Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/714702
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 AUGUST 2016 VIII Fuel & Logistics Represented by: B.A.S. LTD - 25, Air Cargo House, Triq G . anni Vassallo, Luqa LQA 1511 Tel: +356 2558 4888 - Fax: +356 2167 7102 E-Mail: info@basmalta.com - Web: www.basmalta.com Definitive Door-To-Door Service Across Europe AIRFREIGHT PLUS is a DHL Global Forwarding service that combines the speed of shipping associated with an express carrier with the individual care given by a freight forwarder. AIRFREIGHT PLUS EUROPE WE CARE FOR YOUR CARGO Additional Services: Airport to Airport, Door to Airport & Airport to Door IFS Limited ESTABLISHED in 2014, International Fu- el Suppliers Limited is a young company that was founded by shareholders who have vast knowledge and background experience in the bunkering business, having owned and operated a number of tankers over the past 15 years. A specialist fuel energy provider, IFS provides various fuels, via both inland and international bunkering, to a range of cli- ents. IFS strives to provide a professional, efficient and reliable service for every client, some of which include fuel stations, hotels, industrial establishments, yachts, contractors, as well as terminal-to-ship, truck-to-ship and ship-to-ship bunkering facilities. The Maltese Islands hold a strategic maritime position, which was prized by several ancient cultures throughout its long and mag- nificent history. Malta is in the centre of the Mediterranean connecting Europe to North Africa. Due to the nature of the services offered by IFS, this position is truly beneficial to the company. IFS is client-oriented, and focused on delivering a better service, which is pro- fessional, reliable and high quality. Operations Automotive diesel supply International Fuel Suppliers provides a variety of fuel stations in Malta and Gozo with diesel. All personnel are trained to follow safety measures that are carried out in accordance with the local health and safety authorities. Gasoil supply IFS supplies hotels, industrial establish- ments and contractors with automotive diesel and gasoil of 0.1% for boilers and fixed generator use. Pleasure yachts and commercial yachts also make use of the fuel available from IFS, from small boats to commercial vessels and tankers. Gasoil is supplied via road tankers with varying capacities. Bunkering Bunkering is the process of refuel- ling a ship by providing the vessel with bunker fuel. Bunker capacities vary from small vessels to VLCCs. Terminal-to-ship, truck-to-ship and ship- to-ship bunkering facilities are available at IFS. Malta's location in the Mediterranean makes it an optimal location for easy, practical bunkering. There are five bunkering areas within territorial waters, the Harbour Masters allocate the bunkering area to be used depending on the weather and wind con- ditions of that day. How is logistics management defined? LOGISTICS management is an integral factor in the success of any manufacturing company's operations and has a direct impact on their bottom line. "Logistics management is that part of supply chain management that plans, implements, and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customers' requirements." – Council of Supply Chain Management. In its most basic form, logistics man- agement is the control and supervision of the movement of goods; however, the scope of logistics management can be more far-reaching than that. The sphere of logistics manage- ment involves a multitude of different factors. Transportation management, freight and inventory management, materials handling, and order fulfil- ment are just a few of the factors that must be considered when it comes to logistics management. Many companies look to third party logistics providers (3PL's) for help as this somewhat simple concept can often become very complex and not so easy to execute. How do you know if a logistics management operation is efficient? An effective logistics manage- ment operation should yield four key results: 1. Increase revenue 2. Improve operating cost structure 3. Reduce overall transportation costs 4. Improve customer service When the stars align and all of your logistics processes are streamlined, you should expect to see these results where they matter most: your bottom line. Logistics is the practice of moving resources from origin to destination as efficiently as possible. In retail- ing, this refers to the process order- ing from a manufacturer or vendor and getting the merchandise into the hands of your customers with the least cost, time and effort. The best way to approach logistics for your business is to understand the goal. You want to get the fast- est, cheapest and safest delivery of goods with the least headache and opportunity for things to go wrong. Put simply, you want to balance performance and cost and get the most of the former with the least of the latter. Logistics management is the organized use of information, analysis and techniques to eliminate bottlenecks and cost in order opti- mize this process. If you've ever shipped merchandise, you already understand the outbound version of logistics. A customer or- ders an item from you and pays you for shipping. You make sure that the right items (quantity, size and colour) are packaged securely and select a shipping provider based on their speed, reliability and cost. If you're shipping internationally, you need to fill out a customs declaration that de- scribes the contents of the shipment. The next step is to monitor the ship- ment to ensure that it arrived at its destination intact. A well formulated outbound logistics plan eliminates cost in this process and successfully delivers the shipment to the customer in a timely manner. The portion of logistics with an internal focus is inbound logistics. In this process, you have an inven- tory management system, perhaps an automated system, which lets you know when you need to re-order an item. This system informs you of the length of time it will take for delivery, the shipping cost options and other useful information such as re-order points for specific items. By striving to improve upon your inbound logistics system, you can cut costs and pro- vide a boost to sales. In logistics, knowledge is power and small businesses achieve cost sav- ings by understanding the compo- nents of cost and time in inbound and outbound shipments. This includes understanding postal rates and ship- ping times, and if shipping interna- tionally, any import duties that might apply at the destination country. It also includes working with your ship- ping provider to understand where savings can be achieved. Many shippers charge extra for processing waybills with handwritten addresses but discount for using labels gener- ated from their websites or special- ized online applications. In addition, understand that shipping rates are not always set in stone. If you ship several packages a month, discuss volume discounts with your shipping provider. The acknowledged master of retail logistics management is Walmart. Walmart was so successful at rapidly moving merchandise through its warehouse system to its stores that the US Army, the former champion, studied their techniques. Walmart optimized its supply chain so well that it began to bypass its warehouses and truck fleets and get shipments sent directly to their stores. Nearly two decades ago, Walmart trans- ferred responsibility for keeping its shelves stocked to its larger vendors. It may be difficult to implement a logistics management system to rival Walmart's, but by applying some of the above principles you can make positive changes that will benefit your business in the short and long-term.