eCommerce companies face many challenges in maintaining their inventory and fulfilling orders to their customers. Third-party logistics companies (3PL) can provide the logistical and supply chain expertise needed to manage and ship products to customers worldwide in a timely and cost-effective manner.
What type of supply chain services can a 3PL partner provide to an eCommerce customer? A trusted 3PL partner can take the logistical burden off of eCommerce companies and let them focus on their business and not the logistics side of it.
Related: Single Source Solutions
Supply Chain Management
Supply chain management is a critical part of any eCommerce business. It is essential to fulfill orders and get them to customers quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively. However, as eCommerce companies grow, the logistical burden can soon overwhelm them.
A 3PL partner has expertise in all the logistical aspects of the supply chain. This expertise allows them to manage the inventory of an eCommerce company from the production line to the customer’s doorstep.
eCommerce companies that rely on a 3PL to manage fulfillment can take advantage of the cost benefits of a single provider who can leverage relationships to acquire better rates from contractors and carriers.
Warehousing
An eCommerce company may not have a physical store. Still, they often will have an inventory—3PLs excel in the management and operations of warehouses and inventory control practices.
Warehousing services can include:
- Inventory Management
- B2B Fulfillment
- B2C Fulfillment
- Pick & Pack
- Kitting
- Sort & Segregate
- Cross Docking
- Refrigerated Storage
A trusted 3PL partner will be able to provide you with custom warehouse services to meet any eCommerce company’s business requirements. In addition, they will be able to perform B2B and B2C fulfillment allowing eCommerce companies to sell their products to a broader base.
3PL companies will hire the best talent available and train them to ensure that they can provide the high-quality, custom care that eCommerce companies need from a partner.
Warehouse operations rely on the latest technology, and a 3PL partner will use automation tools like scanners and sensors to help inventory control an eCommerce company’s goods.
Related: Transportation Management Solutions
Transportation
Managing and controlling inventory is only one aspect of what a trusted 3PL partner can do for an eCommerce company. Transporting an eCommerce company’s goods from their manufacturing centers to the warehouse and then to the customer is another logistical problem in the supply chain that a 3PL partner can manage.
3PLs can provide a full array of fulfillment services, including:
- Single Source
- LTL Optimization
- Truckload
- Intermodal
- Parcel
- Temperature Controlled
- Cross Docking
- Consolidation
- International
A 3PL can be a single point of contact for managing the transportation of an eCommerce company’s products domestically and internationally. They can also leverage their annual freight spending to provide eCommerce companies with discounts that they would not be able to obtain on their own.
3PL partners understand that every eCommerce customer has different requirements and needs for their logistics and supply chain. Therefore, they will work with the organization to develop custom requirements and create a customized logistical strategy for each company.
As a single-source fulfillment supplier, a 3PL can take responsibility for the deliverables for a project like inventory management, costs, quality control, timing, and other KPIs. Managing all aspects of the supply chain lets eCommerce companies focus on their core business, not its logistics.
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Contract Packaging
eCommerce companies spend a lot of money on packaging their products in a way that both protects the product and helps promote the brand. However, primary packaging often isn’t designed for shipping directly to customers or bulk.
3PL partners can handle packaging on a contract basis to help eCommerce companies reduce the operational costs and headcounts required for secondary packaging.
Contract Packaging Service Include:
- Safe Quality Food (SQF)
- Clean Rooms
- Liquid Transportation
- Form Fill Seal
- Pouch Filling
- Gift Building
- Heat Tunnel
- Kosher Certified
3PLs invest in the people, training, and certifications required for their staff to provide contract packaging for eCommerce companies of every industry. In addition, because 3PLs provide secondary packaging to a variety of customers, they can use their packaging expertise and follow best practices for any project.
3PL companies also invest in their facilities and equipment to be FDA-registered, and SQF certified.
eCommerce companies can save money outsourcing packaging to a 3PL by not having the
overhead and operational costs involved with owning and managing their facilities and staff.
Technology
Because 3PL companies are involved in every aspect of the supply chain, they are constantly updating their processes and technologies to increase efficiency and reduce costs.
3PLs invest strategically in things like state-of-the-art clean rooms, warehouse management systems (WMS), and transportation management systems (TMS). These technologies, combined with bar codes, RFID, and scanners, allow them to track inventory in detail along the entire supply chain.
Advanced inventory controls and tracking technology speed up the fulfillment process and allow 3PLs to be proactive when issues like a product recall or customer returns happen.
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Conclusion
Even in a down economy, eCommerce sales climbed 6.6% in the first quarter of 2022, according to a recent report released by the U.S Census Bureau. However, most eCommerce companies are not equipped to deal with rising fulfillment costs and a complicated supply chain.
3PL partners can help eCommerce companies by managing part or all aspects of the logistical and supply chain requirements to fulfill customer orders in a timely and cost-efficient manner.
A 3PL partner that can manage all segments of the supply chain, warehousing, packaging, and transportation, can save an eCommerce company the costs and overhead of trying to control the logistics side themselves.
3PLs can also save an eCommerce company money by leveraging their yearly spending in those segments to negotiate better rates than they would be able to negotiate otherwise.
Using a 3PL company to manage the logistics side of their business can free an eCommerce company’s internal resources. They can focus on the business’s core competencies while helping their bottom line.
