Value Added Services: What They Are in Logistics

Value-added services in logistics is a term that is popular in the industry, but some clients may not know what it entails or that they even might need it. At Fairfords we are here to help our clients find these additional services and show how they can save time and money by utilising them in their services with us.

Value-added services are solutions that are typically incorporated into warehousing and distribution centre needs. These services include kitting, packaging, inventory control & management, order fulfillment, reverse logistics (returns), customs brokerage, and overall distribution operations.

Kitting– Kitting refers to assembling packages for clients. Usually these are two or more products that arrive from separate suppliers to make a product. One example would be a company that imports mobile phones and sells them as a package with a case and charger. Supplier A makes the phones, Supplier B makes the cases, and Suppliers C makes the chargers. The products are imported to the distribution centre and packaged into one box and sold as a unit.

Inventory Control & Management– We offer full warehouse and distribution services that also come with inventory management & control. Here we help clients manage everything to keep their products on the move. We can do order fulfillment, process returns, and more. This option is perfect for clients who don’t have the means to setup a warehouse/distribution centre operations or simply want to outsource this process and focus more on marketing and sales rather than manage inventory and warehousing needs.

Through this service, clients can share warehouse space with other clients and save money in costs. We can also setup entire warehouse or distribution centre operations for clients, giving them access to monitor real-time activity and let us know when and where to move their goods.

Reverse Logistics– This is not a very common term outside the logistics field, as most clients know this as simply processing returns. Reverse logistics is an important part of customer service giving clients a place where returned goods due to damage or changed minds of customers can be received and processed. Sometimes goods can be resold and other times damaged items can be serviced and sold as reconditioned, returned to the supplier for credit, or the damaged item is disposed of.