90% of UK FTSE 250 companies and over 90% of the S&P 500 companies use some form of 3PL (third party logistics) services, rather than manage the operations themselves.
They do this because outsourcing to specialists saves them time and money.
What is 3PL?
Why should I use a 3PL?
What are third party logistics (3PL) providers?
Third party logistics providers (3PL) are companies that coordinate outsourced supply chain services. Usually, this involves a high degree of automation and sophisticated integration tools and infrastructure.
They offer a range of integrated warehousing and transportation options for their clients. Using shared and specialised services sourced by a dedicated provider means you can access services at a cost lower than you could source for yourself.
Since most third party logistics (3PL) providers cover a huge variety of services and warehouse types across the world they give their clients access to new and different markets without the need to invest in fixed costs or significant investments.
It also means eCommerce merchants can handle bigger orders as third party logistics (3PL) services are streamlined for optimum supply chain performance.
How do third party logistics (3PL) providers minimise costs for their clients?
Fulfilment costs are mainly generated by property, labour and systems.
A third party logistics (3PL) provider aims to minimise these costs for their clients by ensuring their facilities operate at a high level of capacity and manage demand across their client base.
They ensure that all clients get the benefits of scale and will often provide a variable cost to their clients, even though they may be meeting fixed costs.
What fulfilrr can do for you
At fulfilrr we seamlessly connect you to our network of providers, ensuring that your fulfilment process is a smoothly coordinated operation.
We directly integrate any third party logistics (3PL) into our customers’ systems so that the end consumer is unaware of who is providing this service.
And, to keep things straightforward, our Customer Success Team will be your single point of contact.
A major benefit is that you don’t have to bear the cost of underutilised warehouse space or suffer the constraints of capacity. As your business grows and matures, we can support you in scaling up, domestically and internationally. Also, depending on your specific needs as your business develops, we can offer bespoke marketing, packing and kitting operations.
We will agree on a set of service standards with you from the outset and measure performance against them. Our standards vary depending on client needs and the industry we are working within. You’ll be given a contract and a handbook, which will include all the service standards we have agreed with you.
We can interface across multiple systems and methods using your warehouse management system (WMS) or ours as needed. Our preferred method is to provide all of the systems you need. This includes scanners, printers and computer equipment. We can also develop bespoke interfaces to your systems if required.
Want to join the fulfilrr network?
If you have spare capacity in your warehouse, are keen to take on more clients and can confidently meet our high customer service standards, we would like to talk to you.
While we have a high proportion of direct-to-consumer clients we also have a significant amount of B2B customers, and those with a mix of both.
We are particularly keen to hear from third party logistics (3PL) providers from specialist industries that can meet specific storage and shipment requirements.
What we look for in third party logistics (3PL)
We look for providers that can work to our high standards, who understand what we are delivering to our clients and how we are meeting their needs.
We will give you our third party logistics (3PL) handbook, so you know how we work with clients, and we’ll provide you with the specific details of each client agreement.
What we can offer you
We will match clients to your services and manage all aspects of the arrangement.
We are clear in our communication, work in a collaborative and straightforward way, and crucially, pay on time.
Join us
If you have the specialist expertise and capacity, but don’t have the clients, please speak to us about becoming a partner and joining the fulfilrr community.
