Commercial logistics is the set of processes necessary to produce a good or service and deliver it to the customer. It starts from the supply of raw materials to the guarantee service that can be offered with each product.
Commercial logistics are all those phases that a company must overcome in order to deliver its products to the customers who buy them. It is a fundamental area within any company, since without it the demand that the company has cannot be satisfied.
This system is more complex as the range of products and the size of the company increases. For this reason, it must be well standardized and organized. The employees responsible for this area must be perfectly trained in the peculiarities of the company in which they carry out their functions.
Consequently, if the commercial logistics is optimized and managed by great professionals, the company’s commercial margin will increase. In this way, profits will grow or can be reinvested in certain actions that improve the operation of the company in the future.
Characteristics of commercial logistics
Among the characteristics of commercial logistics we can highlight the following:
- It is a fundamental process in any company.
- Its correct operation will reduce costs and increase the commercial margin.
- It allows a greater organization and operation of the company.
- The more standardized it is, the lower the number of errors made and the dependence the company will have on the personnel in charge of this area.
- It can increase customer satisfaction, thanks to waiting times, customer service or product quality.
Participants of trade logistics
The participants in commercial logistics vary depending on the characteristics of each company and the needs involved in carrying out its production. For this reason, we make a compilation of the most prominent participants in this process:
- Demand estimation: The company must make an estimate of the demand that it will have in the future to be able to supply itself with the necessary raw materials.
- Raw material suppliers: To avoid a situation of lack of stock, it is necessary to acquire the raw materials used in production from the supplier.
- Transportation to the place of production: Once the raw materials have been acquired, they must be transported to the company’s production center.
- Transformation of raw materials into finished products: It is the set of processes that must be followed in production to transform raw materials into products that customers demand.
- Storage: Once the production process has been carried out, they must be stored in the conditions required by the product. Here they will wait for the products to be sold and delivered to the customer.
- Sale: It is the process by which a customer acquires a certain product in the company.
- Distribution: It consists of delivering the products sold to the customers who have purchased them.
- Customer service support: It is the service in charge of attending and solving problems that may arise for customers.
Trade logistics example
Suppose we are the managers of an office table factory. Within our commercial logistics we must follow the following steps:
- Acquisition of the wood necessary for the manufacture of our products.
- Transportation and receipt of the merchandise to our factory.
- Transformation of wood into office tables.
- Storage of finished tables in our warehouse.
- Sale of the tables.
- Delivery of the tables purchased to our customers.
- Customer service in case any problem appears in the product.
In conclusion, commercial logistics is the set of processes that a company must carry out to satisfy the demand of its customers. It is a fundamental area within a company since its correct operation will avoid losses and increase profits.