Value Added Logistics (VAL) involves activities that enable logistics service providers to deliver additional value to their customers. These services can range from repackaging and assembly to specialized processes like blast-freezing and blending. When handling bulk goods or liquids, such as juices, customers frequently require the blending of different products to create a new, customized product. In 3PL Dynamics, this blending process is managed through the VAL module. But how exactly does the blending process work, and what are the options available?

Challenges in your blending process

Adopting blending processes into your logistics operations is not easy. You must be able to fully rely on your software solution to prevent mistakes. Below, we have listed the top 3 challenges when blending:

1. Handle waste products
When blending liquids, it is inevitable that a part of the product is lost in the process. When this happens, you do want to register this waste to prevent differences in your inventory. For example, you can adjust the inventory by correcting it through weight discrepancies. In 3PL Dynamics, you can easily configure a scan function to do so.

2. Inventory management
When the products are in production, in other words during the blending process, the system takes them from the customer articles in your software. This means that in this time, no storage fee is calculated. If the blending process takes a few days, this can make a big difference on you invoice.

3. Register lab values
Do you work with lab values? Then, you want to capture and register these on a batch. In 3PL Dynamics, you can capture data directly and link it to a batch, so you can always find the correct values.

Blending in 3PL Dynamics

In 3PL Dynamics, we distinguish two ways of blending: based on a recipe or based on customer demand.

In the image below, you see how you can blend two different customer articles based on a recipe. The output is generated from the VAL order.

When you blend goods based on customer demand, the recipe will state ‘Manual’. This is also the case when you do not use a fixed recipe – often seen in the blending of juices. Oranges, for example, do not taste the same throughout the year but you do want the juice to taste the same. This results in a different recipe each time you start the blending process.

What happens in the system after blending?

After completing the VAL order, one or more customer items are used to transfer them to another customer item. This means that there is a deduction from one customer item and an addition to the other. This way, you always have control over your actual inventory.

Be more valuable to customers with VAL activities in your logistic process

Blending is one of the many VAL activities you can perform. For example, logistics providers are increasingly playing a role in the customer’s production process. Or they are expected to handle returns in the e-fulfillment process. These and other VAL activities give you the perfect opportunity to take the pressure off your customers and differentiate yourself from the competition. Read this blog to learn about the most common services you can use to strengthen your competitive position.