A 3PL provider can improve your shipping in several ways. Your business and the supply chain processes will thank you for having built a partnership with a strong 3PL. A third-party logistics (3PL) company. You can remove the excessive hassle that comes with your shipping needs and streamline processes like never before. Here’s a look at some necessary ways that your shipping can benefit from a 3PL provider.
Ship with Trusted Carriers
A carrier network is a 3PL’s greatest asset and is crucial to improving your shipping. This is especially the case with small carrier companies. There are around 900,000 carrier companies in the US and most of them are small companies. 3PL brokers work tirelessly with these companies to come up with the best solutions and partnerships. They aim to build relationships with carriers from all over. You can benefit from these relationships because you have trusted carriers to work with.
3PL Experience
Another improvement you will find with having partnered with a strong 3PL is the expertise you will have. With the right expertise, you can manage your transportation needs more efficiently. A 3PL provides experience, which results in processes and procedures that ensure freight gets handled with quality and care. In addition, when things do not go as planned, or you have certain issues, that experience helps overcome them. They have already faced most problems that you are going to run into and know how to resolve the situation so that it works for everyone.
Conserve Shipping Resources
Next, a 3PL provider can improve your shipping by saving you valuable time and other resources. A 3PL handles all your freight’s transportation, leaving you to be worry-free. You no longer are required to put in your time towards the coordination of transporting your goods. You will be able to focus your time and energy on other areas of your business. The more control you give over to the 3PL, the more time you will have to refocus on other areas of your organization. There are variables to how involved you must be in the shipping process while being in a 3PL partnership. The transparency provided by a 3PL will give you updates, so you are still in the loop. Moreover, a 3PL will save you the most sought-after matter, which is money. Shipping and transportation are typically around 10% of a company’s budget. Being able to bring that figure down has huge impacts. A 3PL brokerage will be able to save money by using their carrier base and experience to find the best deals.
Proprietary Tools
Finally, the use of technology is a great way to improve your shipping. A 3PL partner will have tools like Transportation Management Systems (TMS), track and trace technology, and reporting. By partnering with a company that already has all these tools in place you can forgo the barrier to entry and still enjoy the benefits of them. You want to partner with someone that will improve your shipping operations, rather than just a pickup and drop off. Technology can allow you to get a hold of shipping data and analytics that can help you and your 3PL partner to adjust in the supply chain transport. Thankfully, 3PL brokerages also invest in technology specifically for shipping and transportation. This technology would be too costly for just managing a single company’s freight.
If you need a 3PL service that hits these shared key points, then you should check out HTL Freight. We have the experience and expertise required to make your shipping operations run smoothly. To find out more, you can contact us. Additionally, if you want to get started today, you can click here and request a freight quote.
