The challenges of in-house logistics management for businesses are significant. From the high costs of warehouse space and labour to the complexities of coordinating transportation networks and handling returns, the task is a formidable one. The struggle to scale up fulfilment operations with limited resources often leads to increased costs, shipping delays, inventory issues, and dissatisfied customers, all of which can suppress business growth.
Fortunately, there is a solution – partnering with a third-party logistics provider (3PL). These experts in logistics can handle tasks such as warehousing, transportation, and inventory management, leveraging their scale and expertise to enhance product delivery, reduce costs, and provide exceptional customer service. In this article, we will explore 9 ways in which a 3PL can transform your business.
9 ways 3PL can grow your business
Was the expansion of your business’s logistics operations a problem for you? Thus, the third-party logistics provider (3PL) is the most productive way to solve the problem. Hence, using the experience and knowledge of 3PLs, you can get the advantages of outsourcing fulfilment, and at the same time, you can cut costs and provide the best customer service.
Here are 9 ways utilising a 3PL can drive explosive growth for your business:
- Cost reduction: The 3PL logistics Melbourne is the key factor that enables businesses to have substantial cost savings compared to the costs of their in-house operations. You are aware that 3PLs are the ones who achieve a significant economy of scale by consolidating the logistics needs of several clients into a single, high-volume operation. Thus, their extensive transportation networks, multi-client distribution centres, and expertise in some areas like carrier negotiation result in lower operating costs.To illustrate, a small brand may need help loading a whole truck for outbound shipments, thus increasing the LTL costs. Nevertheless, 3PLs keep consolidating and optimising shipment throughout their customer base into full truckloads for maximum cost efficiency. Also, their warehouses use the latest materials handling automation and efficient processes developed over a long period to reduce labour costs. Besides, 3PL specialists bargain for the best carrier pricing discounts based on their massive shipping volumes.
- Logistics Expertise: While logistics may not be the primary focus for most product companies, it’s the sole focus of 3PL providers. They have honed their institutional proficiency in logistics over many years, employing dedicated teams of supply chain experts. Their expertise spans shipping, warehousing, distribution, customs regulations, carrier management, and more, instilling confidence in their ability to handle complex logistics. Besides, 3PLs keep pace with the changing logistics disciplines like omnichannel fulfilment and use advanced technologies like distributed order management systems. Moreover, the professionals have certifications and follow methodologies such as Lean Six Sigma to optimise the processes. Besides, they use specialised tools for functions such as transportation management, warehouse management, and labour management, which results in efficiency and cost savings.
- Better customer service: In the era of Amazon, customers have high expectations of fast, seamless delivery. Fortunately, 3PLs assist brands in not just meeting but exceeding these high standards through their logistics excellence. Our specialised knowledge enables them to achieve best-in-class performance in terms of order speed, inventory accuracy, on-time delivery, and more, on millions of orders, reassuring you about maintaining customer satisfaction. Besides, the top 3PLs have client service teams responsible for proactive communication from the moment of order acknowledgement to the final delivery. We also give complete shipment visibility and fast issue resolution; exceptions are managed through strong protocols. On the contrary, many 3PLs will also take care of customer inquiries and returns processing for the brand. Finally, this over-the-top fixation on perfection preserves the merchant’s customer experience and reputation.
- Competitive shipping options: Cheap and fast shipping is essential to sales competition, but it is difficult for small brands that do not have carrier discounts. Nevertheless, this obstacle is overcome when they use a 3PL’s total volume across numerous clients to get highly discounted freight pricing from the major carriers. Firstly, high-volume 3PLs have received steep discounts from national carriers such as Australia Post, FedEx, Toll, and so on based on the countless parcels and pallets they tender each day. Hence, they transfer the savings to their partners, and thus, they can provide the same affordable next-day or expedited delivery as the major retailers, even though their individual shipping volumes are modest.
- Faster shipping times: The 3PLs have distribution facilities in the country’s major metro areas, which can deliver the goods very fast. Most orders are delivered by ground parcel networks within a day or two, depending on the destination’s distance from the fulfilment centre.Besides, 3PLs always try to deliver orders on the same day they are received. Their better warehouse operations and technology integrations speed up the picking, packing, and shipping process compared to the merchants handling the fulfilment themselves. Finally, they also allow you to have a team of operations in the merchant’s centre that is within the same place as the distribution centre for maximum speed and control.
- End-to-end Integration: On the other hand, 3PLs offer customised solutions for fulfilment, but many also provide supplementary transportation solutions. More precisely, their technology platforms make it possible to manage the transportation of inbound freight from vendors to outbound parcel delivery to customers without problems.Moreover, sophisticated 3PL transportation management systems analyse routing, load optimisation, carrier selection, and transit times to plan the best dynamic and cost-effective shipping method for each order. Besides, tenured logistics experts can deal with the difficulties of cross-docking, pool distribution, and multi-leg freight movements. Thus, this well-coordinated, streamlined approach to transportation goes hand in hand with efficient fulfilment execution.
- Inventory management: Effective inventory management is both important and difficult for numerous brands, who have to deal with constant inbound stock replenishment and unpredictable multi-node order demand patterns. Nevertheless, 3PLs utilise strong inventory management capabilities to improve inventory utilisation, availability, and planning.Advanced inventory management systems can primarily synchronise real-time data on stock positioning, inventory allocation rules, demand forecasting and safety stock requirements across multiple sales channels and fulfilment locations. Besides, strict procedures such as cross-docking and demand filtering increase inventory turnover. Also, there are speciality services for inventory management, such as product inspection, configuration, kitting, and embellishment.
- Returns management: Managing customer returns has turned from a minor operational issue to a significant cost centre for online brands. Luckily, 3PLs provide a complete ‘reverse logistics’ cycle of processing returns seamlessly and cost-efficiently with their turnkey solutions.
Through their distribution networks and knowledge, 3PLs receive, check and classify the returned items according to each merchant’s requirements for refurbishment, repackaging, restocking or disposal. Moreover, they enable the supervision of quality control, refunds/exchanges, defective product routing and more through automated workflows. Besides that, 3PLs can establish customer-facing returns portals that provide visibility into the process, improving the whole experience.
How Carrabba’s Group Supports Rapid Business Expansion?
Carrabba’s Group is a leading logistics and supply chain solutions provider that can help businesses to cope with the growth of their businesses by utilising their expertise. Our 3PL services are aimed at the specific needs of the businesses in different industries.
Along with providing 3PL warehouse services, we also offer warehousing and distribution, linehaul trucks, interstate freight, logistics & transport as well as door-to-door deliveries.
For distribution and order fulfilment, customers can monitor their shipments in real-time as we pack and transport products without delays. By collaborating with Carrabba’s Group, businesses can focus on their core activities while relying on a logistics partner dedicated to efficient service delivery.
