A 3PL company is something that can help with fulfillment, and it can help you get the most that you can, with appropriate pricing and many picks, with very little fees too. With ecommerce changing a lot during the pandemic, finding the right 3PL services can help you actually not have to increase prices, build customer fulfillment, offer proper operations and fulfillment centers which work well, and it’s important to look into.
When’s it Time to Change
Outsourcing your fulfillment is great, especially if you want an alternative to shipping from the comfort of your home. But when is it time to change your 3PL fulfillment center. Well for starters, if they’re screwing up orders, that’s a big sign.
They’re in charge of your business, and when it entails you holding and shipping orders in ways that are secure, consistent, and quick, you need something that’ll make sure that you’re taken care of. Another time is when they’re not evolving with the market. Ecommerce is constantly changing, and the expectations that customers have aren’t the same as they were even a year or so again. Can the 3PL you’re using keep up with this? Do they have new technology, fulfillment centers, operations, and different facilities, then that’s fine, keep them. But if it’s a lot of the same thing, then you’re going to not be happy, and you’re going to realize that they’re not properly optimized either. Not all of the 3PLs that are there have the resources which are needed to keep everything there, so you will need something that does scale with you.
The Growing Pains
For some businesses, they start to experience what we call growing pains, where they start to grow immensely, but that comes with problems. The problems being that you’re outgrowing or about to outgrow the 3PL that you have. This does come with the territory of you also not working with a company that expands on the latest technology.
But there are differ systems of inventory out there, and you want something that offers fulfillment and not just on-demand solutions. You need a warehouse that’ll grow with you, and that’ll be able to scale with you. This is another big red flag, since if they can’t expand with you, then it’s not worth investing in. This also applies to international instances too. International shipping ca put a strain on a 3PL, since they may only handle those domestic orders. But luckily, there are different ways to properly handle this, and different ways to truly benefit from this too.
The Support Lacks
The one thing you should also be mindful of, is inventory support. If you notice that there is a problem with updating the inventory, you need to know how to reach out to the current 3PL that you have and get the answers that you need in a way that’s timely. A 3PL is considered good in most cases if it is able to answer those hard-hitting questions that you have, and they are considered more than just a provider of services, but a partner to work with too. You want someone who knows how to smoothly run the show without issues. ‘
Their support of course, has the intent to help you have a more transparent view of the operations of the business, and also be a partner that you can contact in order to improve and grow the business. With that said, making sur that you have a 3PL that will take care of you is important, since in a lot of cases, it helps.
