In the past few years, in almost every industry, services have become more specific to satisfy customers’ needs. Logistics and Transporation is no exception. The ever-growing requisites of companies have fragmented service providers, which has led to confusion and lack of knowledge in the market.
Knowing your company’s needs and finding the best alternative for success are essential aspects that will help meet your operational goals.
3PL or Third-Party Logistics Companies provide a holistic service within the Transportation and Logistics Industry by taking care of the entire supply chain process. From transportation to warehousing, picking and packing, inventory, order fulfillment, custom packaging, and freight forwarding, all the way to delivery.
One of the biggest benefits of collaborating with a 3PL company is that you can focus on your core business. You’ll have more time and resources to develop your product and make it attractive to your customers or optimize your sales processes to generate more revenue.
But this is not a one size fits all process; every company has specific needs that can be assessed by different 3PL companies.
They perform basic logistics tasks, which are packaging, warehousing, and distribution.
These 3PLs offer additional and more specific services like enhanced packaging (custom to their client’s product), tracking packages, cross-docking, and a security system for their shipping.
Through this type of 3PL, their employees become one or adapt to their client’s current team, working as part of the company instead of creating a completely new team.
This type of 3PLs takes over the entire process and have complete control over the client’s logistics functions. They implement their style of work and add value to the whole process.
As mentioned before, these companies have diversified, considering the customer’s specific needs. Another kind of classification for 3PL companies is asset, non-asset-based, and hybrid 3PL companies.
In this model, the 3PL company owns and operates the assets and equipment (trucks, trailers, and warehouse), and they charge their clients for the use of their assets.
Non-asset-based 3PLs, do not have their own equipment. They have to create an entire network of logistics providers to complete their services.
Staying up to date within the industry is fundamental for any company to succeed. This is why, in recent years, asset-based 3PL companies have included some non-asset-based components to their business model.
They leverage the assets that they currently have but, if required, they search within their network for other additional assets that help them expand their capabilities and meet their client’s expectations.
Nowadays, deciding to work with a 3PL company has become a difficult task because there are many options and aspects to consider. But knowing exactly what your company needs to be productive and achieve its goals will become pivotal for this decision to be made correctly.
Kathy Monroy is an experienced Communications Specialist and Journalist. Driven to go above and beyond, Kathy produces high-quality content specializing in transportation and logistics, marketing, sales, and technology. Her goals include becoming an expert and an authority in her line of work, always providing her audience with the most relevant and useful information.
11555 Heron Bay Blvd., Ste. 301, Coral Springs, FL 33076
Calle 94 No. 51B-43 Of 306 Ed. Buró 51.
Manga, Av 3era No. 25-53 Ed. Torre Del Puerto, piso 20.
Diagonal 25g No. 95A-85 Ed. Buró 25.
Carrera 43b No. 1a sur 70 Piso 13 Ed. Buró 4.0
Carrera 27 No. 29-145. Parque Caracolí Centro Comercial, piso 16.
Ed. Ibero plaza, Boulevard los Proceres 20-09, Zona 10. Ciudad de Guatemala.
Manila