TLC Resources
People, Information, and Groups important to TLC and to our clients. Also find useful industry links and event calendars. For older articles and previously shared information, you can visit the resource archives.

April 2010 Updates

 

Today's Warehouse Plays a New Role

Inbound Logistics had a great article on how warehouses are no longer just for storage.  Anything that helps a manufacturer stay highly mechanized and lower labor costs is being sent to the new "warehouse" environment.  As a result, the services expected from warehousing providers are expanding.  Three services drawing considerable interest are:

  1. Shared Space Environments
  2. Secondary Packaging
  3. Cross-docking

Manufacturers are recognizing that 3PLs are often better positioned and experienced than their own internal operations to adapt to this expanded warehouse role. This is exactly where TLC can help your business. Read the who article here.

 

Maximizing the Relationship of a 3pl provider and their Customer - Performance-Based OutSourcing

There was a topic of discussion at the ARC Forum earlier this year surrounding why the 3PL and customer relationship fails to reach its maximum value potential. Some of the reasons given were:

  • Companies want their logistics service providers to be more proactive and creative, yet they often dictate every detail of how a 3PL should operate.
  • Many contracts are “evergreen, eternal” but they include a 30-day escape clause.
  • 3PLs and customers approach outsourcing relationships from different perspectives. 3PLs generally want to be viewed as “strategic partners” while many customers, especially their procurement organizations, view 3PLs as “vendors” and this misalignment often creates friction in the relationship.

To get past these issues and increase the value, move to a more performance-based outsourcing (PBO) model.  PBO focuses on outcomes instead of transactions, on the WHAT instead of the HOW, and on creating long-term, win-win partnerships. It is a mind shift that may be difficult for some 3PLs and customers to achieve, but for those who embark on the journey and succeed, the rewards are far greater.  A couple of articles this forum included for reading were "Performance-Based Outsourcing in Logistics" and "Performance-Based Oursourcing - What's In It for We?"- Both articles are from 2009 from Logistics Viewpoints.

 

Food and Beverage Safety and Traceability - Get Ahead of the Curve

This article from Supply Chain Brain notes that Food and Beverage companies are now beginning to "build in" compliance and traceability into production processes.  In fact, the Aberdeen Group survey of over 230 manufacturers showed that top-performing organizations were over 40 percent more likely to be taking this strategic approach than other organizations.  In order to do this, two things must happen:

  • First, time must be spent gaining understanding and control of the production processes itself. Compliance and traceability cannot be tested into a production process; it must be assured through continuous monitoring of the process itself.
  • Second, it comes down to the ability to recreate what happened to a product through the manufacturing process – from the initial raw material to final product.

Moving forward, food and beverage manufacturers must automate product traceability across the supply chain. In the future, every manufacturer must have complete supply, manufacturing, and delivery data for every product at their finger tips and in real time. Incomplete, inaccurate or untimely data will no longer be acceptable.  Total Logistic Control can help your organization move in this direction.

 

Third Party Logistics:  Warehousing Adds Value...and Complexity

Simply handling storage and order fulfillment more efficiently than their clients could do in-house is not enough. In difficult economic times, 3PLs are being called upon–and are uniquely situated–to take on additional tasks such as kitting, light assembly, and custom labeling, that will ease the burden on their clients' operations.  This article from Supply Chain Brain talks about what 3PLs have to do in order to meet demands from customers to provide value-added services. It references an Aberdeen Group study for data.

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California Cut Flower Commission (CCFC) Chooses TLC

6.24.2010

CCFC's Transportation Committee concluded its search for a Third Party Logistics (3PL) firm. Total Logistic Control (TLC) was recommended for selection by a unanimous vote from the Board of Commissioners.

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Kraft Morris Biscuit Mixing Center Wins Award

1.26.2010

This facility has won the Q4 2009, Leadership and Excellence Award. They competed against

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TLC is named to the Food Logistics FL100 List

12.16.2009

Food Logistics 6th annual listing of the FL100 was based on the ability to manage change through tough economic times with technology

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Supply & Demand Chain Announce "Green" Supply Chain Award Winners

11.12.2009

TLC was one of about 7 supply chain companies and 33 total companies chosen to receive this award which is meant to recognize small, midsize and large organizations that are taking steps to realize green goals.

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IARW names TLC to their Top 25 Cold Storage List

10.27.2009

The International Association of Refrigerated Warehouses (IARW) has released its annual IARW Global Top 25 List of the public refrigerated warehouses (PRWs) with the greatest capacity of warehouse space in the world.

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TLC earns Food Safety/Quality certification at Athens, GA Location

10.16.2009

Total Logistic Control earns the SQF 2000, Level 3 Certification from the Safe Quality Food Institute, a division of the Food Marketing Institute for their Athens, Georgia Packaging Facility.

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TLC achieves highest score given by US environmental Protection Agency's Smartway program

9.28.2009

The SmartWay program was started in 2004 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and it identifies products and services that reduce transportation-related emissions. A score of 1.25 represents outstanding environmental performance. These Partners already are utilizing most of the commercially available fuel saving strategies and are actively evaluating the latest emerging technologies.

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TLC facility wins Gold Standard Award from Sara Lee

9.28.2009

The Gold Standard Award is given out annually and is designed to recognize SUPERIOR Performance within the TLC/Sara Lee Network.

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TLC is earns Food Logistics Top 70 award

8.25.2009

Total Logistic Control was named to the fourth annual Food Logistics Top 70 providers for the food industry. We have been on the list since its inception four years ago

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Milwaukee's Palermo's Pizza Comes Back to TLC

8.18.2009

Back in 2006, Palermo's Pizza built their own state-of-the-art facilities for production and storage.  However, their quality products have driven tremendous sales growth and had them seeking additional storage space.  They turned to TLC, their provider before building 3 years ago.

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TLC is chosen as a 2009 Top 100 3PL by Inbound Logistics

8.14.2009

For the 12th straight year, TLC was named to the Inbound Logistics Top 100 3PL providers list. They ranked 10th on that list of 100. This makes them one of the longest consecutive award winners of this list of supply chain solutions providers.

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TLC Chosen As Great Supply Chain Partner

6.22.2009

SupplyChainBrain’s 7th Annual 100 Great Supply Chain Partners Program is the result of a six-month on-line poll in which supply chain professionals are asked to nominate vendors and service providers whose solutions have made a significant impact on their company’s efficiency, customer service and overall supply chain performance. TLC was chosen as one of the Top 100.

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