All companies need to grow their business. And many companies have found that logistics parks help them achieve their expansion goals. Logistics parks can increase throughput and efficiency of distribution operations, support sustainability initiatives, and even lead to the development of supply chain strategies. That’s why logistics parks serve as ideal regional distribution centers across the supply chain.
How logistics parks work as regional distribution hubs
Logistics parks are ideal for all distribution companies throughout the supply chain. Your logistics park should provide a strategic location close to multiple transportation methods and the workforce population to satisfy your customers. When your logistics park is designed to meet the supply chain demand and accommodate your employees’ needs, the park can work perfectly as a regional distribution hub.
What is a logistics park?
A logistics park is a distribution center designed to store, manage, and transport your products. Since every company and product is unique, the park can be customized to meet the specifications that your company requires. For instance, if your product requires refrigeration or speciality assembly and packaging prior to shipping, the park will be designed to optimize these operations.
Successful logistics parks are built in strategic geographical locations to increase your freight distribution and lower your costs. Your park might be built near expressways for road transport, close to railways for railroad transit, or near a large airport to make air cargo logistics fast, easy, and affordable.
Additionally, your logistics park can include amenities for your employees so that you can attract a skilled workforce population. These amenities might include banks, convenience stores, or even transportation methods to help your staff commute to work.
What is an industrial logistics park?
Many companies across the supply chain require industrial areas to manufacture their products. An industrial logistics park can accommodate large warehousing and production spaces as well as office space and employee amenities to keep your operations running smoothly.
Industrial logistics parks are engineered as manufacturing and logistics centers. Here are a few elements that your park can include:
- Specialty manufacturing equipment
- Hazmat disposal areas
- Freight docks
- Office space
- Common areas, such as a cafeteria or athletic center
How do logistics parks work as regional distribution hubs?
Logistics parks make regional distribution easy. They are built in a central location with fast and easy access to various modes of transportation. This helps your company identify the best logistics zones across the region to distribute and transport your product.
The whole purpose of a logistics park is to increase the effectiveness of your operations and freight distribution. Your park can help your business run like a well-oiled machine because it is built to accommodate your product needs and attract the best employees. The park should also include state-of-the-art technology so that you’re set up for the future. When you put these pieces together, your logistics park will function as a successful regional distribution hub.
How logistics parks assist with sustainable supply chain efforts
In past decades the industrial supply chain has sometimes been thought to contribute to pollution and produce greenhouse gases. Fortunately, a recent push for sustainable supply chain planning across the globe is trying to change that notion. And thanks to these efforts, logistics parks are now being rethought and reengineered to help supply chain industries protect the environment while still producing high-quality goods.
What is sustainable supply chain management?
Sustainable supply chain management incorporates environmentally friendly practices into supply chain operations. Due to climate change concerns in recent years, many industries have developed sustainability initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions and their overall carbon footprint.
The push toward a greener supply chain has led to a lot of changes for the logistics industry. Companies have added services like reverse logistics and recycling programs. They are moving toward lower-emission transportation methods. And in some cases, they are converting every square foot of their distribution space and warehouse facility to be more eco-friendly.
If sustainability is part of your logistics enterprise, a logistics park can support your green efforts.
How do logistics parks assist with sustainable supply chain efforts?
Nowadays, the most innovative logistics park designers are focusing on building a sustainable supply chain to get greener. Here are a few elements that logistics parks can include to help your sustainability efforts:
- Solar energy to power building HVAC systems
- Wind energy to support electrical systems
- Energy-recapture technology for vehicles
- Safety standards to keep employees safe and healthy
Some companies fear that a sustainable supply chain might lessen their product’s quality or even result in financial loss. However, the most effective supply chain efforts prioritize not only a smaller carbon footprint but high-quality production and financial profitability as well.
What are effective supply chain efforts?
Effective supply chain efforts must achieve three main goals:
- Lower your company’s carbon footprint. State-of-the-art technology uses renewable energy resources to reduce your emissions and support the international sustainability initiative.
- Increase customer satisfaction. Going green doesn’t mean sacrificing product quality. You can still manufacture and distribute high-quality goods to your customers. And since, according to a 2021 Strategy+Business article, roughly half of consumers around the world are trying to be eco-friendly, your sustainability efforts can help grow your brand awareness and customer loyalty.
- Provide financial stability throughout each sustainability effort. Technological innovations help companies save money while being eco-friendly. Motion-sensor lights can save up to 90 percent of electrical costs, according to the Sustainable Buildings Initiative, while newly engineered equipment reduces maintenance fees and lower-emission vehicles mean lower fuel expenses. There are even tax incentives for eco-friendly upgrades, so be sure to see if your company qualifies.
Supply chain sustainability is here to stay—so it’s wise to incorporate sustainable initiatives into your corporate strategy.
Strategies for routing your company’s supply chain processes through logistics parks for distribution
You’ve already developed a strategy that outlines your company’s goals and how to achieve them. And as you work to lower your distribution costs and optimize your supply chain, it’s equally important to create a strategy for routing your processes through logistics parks.
How does supply chain management affect manufacturing distribution costs?
Strong and effective supply chain management affects all aspects of your business—including manufacturing distribution costs. Without strong supply chain planning and management, your supply chain can fail in phases like material delivery and labor allocation that increase your distribution costs. When your supply chain is well managed, your operations will run smoothly and cost-effectively.
Logistics parks help you manage your supply chain and therefore keep your distribution costs low. The best logistics parks include warehousing, office space, eco-friendly amenities, and proximity and access to various methods of transportation. If your logistics company delivers raw materials late, you can still expedite your products once they’re produced if you have easy access to road, railway, and air cargo transport.
What is supply chain optimization?
Supply chain optimization means that you have the most current and effective resources throughout every phase of the supply chain. Technology is constantly changing, and many of these advances help businesses reduce their operating costs, engage in eco-friendly practices, and satisfy their customers’ needs.
Here are a few areas in which optimizing your supply chain with the best and most modern resources can help your business run smoothly:
- Raw material ordering and tracking
- Warehouse management, including machinery efficiency, labor allocation, and inventory loss prevention
- Quality control software
- Outbound logistics operations management
Optimizing your supply chain helps you control the entire life of a product from the moment you order the raw materials through the delivery to your client’s door. This optimization is a key strategy that all companies should incorporate into their daily operations.
What are strategies for routing your company’s supply chain processes through logistics parks for distribution?
Because logistics parks are engineered to increase your distribution operations, they make it easy to design a strategy to route your company’s supply chain processes. An effective park helps you manage each logistic to ensure maximum efficiency throughout your operations.
Here are a few additional components that you can include in your strategy:
- Optimize your warehouse space for efficient operations
- Use speciality software to manage your inventory, control your costs, and forecast your sales
- Determine the best distribution methods across your region, including road, railway, ocean freight, and air cargo
Your strategy is unique to your company. So it’s important to consider your needs as you develop the strategy. And once you’ve laid out your plan, you can begin searching for the optimal location for your regional distribution hub.
How to locate logistics parks for regional distribution hubs for your company
You’re already aware that geographical location plays in important role in the effectiveness of your logistics park. The location must give you easy access to your entire region and a variety of transportation methods. And since the availability of commercial real estate varies across the world, it’s important to understand how to locate the best logistics parks.
One question to keep in mind during your search is whether your location will be affected by the coronavirus. Although supply chain companies faced challenges before the pandemic, companies have had to deal with labor and material shortages over the last two years. Thanks to creative problem-solving and the innovation of multimodal hubs, you can still find a logistics park to suit your needs.
How can companies locate logistics parks during the coronavirus pandemic?
The world changed in late 2019 and early 2020 with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, logistics and distribution challenges included high fuel costs, public outcry for a greener supply chain, and the ever-increasing demand of the e-commerce industries.
During the coronavirus pandemic, supply chain companies have faced even more intense challenges. A large percentage of the working population across the world was asked to stay home in effort to prevent the virus’s spread. The reduced workforce meant that less raw material was being made and fewer products were being manufactured. To stabilize and become pandemic-resistant, companies can now look for logistics parks in areas with lower infection rates and with governments that are dedicated to keeping businesses operational.
How can companies locate logistics parks with multimodal hubs to improve supply chains during the coronavirus pandemic?
Multimodal hubs allow for seamless transportation and communication across multiple platforms. Because COVID-19 largely shut down both domestic and international travel and many employees had to work remotely, companies have had to think creatively to keep up their transportation and communication.
Fortunately, technological advancements in multimodal hubs have helped companies become pandemic-resistant. And since the best logistics parks include state-of-the-art technology, businesses throughout the supply chain have had options in choosing a logistics park with a multimodal hub that keeps them operational.
How can you locate logistics parks for regional distribution hubs for your company?
You need to locate a logistics park that will work well for your company’s manufacturing and regional distribution. Here are a few elements to keep in mind as you research commercial real estate and determine where your logistics park should be located:
- Labor cost. Where will you be able to find skilled employees that fit your labor budget?
- Freight and distribution. To optimize your logistics, should you be near an airport, a railway, or an inland port?
- Expansion and upgrade capabilities. Some geographical locations have stronger infrastructures than others. If you want room to expand and continue your sustainability initiatives, you’ll need a location that can accommodate you.
Logistics parks help you access more markets and expand your business
Your company needs high-quality, sustainable logistics services in order to compete in the regional and global markets. And Agility is the expert in developing logistics parks in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.
Visit our website to learn how an Agility Logistics Park is your ideal regional distribution center that can help you access regional and global markets as you expand your operations.
