The biggest measure of success for a 3PL company – really, for any business – is the ability to retain existing customers while attracting new clients. We all know it’s harder to attract new customers than it is to keep existing clients from being enticed to try another 3PL competitor, so it’s smart to strive for ways to provide more value. By targeting increased attention to providing on-time information, improving customer service, and utilizing user-friendly technology, your 3PL can help prevent existing customers from moving towards the competition.
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Tags: warehousing, 3PL, customer service, warehouse, Third Party Logistics, Retention, ecommerce
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
Companies are utilizing 3PL services for their warehousing and shipping needs more often than ever. Many of the companies who choose to shift their operations to third parties are e-commerce entities that specialize in producing and selling a product and don’t want to run a storage and shipping facility. Others are traditional distributors, retailers, and others who believe that they should focus on core competencies.
If your company is considering a 3PL for its warehousing, shipping and logistics needs, what information do you need to have ready?
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Tags: 3PL, logistics, warehouse storage, warehouse, ROI, Third Party Logistics, ecommerce
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
Creating a lean warehouse or DC is not something a 3PL can accomplish overnight, but it’s something that can improve your efficiency, flexibility and ability to take on new business without expanding into new facilities or massively revamping existing ones.
It takes vision, planning, strategy, tools, foresight, patience and intelligent tactics. When your warehouse is lean, it will be easier to hold, inventory, and pull the most important goods. This helps you eliminate errors, increase throughput, and satisfy customers more comprehensively.
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Tags: lean warehousing, Third Party Logistics, 3PL, logistics
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
3PL companies operate in an environment that demands rapid changes and requires continual evolution.
Client requirements can change in a week (or less). New business opportunities can spring up that were unanticipated a month before. From my days working for a 3PL, I know that the ability to swiftly change in order to satisfy both your customer’s increasing demands and those of an industry that never rests were a top priority. The problem? That’s easy to understand, but hard to do.
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Tags: warehouse, ROI, Third Party Logistics, time management, time saving, flexibility, warehouse flow, 3PL, logistics, mezzanine
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
Companies spend lots of time trying to understand the best ways to increase efficiency in their operations. How do I increase pick rates? Why do we spend more time on things that add no value than we should? Why do we make so many mistakes, and how do I stop it? Why is there so much waste in the system? How can this be better organized?
These are all good questions, and the answer to solving these problems usually lies in developing people to work their best.
In this day and age of increasing industrial productivity, tough global competition, and tight labor, integrating personnel development with best practices facility design, automation, processes and management is key to reducing labor costs, increasing margins, and becoming a more profitable operation. People thrive in good environments where they are set up to succeed. What can you do to build the right situation for your people?
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Tags: labor, Third Party Logistics, employee development, ecommerce, 3PL, order fulfillment
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
Order fulfillment operations come in all sizes, shapes and types, including a basket of challenges that diversity creates. One of the most difficult challenges in this industry is developing order picking talent. It’s competitive these days, as you know, for distribution facilities and e-commerce fulfillment centers. One of the best ways to enhance those operations is to develop your labor force more fully. What can you do?
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Tags: picking, ecommerce, 3PL, order fulfillment, distribution systems, labor, Third Party Logistics
Posted in Order Picking & Fulfillment|
Distribution is growing — booming, some would say — particularly in larger markets. This tend is being driven by many factors, including a sustained economic recovery and low unemployment rates. Also, e-commerce powers like Amazon are in the midst of one-day or same-day delivery guarantees that require larger, more capable distribution networks that can serve major markets faster and usually within close proximity. These factors help to create stress on labor shortages in these cities, as newer distribution facilities open and existing ones expand. Add to that, the ongoing woes with skilled labor and a generally aging labor force.
How can you cope with a tight labor market?
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Tags: 3PL, distribution centers, labor management, Third Party Logistics, skills gap, labor shortage, ecommerce
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
When it comes to those costs, the pressure is always on. Particularly in those unfortunate companies where the distribution center is considered just a cost, not a chance to add value. Even if you are hitting cost targets, you are probably interested in reducing operational costs without reducing effectiveness.
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Tags: 3PL, ROI, Third Party Logistics, ecommerce
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
It’s not easy to understand when facility layout is causing significant problems for an operation.
The way the warehouse is planned and laid out can affect everything in a warehouse or distribution facility. You may be suffering from over-forecasted demand for product and under-forecasted need for square footage. Executives may not fully understand what it takes to receive, store and ship orders. What are some of the more common problems when it comes to facility layout?
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Tags: Third Party Logistics, facility layout, ecommerce, 3PL, warehouse storage
Posted in Space Optimization & Planning|
If you’re paying someone to store a pallet for you, what’s reasonable?
Are you overpaying for convenience or location? It’s not easy to compare 3PL vs. 3PL, or even your own warehouse so you know for sure if you are getting value for your money. But there are some basic assumptions you can make to help you understand what you’re dealing with, the costs the 3PL may experience, and reasonable costs for your storage projects.
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Tags: Pallet Rack, 3PL, storage systems, warehouse, pallets, Third Party Logistics, ecommerce
Posted in Warehousing & Distribution|
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