As the old saying goes, time is money. And there has been no period in history where this has been less true of a statement. What our industry once termed as “speed to market” is now “speed to customer,” and with advancement in communications and technology, the time is always “Now o’ clock.” In warehousing and distribution, everybody needs things done yesterday, it’s never done quite fast enough.
So when choosing a third party logistics (3PL) partner, is it more important to find a company that provides the cheapest rates, or a partner who is dedicated to serving its customers so that they have more time to focus on their core strategies? Here are a few examples of what having more time, or losing time, means and how this greatly affects a companies bottom line:
- Logistics Services: Does your 3PL offer value-ad
ded services such as repackaging, quality inspection, or freight transportation? If not, your team members will be busy sourcing other companies to provide this service.
- Customer Service and Warehouse Accuracy: So you saved money in your warehousing rates, but have you sacrificed service? Maybe the product was shipped in time, but did it go to the right location? Were the right products shipped? Were special instructions followed? Is the inventory managed properly? If the answer to any of these questions are no, considerable time will have to be spent by several parties in order to process claims or fix problems- which often results in increased costs (does time equal money?)
- Information and Reporting: Does the 3PL have a warehouse management system that provides reporting, or even better, access to a real-time web portal to view orders and inventory? You can bet if you do not get this, you will spend hours looking for critical information while you can be building your business.
While this is just a short list of big time cost factors, there are countless ways by which time is a major factor in the success of working with a 3PL. That’s why Flex Logistics has established it’s mission to deliver time to all of it’s stakeholders- its customers, its vendors, and its people. We do this because we truly believe that the more time all of these people have, the more opportunity there is for everybody to succeed by adding to their bottom lines and focusing on whatever it is that is important in their lives. See why companies choose Flex Logistics to add value to their businesses today!