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For businesses like grocery or convenience stores, supermarkets, and restaurants, refrigeration costs are probably one of your biggest operational expenses. Commercial refrigeration of display cases and reach-ins can account for up to 60% of a business’s electricity consumption.

With such high costs, it’s crucial to learn ways to get it in control. In this article, we’re sharing a few tips to help you cut down on your commercial refrigeration costs.

Upgrade your Commercial Refrigeration System

Replacing your old refrigeration system that may still be working may be a bit over the top but hear us out. Having an outdated refrigeration system may be less energy efficient. Thus, if you’re using decade-old systems, they may have used refrigerants that have long been phased out.

In general, you want to replace your refrigeration system if:

• It’s over ten years old
• You’ve already replaced a phased-out refrigerant with a synthetic refrigerant
• Your business is expanding
• It’s in poor physical condition, damaged, or corroded

An upgrade to newer systems will ensure they are efficient and manufactured to fit the latest technology. Once you upgrade, look for an Energy Star rating to ensure the highest energy efficiency possible.

If you’re running a grocery or a convenience store, it makes sense to go for systems with glass doors. In-display industrial fridges can be used to showcase the contents of the fridge, allowing customers to choose from the products before opening the doors, reducing cold air spillage and energy use.

Schedule Regular System Cleaning and Maintenance

Regular maintenance helps ensure that your fridge is working efficiently and spot potential issues you can resolve immediately to prevent more severe and costlier damage.

Typically, you want to keep your condenser coils and evaporator clean and in good shape. If dust, grease, and other debris accumulate on these critical components, the unit must work harder to maintain a cool environment. By making it a habit to clean and maintain these parts every time, your refrigeration system will run more efficiently and ensure longevity.

Another way to maintain your refrigeration system is to defrost the freezers when there’s 5 mm or more ice buildup. Other components you need to look for during your scheduled maintenance include:

• Oil leaks
• Motor function
• Temperatures
• Door hinges and catches
• Seals
• Compressor levels

Set Fridges at Efficient Temperatures

For every degree cooler, the running cost also increases by 2% to 4%. Don’t hesitate to ask a refrigeration consultant if you don’t know the appropriate temperature levels for your business.

As a rule of thumb, you want to set your commercial refrigeration system temperature to the minimum food safety standards. For commercial fridges, it should be below 5°C. Meanwhile, freezers should be set between –15°C and –18°C.

Use LED Lighting

Lights in cool rooms and fridges not only use energy to light the space but also produce heat. This heat needs to be cooled down, which causes the system to work harder.

So, consider replacing the system’s lighting with LED lighting. This is much more efficient than halogen and fluorescent lighting because it doesn’t heat that much. Besides, LED lights are known for their longer life span and have minimal maintenance costs.

Another way to help further reduce energy consumption on your refrigeration lighting is to ensure that the lights are off when not needed. You can use operational controls and timers to turn off the lights automatically when necessary.

Close the Door

This may be an obvious tip, but you’ll be surprised that most workers and customers tend to leave refrigeration system doors open. Know that you lose cool air when you leave a cool room or fridge door open. So, the system will need to work harder to cool down the space.

To prevent this, you can add a timed alarm to your system to ensure the doors are never left open. Likewise, train your staff to be proactive and always check if a customer may have left the fridge door open.

Load Cold Deliveries Right Away

It takes more energy to cool down items that have reached room temperature than it does to cool those that are already cold upon delivery. Therefore, you want to set up a loading policy. When you receive delivery of cold items, make sure to load them immediately. Not only does this help preserve as much energy as possible, but it also protects the quality of the items and prevents spoilage.

Takeaway

There’s no doubt that refrigeration is one of the most significant expenses for businesses in the food industry. To stay profitable, you want to keep these utility expenses under control. Applying one or more of the tips discussed can help reduce your energy bills. Some are incredibly affordable and easy to implement, while others will be more expensive and work-intensive but will surely pay off in the long term.

Ifama

Hi! This is Ifama. I am a student and giving my services in SEO. I have a lot of experience in digital marketing. Travelling is my hobby and I love visiting different hilly areas and doing adventures.

When you’re in the business of selling goods, one of the top priorities you have as an entrepreneur is to aim for the best customer service. This, after all, speaks of so much. Happy and satisfied customers are the best marketing agents for any business.

There are many ways to ensure your customers are satisfied, one of which is by streamlining your order fulfilment process. Take a moment to think about your business’ current order fulfillment process. After a customer place an order, how long does it take before the product arrives at their doorstep? Do your customers enjoy a smooth and obstacle-free process of placing orders on your physical store or website? Will they get assistance if they encounter issues upon receiving the order? Are you making use of software and apps, like a DOM system, to aid you in your order fulfillment process?

While there are many solutions to improve this, automation seems to be the most efficient one. Not sure how to get started with automating your order fulfillment process? Here’s a run-through of some ideas.

Understand The Order Management Workflow

That big switch from a manual order fulfillment process to an automated one can’t be done successfully if your team doesn’t have a full grasp or understanding of your order management workflow. Remember your goal here is to put your business on a level playing field with your competitors. This entails going back to basics to strengthen the foundation of your automation process.

While every company may have a unique process, it would usually consist of five basic steps. Study yours carefully, so you can identify which areas within each step can be easily automated from your end:

1. Taking the order
2. Processing the order
3. Preparing or packing the order
4. Shipping and delivering the order
5. Handling any post-delivery or post-sale issues

Get to know the Common Struggles in Order Fulfillment

Now that you have insights on the five general steps in order fulfillment, it pays to know what the common struggles in these areas are. This is a very important step, as it’s usually within these struggles that you can find the need to automate. To give you an idea, some common bottlenecks that businesses experience in the order fulfillment process include:

1. Unfulfilled orders
2. Inefficient tracking methods for customers
3. Products are damaged when they’re shipped and loaded
4. Inventory is consistently out of stock
5. Wrong products are shipped

Human error in any of the above problem areas is inevitable, especially once you’re starting to handle large volumes of orders. If you can automate any of those processes, you can reduce the likelihood of human errors and improve problem areas.

Provide Real-Time Inventory Updates

Delays in the order fulfillment process can actually be avoided when you’re able to provide real-time inventory updates. Make those updates connected and visible on your e-commerce website so that your customers are also updated about their orders.

Once an order is placed, make it a point that your stock count is automatically being updated as well. This can prevent the onset of unpleasant situations where you’ll have customers complaining that the orders they placed were never processed and received because they were already out of stock.

So, make sure that your e-commerce platform actually syncs with your backend applications, so that updates can be made in real-time. If you’re using different systems, consider consolidating all those as well, so as to avoid confusion.

Keep Open Lines of Communication with your Customers

Whenever your customers have concerns, they should be able to contact you immediately. An automated system can also be used for this purpose by implementing customer relationship management software. This makes it easier for your team to monitor any communication done with your customers, to ensure that concerns are addressed in a timely manner.

Communications must be opened the moment a user enters your website or platform. They don’t even have to be a customer just yet. Some of your leads might need help with the products or need guidance with the order process. Even after the orders are processed and received, you must still keep your lines open since customers might have follow-up complaints and feedback.

 Conclusion

The order fulfillment process isn’t as straightforward as it seems. From the perspective of the consumer, all they have to do is to follow the steps accordingly until the time when they make it to the final payment gateway of your page.

From the business’ perspective, however, there are so many things to accomplish—from confirming the order, processing, packing the product, shipping, and more so the acceptance of payments. Making manual accounts of all those orders won’t be sufficient, particularly once your business starts to grow exponentially. This is where automation kicks in.

Automation will help improve the order fulfillment process of your business. Aside from streamlining every step of the process, you also get to serve your customers in a timely and more efficient manner—improving customer satisfaction in the long run.

Jason Obrien

Jason is the Marketing Manager at a local advertising company in Australia. He moved to Australia 10 years back for his passion for advertising. Jason recently joined BFA as a volunteer writer and contributes by sharing his valuable experience and knowledge.

Many businesses have adopted efficient ways of executing their operations. One of the ways is by using equipment and machinery. These tools increase productivity since they execute tasks faster than workers do.

However, for these tools to serve you efficiently and bring about efficiency, you need to maintain them properly. Maintenance ensures the tools are in top-notch condition. Hence, you can only achieve this by developing a program to keep you on track.

On the other hand, you might be wondering how to develop a maintenance program. Well, you’re in the right place. This article highlights the elements an effective maintenance program should have.

An effective maintenance program should include:

1. Maintenance Schedule

Your equipment requires regular maintenance to meet your needs efficiently. A maintenance schedule should help you keep track of maintenance.

Meanwhile, as you go about your company’s daily operations, you’re likely to forget to maintain your tools and equipment. Unfortunately, you’ll most likely remember them in the event of a breakdown that leads to a work stoppage. However, you can easily avoid unexpected breakdowns by regularly maintaining your tools.

In order to do that, a maintenance schedule should be one of the key elements of your maintenance program. The schedule should include a list of the maintenance tasks needed for each piece of equipment. This list should more or less act like a checklist during each maintenance.

With the list, you won’t miss out on inspecting any part. The tools’ manuals should guide you appropriately in coming up with the list. Most manufacturers will include every piece of information regarding maintenance in their manuals.

Besides listing the aspects needing maintenance, your schedule should also include the time of executing the maintenance activities. To reduce downtime, schedule the maintenance tasks after working hours. Here, you won’t interfere with your core operations, ensuring productivity.

In addition, it would also help to assign the personnel to take care of each piece of equipment. You don’t want a situation where different workers maintain your tools. It brings about a situation where there’ll be no room for accountability should a tool fail.

On the other hand, it’s best that you invest in software, such as 60Hertz, that’ll hold your maintenance schedule. Your maintenance team should have access to the software, whether they’re working remotely or within your premises. This way, you won’t miss out on a maintenance routine, ensuring your tools perform efficiently.

2. Maintenance Record

In maintenance, it’s one thing to have a schedule and another to execute the said plan. Hence, it’s important to include a maintenance record in your maintenance program.

After your team executes any maintenance, they must record all they did. It should include the time they performed the routine and the parts they inspected. Also, it should include the specific activities they did, for example, oil and wheel changes.

With such a record, you can decide when a certain part requires replacement. It would also help to have the maintenance record updated in real-time. Real-time recording eliminates errors during updating, where a worker might forget to add a given task they did. Errors will make you lose track of your maintenance program, reducing its effectiveness.

3. Regular Training

The effectiveness of your maintenance program remains with your maintenance team. They’re the ones who will benefit from it. Therefore, they should be part of your maintenance program. Furthermore, you can conduct regular training to assist them in better caring for your equipment.

The training should entail how to undergo the maintenance, including having practical exercises. You want them to execute the inspections as they should without them missing out on any aspect, especially when they’re doing repairs.

Significantly, errors during maintenance defeat the aim of your maintenance program. Also, should there be better ways of handling the repairs and replacements, train them in these ways to bring about efficiency.

Moreover, it’ll greatly help them if you hold these training sessions regularly, monthly or quarterly. The aim is to keep them on their toes and emphasize the importance of correct equipment maintenance. It’s the only way your tools will bring efficiency to your company.

4. Performance Metrics

Any undertaking requires performance metrics to measure the effectiveness of your project. The same should happen for your maintenance program. Therefore, it’s important to set performance standards, especially during the formulation of the program.

These standards can include the minimal number and frequency of breakdowns you expect with the implementation of your program. Furthermore, these metrics will help you know the effectiveness of the plan.

For example, suppose you aren’t meeting the set standards. In that case, you need to identify the bottlenecks and address them to ensure your program is effective. As you do this, in no case should you adjust your performance metrics to accommodate the inefficiencies?

Nevertheless, your aim should be to adjust your maintenance program to meet the set metrics. On the other hand, if you’re meeting the metrics, you can raise the standards to ensure more efficiency.

Conclusion

Formulating an effective maintenance program isn’t challenging; this article has shown that. You can use the elements given herein as a checklist for your maintenance program. Be sure to adopt these aspects in your program; they’ll ensure efficiency in your operations.

Ayesha Saeed

A happy mom, professional article writer, SEO practitioner, blogger, guest blogger & freelancer. She’s been in digital marketing since 2018. She loves reading books and spending time with her family.

Cottage industries enable families to run their small businesses without a huge capital. They provide a space for good manufacturing at a small scale. They are more common in rural areas than in small-scale industries found in urban sites. While it may not seem apparent, cottage industries are an essential part of any country’s economy. India has the largest number of cottage industries globally. Small scale and cottage industries account for around 40% of the total industrial output in India. 

What is Cottage Industry?

Cottage industries are small-sized businesses, often built-in homes instead of offices or production facilities. Manufacturing such facilities do not have advanced technologies and mainly relies on traditional methods. The income generated through cottage industries typically goes into managing household expenses. The cost of labor is usually zero as members of a family work themselves to produce goods. Besides India, cottage industries are also quite popular in Italy, Germany, and Japan.

What are the Characteristics of Cottage Industries?

Cottage industries differ from small-scale and large-scale as they do not involve labor. The manufacturing units are small and do not require a large capital. These industries produce daily-use items without using extensive machinery that may sometimes be exported to other countries.

No Labor Involved

Labor is not involved in cottage industries. As the members of the family work in cottage industries within their homes, they do not employ others. This reduces the cost of technicians and labor. Sometimes they may employ distant relatives to do the jobs.

Smallest Manufacturing Unit

Cottage industries are the smallest manufacturing unit in any country. They do not involve huge machinery or advanced technologies. Cottage industries use traditional or small equipment that can be easily used within the house’s premises. These units manufacture goods that may be used locally or sent to other regions. Despite being the smallest manufacturing unit, they hold significant importance in a country’s economy.

Less Capital

As cottage industries do not utilize high-scale technologies and machinery, they do not require a lot of capital. They usually invest their family capital in the business for a kick start. The money eventually multiplies, giving them enough to run the household and buy raw materials. Less capital investment also means that a large quantity of goods is not produced. The produced goods are mostly used by neighboring areas. 

Local Raw Material

To reduce the cost of the product, cottage industries use the raw material to manufacture products. It helps locals sell their materials and make money while the cottage industry owners use it to generate income. Using local raw materials is better for the seller and the buyer both. Sellers can sell their goods quickly as the buyers are around the corners. Similarly, cottage industry owners do not have to travel to faraway places to get raw materials. It decreases the cost of production as well.

Simple Tools

Cottage industries do not utilize huge machinery, as mentioned above. Mostly all work is done by hand, or sometimes simple tools are used. People running cottage industries sometimes manufacture simple machines by themselves to facilitate production. These machines are just a helping hand and cannot be used for large-scale production.

Daily-use Item Production

The goods produced in cottage industries are usually utilized in daily life that requires manforce only. These industries manufacture carpets, fabrics, ceramics, cane furniture, food processing, and leather and metal handicrafts. Other items include papads and local textile.

Exported Rarely

While the products of cottage industries are distributed and sold locally after production, some items may also be exported. Exported cottage industry items include papads, traditional jewelry, handicraft items, clothes, and metalwork articles. It is usually done by a third party that gathers orders for the family to increase their income.

The Bottom Line

Cottage industries are small in size but play a major role in a country’s economy. India has the largest cottage industry network. Cottage and small-scale industries combined contribute to around 40% of the total economic output in India. These industries are run and managed by family members without the need for external help. Cottage industries do not employ labor, use less capital and produce goods for local use. Sometimes the products are also exported to other countries.

Methew Harbor

Matthew is a Co-Founder at BusinessFinanceArticles.org. Matthew was a floor manager at a local restaurant in Wales. He lost his job after the pandemic and took initiative to make a team and start the project.

Multinational corporations operate in multiple countries across one or more than one regions. Being global is way different from functioning in one country. The operations and finances broaden, and you have to manage a larger workforce. However, the company also generates high revenue and provides employment opportunities to the locals.

Multinational companies make at least 25% of their revenue from branches in other countries.

MNCs work in different ways and organizational structures. Each company could have its particular structure and objectives. Multinationals have a central office in their home country while operating in others. There are four common types of Multinational Corporations. They are divided according to their management structure, objectives, and growth phases.

Decentralized Corporation

Decentralized corporations do not have a central office and operate in many locations worldwide. Despite not having a headquarter in the home country, their presence is quite significant. Decentralized corporations are typically seen to have fast growth as each subsidiary has its own management system. Each unit operates individually and interacts with the local market. The branches are not dependent on the parent branch for everyday functions and manage on their own.

Global Centralized Corporations

Opposed to decentralized, global centralized corporations function by all decisions from the central office. They have their headquarters in the home country where the CEOs and major stakeholders of the corporation reside. The domestic and international operations are all managed under the same roof, especially when it comes to decision-making. Such organizations typically purchase raw materials through cheap resources to manufacture in their best-technology facility. However, any decisions to be made in any subsidiary branches have to be approved by the head office in the home country.

International Corporation

International corporations are different from others in the way that they do not work under the same umbrella as local. While global centralized and decentralized organizations have all the decision-making in one place, international corporations have a specific internal division to manage the business in other countries. This department oversees all operations internationally. It is typically created to research international markets and create new relevant products. International corporations enable companies to make decisions that various cultures appreciate to avoid conflict. Yet, it may be challenging to build a unified brand image when the division works independently.

Transnational Corporation

Transnational corporations work as a parent-subsidiary relationship where the parent company or the head office instructs the subsidiary companies. The structure is generally decentralized, and the headquarters do not make all decisions for the subsidiary branch. Though sometimes you might also find centralized transnational corporations. These multinational corporations are gaining more popularity as they help add value to the business and expand it swiftly.

What you should know more

What is the global presence of multinational corporations?

Multinational corporations are among the most revenue-generating corporations globally. 52 out of the top 100 largest economies worldwide are MNCs.

What are some multinational companies’ examples?

The most common examples of multinational corporations are Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. They are the top organization with a presence in multiple countries across continents.

What are the advantages of multinational companies?

Multinational companies offer various advantages like employing the local people, reaching the target market and researching new products, removing monopolies and providing more options to buyers, and improving the host country’s economy.

The Bottom Line

Multinational corporations grow rapidly as their presence in multiple countries allows them to reach a wider customer base. MNCs are of four types, generally based on their objectives and managerial structures. They work as parent-subsidiary where the parent branch makes the decision or as decentralized corporations where each office works independently. If you want to expand your business, converting your company into a multinational can be beneficial. 

Methew Harbor

Matthew is a Co-Founder at BusinessFinanceArticles.org. Matthew was a floor manager at a local restaurant in Wales. He lost his job after the pandemic and took initiative to make a team and start the project.

Steel buildings are becoming more and more popular in Canada. They offer many benefits over other buildings, such as durability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. If you consider purchasing a steel building for your business or home, it is essential to know what to look for when choosing one.

The following article will discuss the features you should check before buying Canada steel buildings.

1) The Quality Of The Steel

The first thing you should check is the quality of the steel. Ensure that the metal is strong and will not corrode or rust over time. You can ask the manufacturer for a certificate of authenticity to ensure its quality.

Here are different types of steel based on quality:

–Carbon steel: This is the most common type of steel and is known for its durability. It rusts over time, so it needs to be painted or coated to prevent corrosion.

-Stainless steel: This type of steel is resistant to rust and corrosion, making it a good choice for outdoor applications.

-Galvanized steel: This type of steel is coated in zinc to prevent corrosion and rusting. It is a good choice for wet environments.

When comparing steel buildings, be sure to ask the manufacturer about the type of steel.

2) The Thickness of The Metal

In December, the steel production in Canada increased to 1070 thousand tons from 1035 thousand tons in November of 2020. It shows the steady rise and establishment of the Canadian steel market.

The thickness of the metal is another essential factor to consider when choosing a steel building. Thicker metal is more robust and can withstand more weight. Choosing a building that will support the loads you intend to place on it is essential.

Thickness is determined by a gauge and is measured in inches. The higher the gauge size, the thinner the metal. A gauge is a measurement and is not related to the quality of the steel.

3) The Type of Roof

The roof is a part of the steel building. It protects the structure from weather and wind damage. There are three main types of roofs:

-Pitched roof: This type of roof has a sloping surface and is the most common type. It is suitable for all climates.

-Flat roof: This type of roof is common in warmer climates and can be made from various materials, such as metal, asphalt, or PVC.

-Apex roof: This type of roof is triangular and provides extra headroom in the building. It is common in garages and workshops.

When choosing Canada steel buildings, be sure to consider the type of roof best suited for your needs.

4) The Type of Door

The door is another essential feature to consider when choosing a steel building. It has to be vital to withstand the wind and weather. There are three main types of doors:

-Single door: This is the most common type of door and is made up of one panel. It is ideal for smaller buildings.

-Double door: This type of door consists of two panels and is ideal for more significant buildings.

-Roll-up door: This type of door comprises several panels that roll up and down. It is ideal for garages and warehouses.

Final Words

You must check some features while investing in a steel building for your homes, office, or barns.

Ayesha Saeed

A happy mom, professional article writer, SEO practitioner, blogger, guest blogger & freelancer. She’s been in digital marketing since 2018. She loves reading books and spending time with her family.