Third-party logistics (3PL) companies are achieving global prominence as raw material suppliers, manufacturers, and retailers are becoming more aware of the many benefits of outsourcing logistics. Rather than maintaining high-cost staff and facilities to manage day-to-day storage and transportation, many companies today allow third-party professionals to handle it for them. Having state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, a 3PL saves your business money and time.
Companies that partner with top-rated 3PL providers can better focus their human and financial resources. This allows them to focus on their primary function and provide a better customer experience.
Adding Value & Saving Money
Effectively utilized, a 3PL saves your business money, creates a more efficient supply chain, and provides long-range benefits for its clients. Here are some general categories where 3PLs enhance a company’s performance and profitability:
Employment Costs
Whether the company is a startup or in a growing phase, financial assets are best applied to product and service development and improvement, marketing, and customer relations. Spending precious revenue on a team of individuals to manage the product flow from Point A to Point B when other options are available is wasteful.
3PLs permit companies to pay for services only when they need them. Outsourcing to professionals is far less expensive than staffing several individuals whose workload likely will vary throughout the year.
Storage Facilities
Real estate and facility costs add up quickly for companies that attempt to hold their complete inventory at their primary location. Storing goods in a single place can become problematic for manufacturers with “seasonal” product demand. This on-hand storage often fluctuates significantly month-to-month. Delegating the storage management and product flow to professionals with well-maintained facilities is less expensive than owning or renting the space.
Also, many companies find that forward warehousing allows them to put the inventory closer to the customers. This is hugely beneficial in reducing order lead times to the customer and eliminating long-distance shipments.
Technology
Today’s high-end 3PL providers utilize advancing technology to monitor inventory levels, track inbound and outbound freight, identify each item location, schedule shipments, increase on-time deliveries, reduce loss and breakage, and more. While technology contributes to the principal’s efficiency levels and cost savings, these also significantly add to customer satisfaction levels.
Expertise and Analysis
Leading 3PL companies recruit and employ industry professionals from a broad spectrum of the supply chain industry. These employees are experts at planning and analysis, allowing them to stop bottlenecks, minimize loss, and reduce risk. Their success is measured by improvements in the product flow and customer satisfaction for their clients.
More efficient product flows allow companies to reduce their overall supply chain inventory. This results in less reliance on mountainous volumes of backup inventory and more in-time production scheduling.
Providing Scalability
A professional 3PL helps a company grow by improving customer satisfaction, proper levels of inventory, and better placement of inventory. This allows businesses to have a better focus on product improvement. Logistics partners can accommodate the company’s growth without demanding additional investments in facilities and equipment for managing the supply chain.
In fact, as a company’s volume grows, the relative logistics cost-per-unit should reduce based on economies of scale and other efficiencies derived from higher volume.
Contact EQ Logistics in Elkhart, Indiana
Centrally located and utilizing state-of-the-art storage and delivery capabilities, EQ Logistics in Elkhart, Indiana, offers an ideal solution for companies shipping to and from the Midwest and Northeast Corridor of the United States and international exports.
EQ Logistics provides:
- Customizable warehousing
- State-of-the-art facilities
- User-friendly warehousing systems
- Company-owned trucks
- Volume-discounted freight
- Export and domestic packing
- Crate and container stuffing
To arrange a consultation to explore how EQ Logistics can provide extra value to your company, and to view our excellent Customer Reviews, visit the EQ Logistics website or call our 3PL professionals at (574) 262-9525.