Control of Outsourced Process - Shipping

[drgnrider]

? 2. We also will use a Transportation Services broker to find which freight company would be best to use (so as long as we place controls proving that the broker is good then we should be fine, right?)

3. Then we do have a couple regular shipping companies we use, that we can just identify and control, but there is the occasional international/flatbed shipment that we just need to find a new/random company on the spot (in which I'm having a hard time thinking of a way we could quickly approve them to ship)
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Can your Transportation Services Broker handle the same day requests (item #3)? As long as they know and meet your requirements, this cuts out your issue of trying to approve the carrier, because the broker has already pre-screened them.

We ship loads upwards of 100,000-lbs, over-sized, odd-sized, international, etc. It is not uncommon to have 6 different carriers in here per day, and then not use most of them again for a month. When we schedule loads, it is to the customers? premise, ensuring all the scheduled carriers (land, air, water) are able to meet the contract requirements, insurance, etc. We pack it, ensure all the appropriate declarations (customs, wood crating, etc.) are with the bill of lading, load it, and make sure they have secured it prior to leaving. This is about all the due-diligence for shipping that we can do until we get our own trucking company?and I don?t see that happening.

There is only so much control you can have over shipping, look realistically at what you can control, not the entire process.

Yeah, when the customer chooses the company, then they pay for it and it's out of our hands.

While the carrier choice isn't yours, you still need to do your due-diligence to ensure it survives the trip.

 

[Ithalion]

I think we do often use the broker for those same day shipments, but it's not always the case.

These are currently the controls I've come up with/listed and from what I've heard, seems sufficient:
1. Tracking/WayBill number provided by Supplier
2. Oversee Loading/Securing of Product
3. Monitor & Analyze Supplier Past Performance (Scoring based on number of errors [Tardiness or Damage] by each carrier divided by number of total shipments by each carrier)

 

[Golfman25]

I think we do often use the broker for those same day shipments, but it's not always the case.

These are currently the controls I've come up with/listed and from what I've heard, seems sufficient:
1. Tracking/WayBill number provided by Supplier
2. Oversee Loading/Securing of Product
3. Monitor & Analyze Supplier Past Performance (Scoring based on number of errors [Tardiness or Damage] by each carrier divided by number of total shipments by each carrier)

That sounds like a reasonable start. Work with it and see what happens over 6-12 months.

 

[almeldiel]

@Ithalion:

I am not an expert like the others in the forum, but I would like to share my thoughts. I am inclined to agree with QANewbie that this is not necessarily an outsourced process. Perhaps the scope of your system can end with proper packaging of the product and handing it off to a duly accredited shipping company/broker and monitoring the shipment.

You can treat shipping companies as a "Supplier", and have those that you use often, including your transportation broker, go through the Approved Supplier process. During the Supplier Accreditation process (or the equivalent in your system), you can already include the determination of their capability to transport your products (duly packaged by you) on time and undamaged. Perhaps you can look at their track record, or if they have certifications (ISO 9001, perhaps), etc. Then duly evaluate their services after you transact with them (did they deliver on time? was the cargo intact?)

Regarding the "random", same-day delivery scenario: I wonder if you cannot control this in the beginning? When you get an order, you can already ask your customer where they will need the product delivered, and perhaps when you are already in the manufacturing process, you can already figure out how big the resulting cargo will be and if you need specialized shipping like flatbeds, etc. That should give you some lead time to look for service providers and duly accredit them?

 

[somashekar]

When shipping is your scope, then evaluate and select your shippers based on your criteria... Like, your size of consignment, its required type of handling, loading, unloading requirements, distance it has to be shipped (within city / In country road / Air / International Air, Sea) Special handling requirements if any, containerizing.
Use them and monitor the deliveries to your satisfaction. Give additional information where necessary to correct deviations.
I guess you are doing all these and these are "YOUR CONTROLS OF SHIPPING PROCESS"
If your purpose is met and your customer is satisfied, nothing more matters.

 

[Ithalion]

Thank all you guys for all your input!

Here's another somewhat related question. I'm fairly confident in the answer already, but I wanted to hear how any of you guys have handled it:

We have company vehicles; some are trucks for local deliveries or just in-house uses (runs to Home Depot, etc) and some are cars for field service, conferences, etc.

The ISO 9001:2008 guidance package I'm using gives examples of possible outsourced processes and one is "Emissions Testing". I assume they put this as an outsourced process because (especially for field service and local deliveries) our conformity to customer requirements can depend on our vehicles -- chiefly through the aspect of "on-time delivery". This would be considered outsourced for us because we (like basically every company) use other companies for vehicle maintenance/emissions tests (through Enterprise Fleet Management).

Would you guys consider this a relevant "Outsourced Process" or would you say that it does not have enough direct effect on conformity to need evidence of control? Though I guess this argument could probably also be applied to equipment maintenance such as cranes/hoists/forklifts (things that you use to move product that need regular maintenance)

So for those of you that works for a company that uses company vehicles (that your company OWNS, not rents), what have you done in regards to Outsourced Processes?