If you own a business that sells a product rather than a service, then you have an inventory that needs to be protected. Your goods are your entire livelihood, and having something unpleasant happen at any point in the supply chain can spell disaster for your company.
3PL is the abbreviation used to describe third-party logistics. A provider of third party logistics is an independent business capable of providing assistance with product distribution for another company. Basically, if you want to use a 3PL, you are outsourcing work to a larger firm that has connections in the world of transportation, storage, and order fulfillment. Ultimately, a high-quality logistics company will be able to integrate your operations to better manage yards, the distribution process, warehousing, and how your customers receive their products on time.
There are a few reasons why companies are switching their logistics to a 3PL (third-party logistics) company. For years, many companies handled all of their own logistics in house, but there are a few key factors that are driving these enterprises to choose a different approach for their logistic needs. As the times change, and the basic needs of customers evolve along with it, in order to keep up with the cost, to save time, and to guarantee great service, companies are starting to outsource to trusted 3PL companies to help keep up with demands.
Some people mistakenly think FTL freight means shipping that is “faster than light.” Although this isn’t technically true, engaging in FTL freight can improve your transportation times by utilizing the benefits of fewer stops and more time on the road.
LTL freight is the opposite of FTL and is used by many more companies and businesses. “LTL” stands for “less than truckload” and is used to refer to products and deliveries that do not take up an entire trailer for transportation. It’s common for small businesses to essentially buy a certain amount of square footage in a truck for transport so their products are then shipped with those of someone else.
One of the most essential components of managing a freight yard is finding a reasonable system for yard management. A major issue for businesses and companies is trying to manage the logistics of the supply train. While many blame delays on transportation and the weather, a mismanaged yard are actually behind the majority of issues since it is easy for the product to get lost, be mismanaged, or even be picked up by the wrong transporter when mislabeled.
For small businesses, little is as important as inventory. Those goods represent all of the time, effort, and money that went into creating your company and keeping it afloat. While keeping track of inventory in person is already a difficult task, trying to manage and protect it when shipping the goods across the country is even harder.
Almost everyone has read the famous Harry Potter books and encountered the strange Sorting Hat, which knows each of the student’s personalities and can place them in the right house. Unfortunately, there is no such creation to help sort your inventory during transport and when placed in warehouses. Instead, you need to find a third party, usually the warehouse owner, who will sort your inventory and keep track of it so nothing gets lost or broken.
Third-party logistics (3PL) is a broad term used to describe outsourcing to another party important elements of product distribution, including transportation, storage, and order fulfillment. There is more than one type of third party logistics, but the goal of all of them is to create integrated operations to better manage yards, the distribution process, warehousing, and how your customers receive their products on time.
