Businesses continue to benefit from Bridgewater Logistics’ state-of-the-art supply-chain solution that integrates warehousing, cross-docking, as well as distribution and line-haul transportation solutions.
“Transportation and warehousing is now viewed as a critical component of supply chains. The responsibility of third-party logistics providers (3PLs) has, therefore, evolved from merely transporting, or maintaining and looking after goods and products in storage. The days when you merely had to have a state-of-the-art warehouse or trucks and a team of drivers to be competitive in the market are long gone. Proactive 3PLs constantly try to find ways of enhancing their value proposition,” Quinton de Villiers, managing director of Bridgewater Logistics, says.
Modern supply chains are dependent upon affordable and timely distribution services that ensure deadlines are met.
Moreover, they require optimised warehousing storage space, accurate and quick picking, in addition to other essential activities performed by skilled and experienced warehousing professionals.
A sound example of the constantly evolving nature of supply chains and the way in which 3PLs have responded to the demands of their freight-forwarding customers is the growth in demand for advanced cross-docking services.
As opposed to being stored for a period of time, goods that enter Bridgewater Logistics’ cross-docking distribution centres are ready to be shipped to the customer.
At these facilities, they are unloaded directly from a truck and onto another for onward distribution in an approach that reduces costs by eliminating materials handling and the need for warehousing space.
Just as importantly, cross-docking also significantly accelerates the delivery of goods to the end customer in response to the evolution of supply chains into “demand chains”.
Today’s customers expect their product to be delivered in a considerably shorter period than what was acceptable in the past.
In some instances, they even expect their product in less than 24 hours and, as such, items cannot first be housed in a central or regional warehouse before being shipped.
“Bridgewater Logistics’ holistic solution has greatly contributed towards smart, streamlined and efficient supply chains. The outcome is happier end-customers and improved revenues for our clients,” De Villiers concludes.
