You have all heard of the power of logistics. But do you know how to use third-party logistics? In short, third-party logistics (3PL) has independent providers. These providers will support your business needs. They range from shipping and delivery to supply chain management. This growing industry is estimated to be worth $2.3 trillion by 2022.
Before you can use third-party logistics, you need to understand its importance. Logistics coordinates everything between a seller and a buyer. They are from procurement to inventory management, manufacturing, and sales. In fact, without good logistics, businesses can experience massive disruptions. They can also experience even total shutdowns.
What Are Third-Party Logistics?
Third-Party Logistics, or 3PL, is a partner or service. They help manage the supply chain for internet merchants. Order fulfillment and inventory management are both included in 3PL services. They also include swaps, retail distribution, and shipping agreements.
In the end, working with a 3PL enables a merchant to concentrate on other areas of their business.
You may keep your goods at a 3PL vendor’s warehouse space. And you may have the merchandise transported straight from your manufacturers. Doing so saves you the hassle of maintaining your warehouses and handling distribution. Items are automatically dispatched from the 3PL warehouse. It is once an online client puts in an order. Customer satisfaction is essential. Customers don’t give the handoff between receiving orders and fulfilling them much thought. Because the procedure is so easy and smooth with a 3PL. It enables e-commerce vendors to focus on what they do best: create, promote, and sell goods.
3PLs have been and will continue to be the secret ingredient. They helped many prosperous e-commerce companies survive the current supply chain crises. Unfortunately, the incidents witnessed over the past two years are not an outlier. These incidents include political unrest, natural calamities, and a lack of human resources. They also incorporate regulatory difficulties. Experts indicate that severe supply chain disruptions occur every 3.7 years. They indicate that these disruptions occur more frequently and with greater intensity.
How Do Third-Party Logistics Providers Work?
The 3PL fulfillment services might change based on the supplier and their services. But the standard procedure is as follows:
The 3PL collects your merchandise and arranges each SKU.
The 3PL is either manually or automatically transmitted from your e-commerce site.
A member of the warehouse crew receives a picking list so they may gather the requested products.
The products are placed in boxes together with the order information and receipt.
They employ one of their shipping carrier partners to print the shipping label.
The product gets picked up by the shipping company. And they deliver it to your customer via the 3PL’s distribution facility.
The 3PL system receives tracking data, which synchronizes with your order management system.
15 Ways To Use Third-Party Logistics On Inventory Management
