If you’re looking for insight into 3PL warehouse services and how they can strategically benefit your company as it grows, you’ve come to the right place!
What is 3PL?
3PL or third-party logistics warehouse is a vital part of the supply chain. A 3PL receives and stores your products safely and securely.
As it takes in information about customer orders, the 3PL team picks and packs products on your behalf. They will also take care of product recalls and customer returns for you. The company may have its own transportation (such as a fleet of trucks) or arrange shipping services via other provider networks.
What Services Do 3PL Warehouses Offer?
3PL warehouses offer a wide range of logistics services, including:
Storage & Inventory Management
Your 3PL warehouse will receive products and then store them inside the warehouse until orders arrive. Depending on the nature of your products, they may need to go into climate-controlled storage, such as frozen food or nutritional supplements.
The facility’s inventory management system will give you real-time insight into the state of your inventory, helping to forecast demand. This means you can spot trends in customer desire, prompting you to ramp up production or add new product varieties.
Order Fulfillment
As orders arrive, the 3PL team uses computers and logistics software to pick the correct items from storage to quickly fulfill customer orders. This process includes double-checking the accuracy of each order and selecting the most appropriate size and shape of the packaging.
The 3PL may primarily rely on experienced warehouse workers, or take advantage of robotic automation and even drones to grab inventory from the warehouse shelves.
Kitting & Assembly
For items that customers typically order together, such as electronics devices plus accessories such as headphones or spare chargers, kitting and assembly services help speed up order fulfillment. Inventory management systems help the product kitting and assembly team do their work as accurately as possible.
Kitting and bundling are an integral part of 3PL warehouse services for companies that sell subscription boxes that customers customize for each recurring monthly order.
Reverse Logistics
Processing returns is a fact of life for any business in the supply chain. It involves reverse logistics, which includes returning packaging and inspecting the products for reported damage or errors before returning them to storage or discarding unusable items.
E-Commerce Integration
3PL warehouses integrate with e-commerce platforms to give your customers maximum flexibility when placing orders. This means you can sell from your own website as well as through popular online e-commerce platforms.
Customized Packaging Solutions
Your 3PL warehouse partner can be invaluable in improving your branding and marketing.
Perhaps you do not have in-house graphics designers to help you update product packaging. No worries. The 3PL team can create eye-catching designs, develop a new color scheme, and make your packages stand out from competitors. When customers become accustomed to your updated, bespoke product packaging, they’ll instantly recognize the brand when their next order arrives.
What Are the Benefits of Using a 3PL Warehouse
You’ll find there are numerous benefits of using a third-party logistics warehouse instead of trying to get by with managing your own warehouse, including:
* Cost savings due to efficiency and experience moving products through the supply chain.
* Leverage the 3PL team’s expertise and technology.
* Outsourcing this work allows you to focus on other aspects of your business.
* Transparency into the logistics and shipping data gives you the peace of mind that comes from knowing each order is in good hands.
* Deep parcel discounts by pooling customer parcel volumes together, allowing the 3PL to negotiate significant shipping rate reductions for everyone involved.
Who Should Be Considering 3PL Services
You should consider taking advantage of 3PL services if:
* You need to transition from a garage-based business to a professional warehouse environment
* Your current warehouse is too small to accommodate a rise in orders
* You are a small-to-medium-sized business (SMB)
* You’re launching a new e-commerce business
* Your company experiences fluctuation in demand, such as heavy summertime sales, or you do much of your business around the December holiday season
* You are using a crowdfunding platform and need help dealing with a sudden influx of orders
* Your subscription box service is experiencing higher-than-usual growth and you want to ensure on-time delivery for all your new customers
* You are starting to ship into retail or wholesale locations and need assistance with complex logistics
* You are currently receiving chargebacks due to issues shipping into retailers or wholesalers and want to streamline your operations
How to Choose the Right 3PL Warehouse
First, make sure that the 3PL warehouse you’re considering has the capabilities you need. For example, if you sell food products, verify that the company has third-party auditing for food safety standards. This ensures that they comply with industry regulations and maintain high-quality control. For pharmaceutical products, confirm that they have the necessary experience with climate-controlled warehousing facilities.
In addition, ensure that the 3PL can handle all facets of your business, including E-commerce, Amazon, Walmart, and other platforms. This will allow you to centralize your inventory in one facility and avoid the complexities of working with multiple 3PLs.
Check if the 3PL team uses the latest software and technology solutions to streamline picking and packing services, and can efficiently handle kitting and bundling.
Read customer reviews from third-party sources that you can trust. It’s also a good idea to ask colleagues at non-competing businesses if they’re happy with the 3PL company they work with. Additionally, ask the 3PL for references from their current clients to gain further insights into their service quality and reliability.
Focus on finding a 3PL with a strategic shipping location. For example, a Midwest location offers excellent transit times to both the East and West coasts, resulting in faster deliveries and potential transportation cost savings. Choosing a well-positioned 3PL can significantly enhance your supply chain efficiency.
How B&C Logistics Can Meet Your Fulfillment Needs
There certainly are many moving parts to keep track of when considering all the logistics involved in order fulfillment through warehouse facilities.
Whether you sell new products every month through subscription boxes or cater to retailers or B2B companies, our experts will help you scale up quickly to meet demand, so you can focus on your product development and marketing.
B&C Logistics is your one-stop shop for third-party logistics services. We follow industry best practices to efficiently move products from the manufacturer’s door to your customer’s door, ensuring timely and reliable delivery with each order. To learn more about what is 3PL and our 3PL fulfillment capabilities, or to get started with our logistics experts, please contact us today. We’re looking forward to hearing from you.