This is part one in a two-part series. Read part two here.

Logistics has come a long way since the 3PL was first conceived in the 1970s.

Since then, we’ve invented the Internet and opened a whole new can of worms that requires product fulfillment services no one could have imagined back then. Today’s 3PL is just as innovative and flexible as it has ever been, though. When a whole industry is dedicated to creating new opportunities every day, the result can be great things for your warehousing and distribution.

This is an exciting time to be in the warehousing and fulfillment services, for a number of reasons:

Increased connectivity between software. There was a time not long ago that your internal software didn’t stand a chance at connecting to the packages of your warehouse or distribution systems. Today, it’s easier than ever to connect your point of sale software, shopping cart, inventory control and logistics software to create a system that can send your product from the catalog to the customer at home with very little effort. Fewer hands in that order mean fewer errors and a much less costly process.

Workforce management innovations. Because speed is vital in today’s 3PL environment, we’re looking for opportunities to streamline everything in the warehouse and distribution centers. From simple changes discovered through conversations with employees that lead to lean warehouses to investing in the most advanced technology to increase the speed of pick, pack and ship, innovations in managing our workforce are happening daily. Our speed increases your profit and your customers’ happiness.

Flexible kitting and packaging options. The widespread use of kitting means that we can take a variety of products and combine them in any configuration you’d like. Your business can offer products that are commonly purchased together as a unit with a discount, and we’ll build that new product combination for you. Not only does kitting make packaging your products faster, it helps to eliminate those errors that generate frustrated customer calls and costly product returns.

Today’s 3PL is a fast-evolving world, creating opportunities to make your warehousing and distribution faster and more innovative. Now, instead of waiting for days for an updated report on your warehouse and inventory, you can check how things are going with the press of a button. Our thoughts are on making the process easier for everyone, including our own warehouse crew.

source: http://www.mmh.com/article/7_ways_3pls_support_warehousing_and_distribution

Find out more about how today’s 3PL is changing the face of logistics in part two of this two-part series. Read part two here.