Choosing price over quality in logistics

Are you feeling the pressure to make savings to your business operations? You are not alone. One of the mistakes that some businesses make is to choose price over quality. Whilst this can reduce costs in the short term, the cheaper option does not always pay in the long term.

Logistics is far more than storing freight and getting it from A to B. Many things can go wrong when you choose price over quality, here are just a few:

1. Staff morale could deteriorate

Choosing a cheap solution over a quality solution could mean that your logistics team may have to do more in less time. By pushing your staff to their limits, you may see a reduction in productivity due to bad morale and lack of motivation. Research from the Harvard Business Review showed that organisations with disengaged staff had 18% lower productivity, so it does not always pay to make cuts.

2. Customer service quality could suffer

You would be naive to think that being able to offer high quality customer service is possible when you choose a cheap logistics solution. Building partnerships with your customers takes time, and the time that is put in to building those relationships could be decreased, if not completely removed when you choose price over quality. We pride ourselves on the relationships we build with our customers, and with our customers’ customers, as it is the foundation of business growth.

3. Less care may be taken

At Masters, the condition that our customers’ freight arrives in takes priority over everything else. Choosing price over quality could damage your product care standards. Research from the Harvard business review discovered that companies with disengaged staff not only experience 60% more errors and defects in their operations, but they also experienced 49% more accidents. It is not just the welfare of your freight that you are putting at risk when you squeeze the margins too far.

4. You could damage your reputation, and consequently your business

Choosing a cheap logistics solution, and the results of doing so, could damage your reputation amongst your customers and consequently your referral rate could suffer. When a business refers you, they are putting their reputation at risk too. Would they really want to risk recommending a business that prioritises price over quality?

Logistics is far more than storage and distribution. It can make and break businesses. Choosing a cheap logistics solution over a quality logistics solution might not just damage your supply chain, it could damage your business as a whole. The pain of regret will soon outweigh the pleasure of a saving.

If you are looking to find optimum efficiency in your logistics operations, consider using a 3PL to handle your storage and distribution needs without the overheads.

Would you like to find out more about how to operate a healthy and productive supply chain, or about how a 3PL could help your business? Contact us today on 01353 648222 or email [enquirymail]

Using a warehousing provider saves your business time and money in overheads, whilst maintaining your customer experience. Find out more about our warehousing solutions.
Alternatively, call us on 01353 648 222 for more information.