Growing costs and complexities of supply chains are compelling large-scale and medium-sized retailers to scrutinise their delivery systems, according to logistics professionals.

Swiss-based logistics Kuehne + Nagel says it helps such retailers by shifting their distribution centres (DCs) from the country of destination or point of sale to the country of origin or manufacture. By moving DCs to low-wage Asia from high-wage America and Europe, costs can drop substantially.

While what Kuehne + Nagel calls its "Store and Call-off" or "DC bypass" has much to recommend it, the company's regional sea freight director Alfred Hofmann urges caution.

To make it work, size is important, and Mr Hofmann says the logistics provider must also know its customer's business and industry well. The logistics process itself, he said, should provide demand visibility so manufacturers can supply what the retailer needs when he needs it.

Proximity to the manufacturing base provides the logistics operator with the means to bridge the gap between the exporter and the importer. The internet also provides instant and continuous contact that sustains the supply chain. But with everyone's IT system being different, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Thus, Kuehne + Nagel relies on its own flexibility to cope.

In the end, said Mr Hofmann, it was less important how much the customer understands of the supply chain solution itself than how easily he can access information he needs to make it work effectively. To be a real player in this new environment, he said, the focus was on providing real solutions to customers. That means having industry know-how and the backup of an efficient and flexible IT system to do the job. And that's what sets Kuehne + Nagel apart from others in the business, he said.