This is part two in a two-part series. Read part one here.
In part one of our two part series on outsourcing your logistics to a 3rd party company, we gave you a few tips on choosing and working with a logistics partner, but we had a lot more advice to offer — that’s why we packed even more tips into this article!
Here are a few more things that 3PLs can do for your business:
Offer 24-Hour Customer Service. In today’s world, the web allows your business to be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — but most small-to-medium-sized businesses can’t begin to justify staffing customer service around the clock. That’s ok — many 3PLs have a customer service team on stand-by so your customers can reach a friendly voice any time of the day or night. This is an even greater bonus when you’re breaking into markets on the other side of the globe.
Provide Literature Fulfillment Services. Even though most of your transactions are online, your customers still want a reminder that you’re a physical business. There’s no better way to do this than with printed materials. Literature fulfillment and a on-site print shop allow your fulfillment partner to create custom flyers, catalogs and other promotional materials that can be packed along with orders or sent to a customer mailing list.
Understand the Challenges of Freight Management. Global fulfillment services require a great deal more than just packing a box and labeling it for the intended nation. In fact, if your freight shipper doesn’t have a way to connect to other shippers across the globe, you packages may never make it to their destination. Outside of the U.S., logistics chains become challenging since packages may have to change hands many times and go through many checks before they find their destinations.
Outsourcing can try your very last nerve if you’re not working with someone who understands your fulfillment needs. No matter if you’re looking for local or global fulfillment, it’s important to partner with a company that can get the job done on time, every time.
A 3PL can do lots of things to support your efforts, so you can focus on growing your business without a lot of extra overhead, employees or warehouse space to maintain.
