Importance of Proper Planning and Communication

Even with things slowly returning to normal, the effects of COVID on the logistics community can still be seen.  There are fewer drivers, moving more material than in previous years.  To help make up for these on-going issues requires better planning and clearer communication.

Clearer communication allows for all parties involved to have full understanding of the task at hand.  This will also prevent any delays caused by miscommunications.   Miscommunication or information that is unclear can lead to significant delays while one party is awaiting confirmation or clarification. A simple miscommunication can cause a job to go from a quick task to snowballing into lengthy delays. These time-consuming issues can easily be avoided using clear communication between all parties involved.

One of the best ways to avoid miscommunication is to have a good plan in place. Before any information is sent out, a solid plan should be in place regarding the task at hand.  This should include information on how the task should proceed. Planning should include information should the task go smoothly, but just as importantly, if the task should run into any issues. This information may already have been predetermined and be found in various places, such as a SOP. Planning information may also have yet to be determined due to a unique situation. Either way, proper planning is important to ensure a task has as few issues as is possible.

Clear communication and proper planning play vital roles in logistics day in and day out. When both have been accounted for, the task at hand, whatever it may be, is all the more manageable.

Contributor: Robert Hammonds

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About Allyn International

Allyn International is dedicated to providing high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance. Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Allyn’s regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.A., Shanghai, P.R. China and Prague, Czech Republic. For more information, visit www.allynintl.com