How Does Outsourcing Logistics Work?

Clients with products produced both domestically and internationally look to SBS logistical support for their warehousing, inventory management, transportation management, and specialty services like kitting, light assembly, and custom packaging.

Here’s how it works.

Let’s say goods are purchased in Asia and then loaded on a container and transported to the nearest port then loaded on a ship bound for North America. 

Before consolidating the container, SBS Engineers inspect the parts for compliance and critical dimensional conformity.  Any issues are addressed immediately and resolved before leaving our warehouse.  SBS Quality works directly with the manufacturer to ensure proper fit, form, and function of critical parts.

The ship sails from Asia to the Port of Long Beach to be offloaded for transport.  SBS consolidates, schedules, monitors, and manages the often complicated and time-consuming customs transactions.  The container is then loaded on a train scheduled for Milwaukee Wisconsin.  Drayage, a short form shipping operation, delivers the container from the ramp to SBS. 

At SBS the container is unloaded, palletized, counted, quality inspected, and verified against the manifest to ensure we have received the proper goods and quantities.   A second inspection addresses any discrepancies in material, conformity, or volumes.  Any overages, shortages, or damages are reported to the client.

SBS attaches an identification label to each pallet to identify critical information such as Item Number, Receipt Date, Quantity, Order Number, Lot Code, and Expiration.  Now, ready for inventory, the goods are carefully put away.  An Inventory Technician scans the newly created ID Tag and location so now our WMS, warehouse management system, knows exactly where the goods are located. 

As a result, our clients have the ability to see reduction in TCO, total cost of ownership, by leveraging SBS’s international freight system, relationships, and expertise.  Clients can mitigate risk, reduce on hand inventory, free up valuable production floor space, reduce material handling, and most importantly focus on what makes their company money not chasing parts around the globe.