The article presents selected logistics solutions that enable the achievement of a competitive advantage through the intensive use of information technology and the outsourcing of logistics activities. The company Glazura Królewska SA (GK SA) operates in a specific sphere of the construction market, focused on providing finishing materials used in the final stage of the investment process and in renovation works during the typical use of various facilities. The specificity of this sphere results from the processes that must be carried out to satisfy customer needs. Glazura Królewska (like other ceramic tile manufacturers) creates a supply chain, the main phases of which are presented in Figure 1.
Ceramic tiles are subject to distribution processes either through the manufacturer’s own distribution network or with the participation of intermediaries, most often conducting wholesale or retail sales, depending on the volume. In both cases, we are dealing with the problem of the physical movement of tiles from the manufacturer to the recipient. This process includes logistics phases, which can be defined as:
1) loading at the manufacturer’s,
2) transport operations,
3) unloading:
– at institutional clients (retail chains)
– at intermediaries – in companies performing additional logistics operations and further distribution,
4) warehousing,
5) cross-docking operations (in the analyzed case – picking smaller and diverse orders for end customers using larger and homogeneous deliveries of tiles from their manufacturers),
6) loading of picked orders at intermediaries,
7) final distribution,
8) sale to the end customer (individual, retail or wholesale chains).
Current logistics model Glazura Królewska SA currently carries out most of the processes included in the described supply chain in one region of the country, the Lublin region, leaving other markets where tile manufacturers operate to fragmented competitors.
Analyzing the company’s current logistics model of operation (Figure 2), it is worth noting the complicated network of logistics connections of partners cooperating in the supply chain, i.e., manufacturers, distributors, and customers. In some of these processes, GK SA is an intermediary, offering distribution and additional services to both manufacturers and customers. Some of these processes are carried out outside the company’s system. The functioning of enterprises in the presented (Figure 2) system causes a number of perturbations in contacts between tile manufacturers and their final recipients. These include:
1. on the supplier side:
– lack of ability to develop a nationwide distribution network and, consequently, the need to focus on selected markets with an economically justified sales volume
– focus on large production batches and high order levels
– lack of flexibility in cooperation
– losses related to imprecise market forecasts
– lack of sufficient knowledge about changes in customer needs
– other problems resulting from an extended or inefficient process of market information flow and its transformation into production information
2. on the recipient side:
– inability to satisfy individual needs
– lack of detailed information on trends in changes in the manufacturers’ market offer
– lack of a flexible and accessible sales network, etc.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 6/2007.