocate the products, generate the invoice on behalf of Company and dispatch the materials with pick list / invoice to the stockist / Distributors /End customers. We provides various MIS reports to support the decision making process for Demand Planning and supply chain activity of our customers. We also provides all type of sales reports to the sales and marketing team of the company. Systems & Software : IT savvy team. Our IT Team is involved in providing various networking solutions. To name a few :

Online order registration by stockists & distributors Providing online availability status of any products Tracking shipment with order and corresponding invoice Facility to review their AR status Electronic approval to facilitate fast, efficient and transparent approval process in an organization. Developing web enabled inventory management software Providing Consulting services and Mapping of business processes to suit the customer's requirement.

Consultancy Services Pre Setup of operations in India :

Act as a Project consultant to set up a Liaison office or Branch office or Subsidiary of a foreign Company in India.

Full filing all legal formalities like

RBI approval

Application to registrars of Companies Getting PAN (Permanent Account Number) from Income Tax Getting IEC (Import Export) code form DGFT Application to Sales Tax Authorities in various states Liaisoning for Product Registration,Mfg,Site Registeration With DCGI of Delhi. Getting Form 41 and Form 9. Getting Import Drug License - Form 10. Getting Wholesale Stock & Sales Drug License Form 20B & 21B from Regional F.D.A.Department.

How Prudent Logistics Solutions Pvt. Ltd. is different than others....

Speed is the essence of the todays life. Prompt & Speedy customer service with rapid action.

Good mix of qualities Aggressive with go getter attitude along with Systems Controls followed by proper housekeeping of documents.

Process oriented - an ISO 9001 : 2000 certified company.

Techno savvy team, developed various web enabled inventory management tools.

Management having work experience of more than twelve years in the medical device industry in leading various operational activities.

Dedicated team who are passionate about their work.

With Caring nature and Flexibility, we customized various processes to suit the client requirement.

We Take Extra care in whatever we do.

Product handling with delicacy, Trained warehouse staff who knows the importance of life saving drugs and medical devices with the urgency involved within it.

Managing the inventory with batch and expiry dates, Cyclical counts, staking the material with near expiry on top, Strong packaging with packing material inside the corrugated cartons.

Core competencies for handling Medical Device product range.

Management attention at each and every level - unlike other service providers who provides warehousing services with bare minimum flexibility.

Continuously strive towards improvements excellence.

Overall more Professional and much Efficient approach to support our customers in achieving the ultimate goal of quality customer service and have competitive advantage over competition.

Products & Services / Third Party Logistics (3PL)

With the rise of global commerce we're uniquely positioned to help you make use of the latest third-party logistics processes and technology to optimize your supply chain.

How can we help?

Streamline your distribution network to gain efficiencies, improve customer service, and better utilize assets and capital Provide insight into logistics design, re-engineering, and supply chain management Implement leading-edge information systems Implement benchmarking processes to measure productivity

From site analysis and selection, to supply chain modelling and network optimization, to parts planning, cut costs, speed products to market, improve customer service, or strengthen your balance sheet our services can help you start the process of making your supply chain a more effective part of your business' operations. With TLIPL Supply Chain Solutions, you gain access to a full suite of distribution services that are critical to your success - backed by the power and reliability of TLIPL. Our Distribution Services Network offers

Inbound receiving Storage services Replenishment Pick-and-pack operations

Integrated shipping system Basic returns Inventory management Standardized management reports

Consider the following Distribution Services Network advantages

Minimize your capital investment - Your company can leverage our established network and IT systems to gain cost and service advantages - without the capital costs and risks of investing in the facilities and systems on your own. Position products closer to your customers - Our network of facilities enables optimal staging of your inventory and helps reduce time-in-transit and overall transportation costs. Through our Distribution Services Network, you can reach 99% of the INDIA . population in two days via TLIPL Ground delivery. With our proven 3PL capabilities, Our Supply Chain Solutions can design your facility, handle your logistics and distribution, and manage your inventory and returns, all with the goal of streamlining your supply chain. With the rise of global commerce we're uniquely positioned to help you make use of the latest third-party logistics processes and technology to optimize your supply chain. Leverage our multi-carrier capabilities - TLIPL Supply Chain Solutions can help you match the right carriers with the right service at the right cost, enabling your company to reach customers efficiently around the country or around the world. Access advanced systems to manage inventory and shipments - Our IT systems provide greater visibility and capture information you need to fulfill orders and optimize product inventory. Ensure fast implementation of your distribution solution - TLIPL Supply Chain Solutions can get your distribution operations up-and-running in approximately four to eight weeks. Our 3PL services include

Configuration Light manufacturing Packaging Kitting Order fulfilments Postponement Reverse logistics Dedicated contract logistics

Multi-client warehouses and distribution centers Transportation management Supply chain consulting Supply chain network analysis and design Software and technology solutions Vendor-managed inventory Truckload brokerage Intermoda

Reverse Logistics Management transforms the returns process by:

Automating every step: Online or at returns centers, easily differentiate between tiers of customers based on their purchasing patterns. Generate authorizations based on preestablished internal or vendor rules, and apply credits quickly to keep your customers happy. Centralizing return programs: Streamline returns and staff training by running manufacturer and extended warranty programs all in one automated process. Consolidating shipments to vendors: Reduce costs and maximize credits by accurately and consistently applying return-to-vendor policies. Increasing visibility: Reduce inventory holding costs and improve net asset recovery by integrating with Warehouse Management, so products can be reshelved quickly or routed for liquidation.

We Do

Order and Returns (RMA) Management Call Center/Customer Care Claims Processing and Data Collection

Warehouse and Inventory Management Billing, Credit, and Collections

products & Services / Modes of Transportation :

Air Transport At TLIPL, we handle your customs documentation, manage the ground transportation at each end, and control the whole process. We ensure you achieve the speed you require from using airfreight, at a reasonable cost.

Road & Rail Transport With our expertise in Road & Rail Logistics' analysis, optimization, implementation and management, we can deliver cost-effective solutions that meet your transport requirements. As supply chains become more sophisticated and customers push for smaller, more frequent deliveries to match consumer demand or meet the needs of 'just in time' production schedules, tight controls are required to manage costs and service levels. Features

On - time departure of vehicles irrespective of capacity utilisation Assured date of delivery Door pick - up and door - delivery, absolutely hassle - free One - time lock for tamper - proof transit Weather - proof containerised vehicles for safe movement Online track and trace facility to trace your cargo

Our capabilities include

Special Transport TLIPL has years of experience in handling and moving unusual cargo on the road, such as over-sized and heavy cargo. Our competent and experienced staff will

handle the coordination and logistics of the transports.

Direct Distribution

Hazardous Cargo Transport

TLIPL e-services

Products & Services / Spare Part Logistics:

Without the speedy installation of spare parts and timely maintenance on the ground, every automobile industry will quickly fall behind in the competitive race. For this reason, efficient spareparts logistics is necessary - not only in the automobile industry but also in just about every sector [1]. In terms of spare-parts logistics, a distinction must be drawn between two perspectives. First, the spare-parts logistics of the supplier or manufacturer of spare parts must be considered - in the case of automobile maintenance, that would be the rivet manufacturer. The focus of this rivet maker's replacement-parts logistics is supplying the customer - the automobile - with spare parts as part of customer service or after-sales service. On the other hand, the recipient of spare parts must be considered.

The spare-parts logistics of the recipient or user covers procurement, storage and the use of spare parts as part of upkeep - e.g., as part of regular maintenance checks of vechile. Both approaches create their own challenges in spare-parts logistics.

products & Services / Warehouse Management System :

1)inventory Management
Inventory Management allows you to identify and track inventory with sufficient granularity to allocate, fill, and deliver orders as accurately as possible, as often as possible. You can view and monitor the location, condition, and amounts of all finished goods, components, and raw materials in your warehousing operation, as well as rotate your inventory while adhering to FIFO and LIFO accounting principles and considering freshness, seasonality, and other variables.

Our inventory planning helps companies like yours

Reduce inventory on hand Increase picking accuracy and order fill rates

Ensure proper inventory rotation Improve inventory visibility and

Improve customer service

accuracy

1)Work and Task Management

Organizing work and tasks to optimize productivity Work and Task Management manages the flow of demand by balancing workloads and tasks with available resources. Multitasking enables you to increase productivity through the use of common workflows, customer requirements, and business processes.

Work and Task Management helps companies like yours

Improve worker and workforce productivity Improve order fill rates

Increase employee retention and morale Accelerate throughput and velocity

Work and Task Management allows you to group work orders and locations with similar or complementary attributes into batches and waves so that orders are received, picked, packed, kitted, and shipped in timely fashion. Individual worker productivity is improved by combining complementary tasks to increase output and limit travel time. Team productivity is improved by grouping orders and locations into pick zones so that multiple operators can work across orders.

2)Labor Management :
Reducing labor resource costs in your fulfillment and distribution operations can impact your bottom line, but it takes the proper tools. Labor Management is the toolset you need to increase efficiency and maximize worker performance in the warehouse. You get razor sharp workforce planning, staffing, and execution capabilities, along with the ability to monitor direct and indirect labor and provide feedback to workers and supervisors as picking, packing, and shipping activities are completed. Labor Management helps companies like yours

Improve labor planning Increase worker productivity

Enhance customer service Reduce warehouse labor resource costs

Optimize fulfillment execution

Labor management and real-time performance measurement give supervisors visibility into their operations so they can identify bottlenecks, labor performance problems, and other barriers to productivity and take corrective action. Scorecarding, analytics, reporting, and alerts facilitate measurement, while forecasting, assignment scheduling and monitoring, time and attendance, rewards and incentives, enforcement of standards, and reasonable labor expectancies improve labor planning and optimize fulfillment execution.

4)Cross-Docking
Increase inventory speed and throughput with crossdocking. In fast-moving industries such as consumer goods, food, retail, drug and grocery, and others, crossdocking is increasingly recognized as an indispensable way to increase inventory speed and throughput. Because it bypasses the put-away process. TLIPL's cross-docking capabilities make it possible for warehousing operations of all sorts to mobilize their inventory by making sure that incoming loads are quickly turned around as outbound ones, thus improving customer service and effecting freight economies.

Cross-Docking helps companies like yours

Avoid unnecessary holding costs Improve product availability

Commingle and consolidate freight Increase customer satisfaction

Whatever your business, Cross-Docking offers a high degree of flexibility. Flow-thru can be utilized to deconsolidate receipts based on retail store allocations or consolidate them with previously picked product in the staging lane, so each store gets the inventory and quantities it needs.

Slotting and Optimization :

Slotting and Optimization helps you maximize productivity and minimize travel time from location to location by determining the most advantageous arrangement of SKUs within a range of pick faces or slots. It minimizes disruptions that result from demand variability by enabling adjustment of product placement according to seasonality, special promotions, changes in customer order patterns, and the like. Slotting and Optimization helps companies like yours

Reduce pick times for faster order fulfillment Improve picker productivity Reduce pick errors

Improve ergonomics and safety Reduce capital and operating costs

Slotting and Optimization ensures the placement of items across pick faces based on a wide selection of user-definable criteria, including product pick velocity, product family groups, and product attributes. It helps you minimize travel distances for selection and put-away, reduce replenishments, balance workloads among operators, and increase pick rates while constraining product weight and size, location size, store-level productivity, location capacity, and family groupings. Warehouse operational and safety standards, as well as capital and operating costs, are also considered.

5)Yard Management :
The ability to coordinate yard movement with receiving and order fulfillment processes is essential to modern warehouse management. Yard Management helps improve visibility and automates the hand-off of goods between warehouse dock personnel and yard jockeys by maximizing the efficiency of both groups. It enables you to take control of trucks and trailers in the yard by managing trailer inventory and yard personnel through better tracking and visibility, improved appointment scheduling, and directed yard management processes. Yard Management helps companies like yours

Gain visibility into trailer inventory

Improve dock door scheduling

Increase productivity Improve control and security

Reduce trailer costs and detention charges

Multiple Inventory Ownership, Billing, and Invoicing :

Improving costing, billing, and invoicing across multiple clients. Third-party logistics providers (3PLs) and distributors that manage storage and inventory for clients such as public warehouses, refrigerated warehouses, and the like can only be profitable when they're able to track, monitor, and assign charges to every warehouse event. Using Multiple Inventory Ownership, Billing, and Invoicing, 3PLs and distributors are able to track activities, inventory, locations, and products, as well as improve invoicing, billing charges, and costing associated with managing fulfillment services for multiple clients. Visibility across clients, locations, and products is provided so you know what is going on at all times. Rating, costing, and accessorial charges are easily handled as well. You get all the necessary tools to input rates, accessorials, and costs so you can generate and personalize bills based on individual client needs and rate. Multiple Inventory Ownership, Billing, and Invoicing helps companies like yours

Track and monitor inventories for multiple customers Improve client billing accuracy Report on fixed and variable costs accurately

Improve accounts receivable Increase profit margins and reduce costs

Products & Services / Customs Brokerage Services :

The company offers a comprehensive service portfolio with professional customs clearance services for import and export consignments by air or sea at all major air and seaports worldwide. With a network of Government recognised Public Bonded Warehouses at all major locations in India, the company offers better control and security for shipments, helping customers stock excess and unpredicted inventory. The warehouses are also offered to major ship liners. Specialised customs brokerage services include - Re-Export and Re-Import Clearance and elaborate Documentation and customs regulations offered by highly trained expert personnel well versed in all aspects of handling container vessels, vessel bay plan, box tracking and logistics, import and export documentation, marketing strategies etc. The company enjoys a reputation for ensuring quick release and speedy delivery of cargo with its own and public bonded warehouses assuring total transparency and integrity in accounts and financial transactions.

SmartTurn Hospitality Solutions

Demanding customers and increased competition are driving the hospitality industry to gain better flexibility and control of operations. Whether you are managing a hotel, resort, meeting facility, or entertainment site you are challenged by paper based systems and manual processes to view and control your hospitality inventory. Manual administration and redundant data entry prevents hospitality management and staff from utilizing accurate and up-to-date inventory information needed to deliver quality customer care and service. The SmartTurn Inventory Management System for hospitality eliminates manual based inventory control processes by providing a point and click management system that is easy for all employees to use. Designed to reduce the time it takes to conduct physical inventory counts and identify shrinkage problem areas- Smart Turn automates quality control across locations by centralizing purchasing management, distribution, allotment, and reordering of inventory. As an on-demand, web-based inventory control system for hospitality businesses, SmartTurn enables all managers and staff access to the same up-to-date hospitality inventory management information, giving all employees peace of mind. Equipped with real-time information, hospitality operators can give accurate reports about what inventory is in stock and spend less time troubleshooting and ensuring that everyone has the information they need, when they need it.

Benefits:

Maintain inventory without overstock or expiration Improve staff productivity Centrally plan and manage Reduce order entry errors Enhance management processes Reduce overhead costs Eliminate manual, paper-based processes

Features:

Accurate, real-time inventory reporting Daily consumption levels and analysis across all facilities Automate inventory updates when products are received, shipped, or consumed Group purchasing by date, supplier, inventory types, and stock-out levels Fixed asset management Rental equipment checkout and tracking

Warehouse:

Supply chain efficiencies depend upon the efficiency of logistics including transportation and warehousing operations. Warehouse efficiencies depend upon a combination of warehouse design, layout, infrastructure, systems, process and people. In cases where one is able to design a warehouse and implement the complete project from ground zero, gives the SCM Project manager a good scope to create a tailor made solution design matching the exact requirement, thereby increase efficiency as well as reduce transactional cost. However this may not be the case all the time. In an ongoing situation, often SCM managers are forced to take up available facilities and work around the available design and try to get the best results. Warehouse Design element aims to maximize the utility of space, equipment and efficiency of operations. We will briefly cover the various elements of a warehouse design and understand their importance.

Warehouse Location, Layout and Building:

The location of a warehouse should ideally be situated in a flat ground. The location should be easily approachable and in a area suited for this nature of business. Locations closer to markets or to national highways would be ideal. Public transportation and communication infrastructure should also be available. The layout of the building should be designed to accommodate fleet parking, and enable containers to drive in and drive out easily. Any time two containers should be able to pass

through on the path without any interruption. There should be enough free space for vehicles to maneuver. The layout should also provide for other utility, safety and security operations. Building is normally constructed using galvanized metallic sheets mounted on C Section girdles. The flooring should be RCC concrete with weight bearing capacity as per requirement of the load to be calculated in each case. The ground should be flat, even and smooth surface to facilitate MHE movements and dust free. The roof height would be a major consideration to be able to install multi vertical storage racking installation. The walls and roof should be designed with suitable lighting panels and ventilators for air exchange fitted with bird cages. The number of loading and unloading docs and placement of these docs play an important role in the design of operations and efficiency of operation. All weather docks and the facility should enable 24 hours operations. Dock Levels. The docks should be equipped with dock levelers and all these have to be installed during construction phase itself. Ramps have to be provided to facilitate movement of forklift etc. Lighting design will depend upon the layout and the racking design.

Internal Layout:
Internal layout design will be built taking into account the operational process, nature of goods, volumes of transactions both inbound and outbound, storage types, in house operations involving put away and pull sequences and process requirements including packing, kitting etc and the availability of floor space coupled with building layout design of inbound and outbound docks. The design aims to maximize space utilization, minimize MHE movement and Manpower movement.

Warehouse Operational Efficiency Contributing Factors:

Managing Warehouse Operations is akin to playing symphony with people, systems and processes. As long as these elements are balanced and in harmony the operations go on smoothly and efficiently.
People:

People are very important assets of warehouse operations. Human resources can be the strongest and the weakest link to warehouse performance. Even in a highly automated and system controlled design, warehouse operations are heavily dependant upon people to run and manage operations. Typically in warehouse operations, besides management structure, the operations resource categories are MHE Operators, Operations staff who manage shipments, put away, material picking tasks and other operations including labeling, packing, kitting, inventory counting, documentation and systems operators. These resources are mainly categorized into team leaders and operators. Normally in warehouse operations, the manpower resources structure is employed in a mix of, on the company role jobs, on contract and temporary or daily wages and outsourced contract labor. The categorization is based on the nature and skill set requirement of each job coupled with criticality of the position and the local supply and availability of resources.
Workforce - Qty, Job Structure:

Many times in 3rd party managed warehouses, workforce strength is often an issue which affects the operational efficiency. It has been noticed several times that few local managements try to cut corners by under staffing at various levels and extending the working hours or job responsibilities and trying to save costs. There can be several instances of shortage of manpower from the strength that has been planned and budgeted for. Any warehouse operations needs to have an optimum workforce budgeted based on clear cut tasks and volumes of transactions. As all operations are time bound activities having inter-related tasks and dependencies, estimation of work and work division clarity is essential to avoid over staffing or under staffing. Over staffing can result in slackness in individual performance levels besides increasing the costs.

Warehouse activities very often are found to be seasonal and cyclical. The business type and seasons resulting in peak seasons and low seasons place similar demands on the warehouse to step up operational through puts or cu down on operations. Besides internal requirement also creates temporary demand for workforce. Extra teams are called for during year end operations, annual wall to wall stock takes or any internal inventory exercises etc. Warehouses source temporary labor and resources from local nearby areas to mange these sudden surge in demands. Any change in internal process or business process or improvement in systems and processes can lead to redundancies. Many times, they are having to face over staffing problems and need to look at ways to reduce numbers or re deploy resources into other activities. Therefore warehouse operations are never in a stable state or status quo for a long time. Managing people dynamics holds key to managing operations effectively.
Right skill sets

In warehousing operations, process and system compliance demands keen focus and discipline at all levels. The skill sets and attitude requirements are different for different jobs. The skill set requirement is more linked to attitude and functional capability of the persons and less dependant upon knowledge or educational qualification. Any person who works on Forklift would need to have a good sense of control, direction and patience. Similarly a picker would need to be able to identify and have a feel of locations, Inventory SKU types and be able to identify the part numbers, description. At operating level, people are required to understand what is expected of them, be able to follow the process and comply with the process and instructions. The operations require manual dexterity and ability to be on feet for long durations besides being able to bend down and reach up constantly to pick up items. Ability to lift small weights and walking distances in the warehouse are a Must Have strengths. These practical points have to be kept in mind and evaluated while hiring people.
Attitude and Outlook

It has been seen in warehouse operations that the workforce attitude towards the company, job and customer plays an important role in the operations. Studies done in various cases have shown a direct link between peoples attitude and commitment to day to day operations. Wrong shipments, short shipments and defective deliveries coupled with warehouse equipment damage, misuse and accidents are few of the results of the problems that show up and need correction of attitudes at individual levels. Inventory management functions are highly vulnerable to individual performance and attention to detail. A good warehousing operations management team who is sensitive to the above factors and is equipped to manage a team and the dynamics would be successful in ensuring efficient operations.

Warehouse Operational Efficiency and Inventory Health:

Any warehouse operations are measured by service levels, volume of transactions handled quality of transactions and most importantly inventory health maintained. By Inventory health in a warehouse, we are referring to Physical Inventory Accuracy, the way inventory is physically kept in locations and discipline maintained in transactions, inventory maintained in the system. Inventory Health in turn is dependant upon System setup, floor layout and infrastructure coupled with defined process, compliance and regular inventory checking, audit and training. The key to good warehouse operations is reflected in availability of documented process covering all above mentioned functions and documented proof of day to day compliance of above tasks. All warehouse processes are documented in Standard Operating Procedure which is the guiding bible. These processes are further broken down to Work Instructions for each job function and task or activity.

Physical Inventory

Warehouse floor will have layout design with designated areas for stocking inbound materials waiting to be in warded, stocking locations with locations marked either in racks, shelves, bins or floor locations to store pallet level, carton level or unit level items and outbound shipment area where materials are removed from inventory locations and kept for consolidation and preparing cargo for outbound shipments. A good warehouse floor will have clearly marked aisles, locations with labels depicting various kinds of inventory like good stock, stock on hold/ QA, defectives, returns materials, reserve stocks etc. The key to inventory health as well as to operational efficiency lies in people following process to keep the right material in the right location, in the right way and updating system transaction to complete the cycle.

Location accuracy is critical to the operations. In a huge operation, materials are picked based on system guided pick lists or RF enabled picking. Any wrong material lying in the location picked may get missed out in the process and end up as wrong shipment or pickers may have to waste a lot of time looking for right part numbers if the location accuracy is not perfect and the lead times cannot be maintained.
System Inventory

Warehouse operations and stocks are driven by Inventory management systems or warehouse management systems. WMS systems manage locations, initiate and control transactions for in warding and outward shipments tasks coupled with inventory management besides interacting with external sources to receive advance shipment notices and to report back on warehouse inventory and transactions. In all cases system transactions and physical transactions are very closely linked. System always initiates action and tasks which is executed by Physical operations. Since system is the brain that drives operations and inventory, system inventory and physical inventory needs to be matching perfectly at all times. Matching system transactions with physical transaction is a must and very crucial in day to day operations. All system transactions have bearing on physical transactions and vice versa. Therefore process adherence to complete transactions is a must. Taking a simple example, if an operator initiates a change of location of one particular part number for operational purpose and does not update system, the system inventory will show wrong inventory location and not match with physical location. Similarly if the system initiates any transaction which is not made good on the location will impact stocks adversely. In an ongoing operation thousands of transaction keep taking place in the system and tasks keep getting generated and updated. Even in an RF driven operations scenario, there is always a need to ensure that every system transaction is closed. Best practices in warehouse operations involve daily audit of system transaction audit and location accuracy audit on continuous basis on all shift. System integrity checks are also conducted frequently.
Inventory Audits

Finally a warehouse which gives important to inventory audits as much as to its operations reflects good healthy warehouse operations. Inventory checking and counting is practiced as a daily activity. Inventory counting teams consist of system operators and shop floor operatives. Inventory counts are normally system driven and stratified where a percentage of locations or Inventory is verified as per list thrown up by the system. In a 4 week cycle or a quarterly cycle all locations in the warehouse would have

been counted and system throws up inventory discrepancies and transactions which are then resolved by management. Annually wall to wall audits are conducted to count all inventory in the warehouse before starting a new database for New Year. Besides system driven inventory counts, inventory audits are initiated by operations to verify process compliance and stock / location accuracy. Inventory Health is the report card of Every Warehouse reflecting is operational efficiency.

Contract Logistics Pricing Methods

Warehousing and Contract Logistics forms an important part of Supply Chain Networks. Contract Logistics projects are of two kinds. The first being a flow through warehouse which can be a Finished Goods warehouse for the purpose of consolidation and merging or documentation purposes or in case of supplier shipments, inventories being consolidated to enable FCL shipments. Often supply chain logistics call for shipments and cargo to be warehoused at the point of origin or destination. In all such cases, warehousing facilities are normally public warehouses or shared and common facilities offered by 3PL are used. The second kind of Contract Logistics projects involves larger projects which are client specific and dedicated. Such warehousing projects may be called for in Supplier inventory management and supplies to the Plant or manufacturing lines called in plant logistics or models like JIT, VMI warehouses. In case of Finished Goods too, the distribution centers, FG warehouse and hubs at regional or country level entail dedicated facility. Warehousing Projects are normally managed through an RFQ process where the qualified 3PL vendors bid for the business with the response document containing solution design, followed by presentations and negotiations with final selected 3PL supplier. Many companies prefer to suggest a pricing mechanism or model in the RFQ to enable them to compare the various bids as well as have clarity on costs involved therein. Types of Pricing Models in Contract Logistics:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Fee based on percentage of Sales Turnover or volume. Cost Plus model Price per Sq. Ft Transaction and Fixed Price combination Cost per transaction or per unit pricing

Fee based on percentage of Sales Turnover or volume. Traditionally warehousing service providers who are called carrying and forwarding agencies involved mainly in Finished Goods logistics have practiced the pricing mechanism of charging Warehousing Fee as a percentage of sales billed per month. The fee can vary anywhere from 0.5 to 2% of the monthly gross sales turnover. This practice has been in vogue in a multi tier supply chain network involving distributors at state levels and further regional distributors and so on. This pricing mechanism includes a basic minimum guarantee pricing called as floor price. Floor price or minimum price covers the fixed cost expenses of the warehouse. The revenue earned by the 3PL varies with the sales revenue. 3PL stands to gain during peak months and loose during

slack months. The variable cost that has a major impact on the costing is labor. 3PL service providers manage this costing by employing minimum number of human resources and add on temporary labor only when required. While 3PL is generally aware of the market conditions and sales estimation for the buyers products he stands to make a gain when the sales shoot up. Buyer on the other hand would find it easier to account the cost as a standard percentage of the sales turnover without having to get into other operational details.
Cost Plus model

Large size projects which are dedicated and setup as per a buyers requirement are normally run based on Cost plus model. As the name suggests, the pricing mechanism involves estimating the total cost of running operations and profit as a Management Fee which is fixed as a percentage of the total cost. This costing method works well when the project size is huge and operations include multiple transactions and value added activities within the warehouse. A large size warehousing project calls for huge investments to create the building and infrastructure. The build may have to be built or may be hired by paying a security deposit. Infrastructure investments would include racking or shelving systems, material handling equipments including Forklifts, Reach Trucks, Dock levelers etc, conveyer or any other equipment needed. IT infrastructure can include cost of hardware including servers, desktops, laptops, printers, RF equipment etc. In view of the size of the project and the investments involved, the contract or project is awarded for 3 years with two extensions of one year each. This helps the 3PL to amortize the investments over the contract period.

Contract Logistics Cost Model

Warehousing Costing methods vary with the business models. While some warehouses using common shared facilities may be worked up based on transaction costs, dedicated and stand alone facilities would be on a different costing model. In this section, we shall go through the cost elements of a warehouse project briefly. Warehouse Cost elements are primarily divided into Fixed Costs, Variable costs and Overheads.
1. Cost of Land & Building

This cost element is included if the land and building is provided by the 3PL and not the buyer. Incase the land and building is acquired by the 3PL, the cost of land and building may be amortized over the life of the building or as per industry standards (average 10-12 years) and proportionate monthly costs can be added. One needs to ensure that the costs are realistic and nearer to market rates for rentals. Incase the land and building is rented by the 3PL, the cost of monthly rental along with the cost of funds for security deposit may be added to the costing. All costs would be worked out for the term of contract period with annual escalations considered annually.
2. Infrastructure Cost

Cost of acquisition of all infrastructure including racks, MHE, Charging equipments, dock levelers and any other equipment including office equipments are itemized and amortized over the contract period or over the shelf life of the equipment as the case may be, to arrive at monthly cost of infrastructure.
3. IT Infrastructure

IT infrastructure consists of cost of Hardware & Cost of Software. Hardware covers all servers, desktops, printers, laptops, RF Equipments and any other IT related hardware. Software application costs include cost of WMS based on one time fee or individual number of user license, cost of other soft wares including mailing system and any operations related soft wares.

IT Costs are amortized over two or three years depending upon statutory audit guidelines.
4. Manpower

Detailed manpower costing will include cost of Management Staff, Operating staff, in house operatives and outsourced operatives like labor, MHE Drivers etc. Outsourced security staff costs are also added under this item heading. In case of in-house staff, detailed calculations based on cost to the company is worked out including staff benefit, insurance, bonus, training costs, uniform etc. along with proposed incremental cost over the number of years as per contract period. Outsourced staff costs are also tabulated for the contract period including annual escalations.
5. Utilities & Consumables

Utilities are not fixed costs. They are monthly variable costs. The items in this category are the costs towards office and communication expenses including telephones, internet etc, stationary and consumables both for office and shop floor items like tapes, packing materials etc, cost of electricity, water, fuel etc.
6. Administrative expenses

Costs of office support, cost of insurance and third party liabilities and travel costs etc including any other statutory costs, deposits are covered here.
7. Overheads

Cost of management time is estimated and included here. Alternatively a percentage of corporate or regional office cost overhead is loaded. Cost of money or interest cost on working capital for 3 months can be included.
8. Profit / Management Fee

Management fee can be added as a percentage of total cost or a fixed amount.

Inventory Migration - Meaning, its need and importance

The need for Inventory Migration from one warehouse to another warehouse does not come about very often in Supply Chain Operations. However, some times the business demands necessitate a change of warehousing location, setting up a new location or even a change of business model. The occasion and need for an inventory migration can come about due to many reasons:

Non performance of a 3PL service provider A change in tax policy of the government A shift in market dynamics calling for a change of location Change of Business Model Product Mix and supply chain strategy or a simple case of increase of business volume could make a case for shifting or setting up of a new warehouse and closing down a currently operating warehouse. There could be many more reasons apart from the above mentioned situations warranting an inventory migration.

A successful migration will depend upon carefully planning, detailing of every activity, simulation and trials, combined with team training and briefing exercises. Such a project involves and affects all functions including marketing, IT, finance, operations, order fulfillment, inventory planners and controllers, procurement, 3PL service provider, transporters, legal and tax compliance teams and finally the management. The project leader in charge of the project would have to have the knowledge to design operational processes for the entire project coupled with knowledge of the activities and functional departments involved in the entire exercise. The first exercise involved would be to set up cross functional project team, drawing leaders from all functional departments. If the proposed operations are being managed by a 3PL, then the team would have to include them as well. In fact in such cases the 3PL would need to form an internal project team with a project manager too. Effectively there would be two project teams managing the project and taking joint responsibility. First team would be from the Principle Company and second team from the 3PL. While the design, process, budgets, guidelines, project management would be driven from the company, the 3PL will manage to get the new facility ready, setup the team, training, getting ready to receive materials and start operations, besides planning for transportation and inventory movement.

The project being very critical in nature would need a Project Sponsor who will review as Management and facilitate and co-ordinate to ensure timely decisions, resources are made available and manage communication with other departments and partners. The 3PL provider too will be required to setup a similar management structure to facilitate the project. A very important aspect of managing a smooth inventory migration is to build a healthy dialogue and continuous communication with the existing 3PL service provider to ensure the ongoing operations at the project planning stage are not disrupted and the Service provider co-operates with the company and the new 3PL in working together to hand over the inventory and assets belonging to the company as per laid down process and comply. Periodic meetings and contract review discussions have to be held to iron out differences arising out of the situation and would have to be handled sensitively and intelligently with patience.

Customs Clearance - Meaning, Scope and Documentation

ustoms Departments are the government designated authority to implement the policies related to import and export, collect customs duties and facilitate movement of people, goods and cargo into and out of the country.
Area of Operations and Authority

Customs departments have offices at all sea ports, air ports and border gateways which are essentially the exit and entry points for people and cargo movements into and out of the country. Customs agencies are empowered to make arrests, confiscate goods and enjoy powers similar to that of police departments.

Customs and Trade Logistics

Every country annually publishes its policy for Foreign Trade which stipulates the conditions under which goods and services are eligible to be exported or imported. Customs departments implement the provisions of the policy under customs rules, regulations and tariffs. Imports in many countries may be allowed freely or some categories may be permitted with due licenses. Many items are also published as banned for import and not allowed entry into the country. All of the items imported into the country have to be custom cleared. This is applicable to the items brought in as personal effects and also imported by trade and business establishments including governmental and defense agencies. Necessary stipulated duties would have to be paid before the goods are released by Customs. Cargo imported into the country through any point of entry is warehoused at Customs bonded area under customs jurisdiction until it is released after clearance.
Imports and Customs Clearance

Freight Forwarders who co ordinate the international transportation also provide customs clearance services to the clients. The activity is called customs brokerage. Customs clearance work involves preparation and submission of documentations required to facilitate export or imports into the country, representing client during customs examination, assessment, payment of duty and co taking delivery of cargo from customs after clearance along with documents.

Some of the documents involved in customs clearance are :

1. Exports Documentation: Purchase order from Buyer, Sales Invoice, Packing List, Shipping bill, Bill of Lading or air way bill, Certificate of Origin and any other specific documentation as specified by the buyer, or as required by financial institutions or LC terms or as per importing country regulations. 2. Imports Documentation: Purchase Order from Buyer, Sales Invoice of supplier, Bill of Entry, Bill of Lading or Air way bill, Packing List, Certificate of Origin, and any other specific documentation required by the buyer, or financial institution or the importing country regulation.

Customs Agents prepare the document of Shipping Bills in house for submission while rests of the documents are obtained from the client. Preparing shipping bill involves Classification of cargo under specific classification which is a critical activity in the entire process. Customs clearance agents are also called Carrying and Forwarding agents. They are registered and licensed by Customs to operate. Their role is limited to acting on behalf of and representing clients as third party agencies engaged in customs clearance. Customs Agents are linked through EDI with customs in most of the countries and use documentation software to facilitate entire process.

3. METHODOLOGY

3.1. omitted dating.

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Fact-finding/data in previous studies

collection/surveys or requiring up-

COMESA/EAC/SADC 3RD PARTY MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE SCHEME

Under the guidance of the Team Leader, each of the subject matter experts in our consultancy (insurance, legal, finance, transport operations), shall be engaged in checking and compiling the information on current country information of the target and beneficiary countries that will be involved in the harmonization project as clearly indicated in the Time Table attached

(Appendix I).

Our approach would therefore include a) research, compilation and perusal of the relevant legal statutes, insurance rates and guidelines pertaining to the three systems under review (cash, fuel levy and Yellow Card) and the fund rules in case of road accident funds; b) background check on other systems operating in e.g. European Union, United States of America, Asia and EAC/COMESA so as to adapt the positive aspects to the local systems; c) discussion and review of existing systems in terms of funding, financial performance and viability thereof with the relevant authorities charged with managing the funds; d) discussion with the private sector operators to understand their current challenges and come up with alternative approaches to implementation and operation of the systems; e) consideration of the implications of the proposed harmonization on

different stakeholders and addressing concerns in each case so that we build a consensus on harmonization in each country; f) visiting each of the target countries for harmonization to conduct national workshops as shown in the time table; g) holding consultative meetings with decision makers/stakeholders to identify the

preferred technical solutions, agree on timeframes and mobilize the political will to achieve smooth harmonization.

The above activity involves the following activities;

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COMESA/EAC/SADC 3RD PARTY MOTOR VEHICLE INSURANCE SCHEME

selecting the correct and relevant contacts for information so that there is no delay in accessing data; ensuring that our consultants have the relevant tools to achieve their assignments cellular phones with mobile roaming facilities, internet access, access to the COMESA/SADC/EAC Libraries and

transport to access the target persons in time to compile our reports; visiting all the beneficiary and target countries in preparation of and facilitating the country workshops as planned.

1.1 Philosophy

As a nation that aspires to become a developed country, Malaysia needs to enrich its research culture. ERGS can encourage early research and knowledge discoveries that will contribute towards increasing intellectual level, creating new technologies and enrich a dynamic culture in line with our national aspiration.

1.2 Definition

Exploratory Research is a research that solves the questions of what and where. Basically, exploratory research aims to generate new ideas that have not been fully explored. Besides driving towards generating new disciplines, this research can also identify problems related to the specific areas.

1.3 Objective

The research aims to encourage inquisitive minds, exploration of new ideas, new

concepts or theories that will be the catalyst for new discoveries and innovative creations that can further expand the boundaries of knowledge.

1.4 Research Areas

ERGS funding covers basic areas that can support the nations strategic agenda. Areas that have been identified are:

A. B. C. D. E. F. G.

Pure and Applied Science Technology and Engineering Clinical and Health Sciences Social Sciences Arts and Applied Arts Natural Science and National Heritage. Defense and Security

2. Methodology

Explain the methodology you used in the exploratory study as follows:

a) Explain how you conducted the interviews and sentence completions and with how many people.

b) Make a list of the articles you reviewed. This should include the title of the article, the journal in which it is published (including the volume number and year of the journal, and the page numbers of the article), as in the following example:

Inventory Migration - Meaning, its need and importance :