Supply Chain Consulting

Supply Chain & Logistics Consulting Australia

As a global logistics company with more than 20 years of experience in supply chain consulting and the logistics industry, our full turnkey solution is an invaluable tool for sustainable competitive advantage. 

With recent uncertain times, we’ve seen many companies collapse due to poorly managed supply chains. This highlights how important it is for companies to invest in actively predicting and responding to external factors, preparing for potential impact and mitigating risks.

Optimising your company’s supply chain and operations and keeping up with consumer expectations are consistent winners.

In today’s competitive climate, customers want to see organisations compete for their business. That means delivering on their promises at exceptional speeds and at justifiable costs. 

A supply chain strategy ensures that companies exceed those expectations and retain more customers, all whilst remaining profitable.

How We Can Help

Strategy and Organisation

In our extensive experience as supply chain management consultants, we’ve seen plenty of opportunities and threats. Equipped with this knowledge, we are well placed to produce powerful supply chain strategies and organisation methods for clients across various industries.

Performance Monitoring and Benchmarking

Identifying inefficiencies when you’re personally involved in a business can be challenging. That’s why we act as a third party to analyse and challenge your supply chain and provide detailed and unbiased recommendations. 

Supply Chain Risk Management

With a constantly evolving supply chain comes added complexity and risk. That’s why it can be highly beneficial to have a supply chain expert on your side to mitigate risks, exploit opportunities, and ensure business continuity on your behalf.

Logistics Network Design

Before creating a detailed logistic network plan, our team first gets to know the ins and outs of your company. With this in-depth knowledge, we develop a tailored network design that maps out the complete delivery process from supplier to customer, all with maximum profitability in mind. 

Supply Chain Transformation

Need to overhaul your entire supply chain and logistics? We take a holistic approach to supply chain transformation, considering all relevant data sources and ensuring all factors are working together to align with company goals.

Process Improvement

Company processes provide regulation for employees, direction for the company and perceived value for your customers. Stockwell’s supply chain consultants work with you to map out each process and provide recommendations on how you can improve operational efficiency. 

End-to-End Supply Chain Optimisation

Our end-to-end supply chain consulting service positions us as your partners throughout the entire process. Rather than solely working to reduce freight costs, we take a holistic approach to reducing costs by considering different terms of trade and other ways to minimise expenses through schedules and business practices. We work with you and your team to gain a profound understanding of your business and perform an end-to-end assessment of your complete operational performance.

Who We Work With

We offer our supply chain consulting services for a range of industries, including:

The Stockwells Difference

Meet your Supply Chain Consulting Team

Success Stories

Take a read through just one of our stand out supply chain consulting success stories.  

One of our existing customers was seeking advice regarding reducing costs along their supply chain.

crane carrying a shipping container

Our customer imports 2,900 containers each year under a mix of CIF, DAP and DPP terms from China, Europe and the US.

There’s a common conception that import terms such as CIF, DAP and DDP are more straightforward, cheaper, less hassle and attract fewer risks for the importer. While some of this is true, when you break down the costs and understand the intricacies, it is the exact opposite.

Our team of experts analysed this particular supply chain by looking at invoices over a 4-year period and piecing together additional costs because of DAP/DDP/CIF terms. 

Overall, there was an overspend on insurance. Due to the way the commercial invoices were configured, the amount could not be determined. However, when we looked into lost funds based on damage claims, the claims were only processed at 2.5% of the commercial value. 

Losses included: lost duty under unclaimed FTA’s of $338,000, lost TCO opportunities to $456,000, detention of $190,000, to name just a few. 

Further losses were attributed to lack of freight planning at origin where consolidations could have been used to further save $98,000. Containers were being underutilised by 28% most of the time.

Although there are additional risks under EXW and FOB terms, they also allow for more control over the supply chain, giving businesses better control over charges in consolidations, container space maximisation, correct insurance coverage and more.

This is just one example of how our freight and logistics consulting service is so valuable. After conducting our services, our experts:

  • Determined the most valuable terms of trade for this particular client
  • Uncovered where unnecessary costs were incurred 
  • Continue to perform ongoing analysis to ensure savings as total cost of ownership remains progressive 

What Our Clients Say

Other Ways We Can Help

Integrated Logistics Support

Sustainable competitive advantage starts with integrated and seamless digital infrastructure that coordinates your supply chain effectively. Stay on top of your logistics with integrated logistics support.

Find out more about our Integrated Logistics Support service.

Project Cargo Management

Our global network allows us to maintain flexibility when receiving and consolidating bulk cargo. We help facilitate seamless transport from supplier to site and do so in a way that ensures maximum efficiency and minimum fuss.

Find out more about our Project Cargo Management service.

Warehousing & Distribution

Streamline processes and reduce expenses with Stockwell’s integrated warehousing and logistics services. As a direct extension of your business, we can offer a range of warehousing and distribution services to optimise your supply chain.

Find out more about our Warehousing & Distribution service.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have questions about our supply chain consulting services? Check out our supply chain consulting FAQs.

Results vary depending on the individual supply chain and issues suspected after initial meetings and interviews. 

Mostly, we find incorrectly applied terms of trade when reviewing corresponding sales contracts. 

Incorrect terms of trade can create a significant insurance risk should any claim proceed. A term of trade may only protect one side of the supply chain (being on the domestic side) and leave the other side vulnerable to ongoing losses. 

This increased exposure occurs because insurance premiums on global contracts rarely have excesses below USD$20,000. Which makes any claim under this in AUD highly probable on an ongoing basis (depending on the commodity’s nature).

Different results can be achieved through incorrectly applied HS code correction or unclaimed FTA’s and possible missed TCO opportunities. 

Lastly, the supply chain sales order and purchasing processes can be analysed for groupages and consultation opportunities. More often than not, sales centres operate within an individual business silo, which means lost opportunities for freight consolidations as one area of the business does not talk to the other.

Results vary depending on the individual supply chain and issues suspected after initial meetings and interviews. 

Mostly, we find incorrectly applied terms of trade when reviewing corresponding sales contracts. 

Incorrect terms of trade can create a significant insurance risk should any claim proceed. A term of trade may only protect one side of the supply chain (being on the domestic side) and leave the other side vulnerable to ongoing losses. 

This increased exposure occurs because insurance premiums on global contracts rarely have excesses below USD$20,000. Which makes any claim under this in AUD highly probable on an ongoing basis (depending on the commodity’s nature).

Different results can be achieved through incorrectly applied HC code correction or unclaimed FTA’s and possible missed TCO opportunities. 

Lastly, the supply chain sales order and purchasing processes can be analysed for groupages and consultation opportunities. More often than not, sales centres operate within an individual business silo, which means lost opportunities for freight consolidations as one area of the business does not talk to the other.

Depending on how much information a business is willing to divulge and what they perceive their issues, we look at supply chain operations from two different aspects.

Within the company itself:

  • How the international supply chain develops)
  • What terms of trade have been negotiated from each international supplier and why?
  • What does the overarching Sales Contract Cover? Or, is each sale simply covered by the Commercial Invoice as a means to a contractual arrangement?
  • Global Insurance coverage, excesses on individual claims, what it covers and what it does not, country to country, state to state?
  • Analysing a company’s own internal purchasing processes for new or ongoing sales (ordering and purchasing habits etc), different business units, different freight silos?

 

The actual Logistics (physical movement of the cargo):

  • Logistics processes and spend (international and domestic)
  • Customer expectations on delivery timeframes and overall current satisfaction (time v. costs etc.)
  • Actual movement of freight (ex Shipper)
  • Possible consolidation opportunities/better ways to move freight

A purchasing or supply chain manager would rarely have the double skillset required to look at a term of trade or sales contract, make the connections between the two, and then understand what freight forwarders do within their supply chain role.  

Their role is generally to look at freight spend and try minimising that spend any way they can. It is a reflex then to look straight at the international freight spend without analysing the consequences of what those reductions may mean to the customer.  

Sometimes freight cost can be minimised simply be correcting terms of trade, applying a one silo sale process, and internally reviewing commercial invoices for reductions, instead of solely reducing international freight spend.  

This only puts pressure on freight forwarders and transport providers who are already pressured for very minimal margins. 

This is why it is best to work in other areas firstly and build long term, long-lasting business partnerships rather than going for the cheapest options.

The way Stockwells organise their consultancy is very different from how other companies do. Our sole objective is looking at the supply chain and plugging commercial gaps, analysing excess risk, looking at sales contracts, then applying all that knowledge for a better-working logistics outcome first.  

If we can’t reduce those items, then we look at freight contracts as a sole component.

Find out how expert supply chain consultants can help your business