Feeling the pressure to meet customer demands, drive new ecommerce business, and meet revenue goals are just a few of the things we hear from third-party logistics (3PL) companies's owners and operators. These top priorities have many logistics professionals looking for ways to improve their warehouse operations and automate workflows to help reduce costs, meet shipping demands, and increase throughput. In order to stand out in today’s competitive logistics world, 3PLs must strive to become an indispensable partners that their customers love by offering the services they need to meet core deliverables and service level agreements (SLAs).
For third-party logistics businesses looking to succeed, they need to be committed to their customer's satisfaction and success by automating warehouse workflows with best practices designed to help warehouses easily manage inventory and operate more efficiently.
Here are five ways 3PL warehouses can help their customers fall in love with their business and reduce turnover.
Become Your Customer’s Fulfillment Best Practices Experts
Product fulfillment centers can be intimidating to those outside of our industry. Your customers will appreciate your 3PL’s experience, knowledge, and guidance.
Warehouses should help customers understand the best practices and processes that will work well for both parties. Offering advice on what technologies to use, what processes to implement, or workflows to help save your 3PL customers money will ensure that you are meeting their expectations to grow their business—and yours. These should include:
- Access to state-of-the-art fulfillment automation and paperless operations software to reduce errors
- Guidance regarding the most efficient workflows for their customers’ business to increase efficiency
- Assistance in choosing the right ecommerce engines, shopping carts, or EDI connections for their needs
Seamlessly Connect with Your Customers’ Existing Systems
Customers love when integrations are fast, simple, and airtight. But most of all, they love it when they are hassle-free in every sense of the word. One of your 3PL’s primary jobs is to make your customers’ jobs easier.
Your 3PL will delight your customers if you can easily connect every aspect of your customers’ inventory and fulfillment operations to their:
- Suppliers and manufacturers
- Ecommerce sites and shopping carts
- Brick & mortar retail sites
- Delivery partners
- Accounting software programs like Quickbooks
Working with a WMS partner, like Extensiv, is like having an extension of your team. Especially when you have access to a variety of services and trusted partners to help you every step of the way.
Become The Most Trusted Data Partner
3PL customers love a warehouse they never have to question. The data flowing through their supply chain is likely the most complex, voluminous, and dynamic they have to deal with as an organization.
Warehouses that become their customers’ go-to source for all of this data will be seen as nothing less than heroes. This can be accomplished by providing 100% accurate information regarding:
- Inventory levels and dispositions (in real-time)
- Tracking of all fulfillment and deliveries – and the ability to automatically notify them
- Billing for the services you provide
Become Your Customers’ Brand Image Champions
Your customers’ brand image is the most valuable asset they own. Working with a 3PL business that is as committed to that image–and their shoppers-as they are will ensure loyalty and growth opportunities.
Your 3PL can do so by ensuring that:
- Every order is handled accurately and efficiently
- Every item is fulfilled in accordance with your client's brand packaging guidelines
- Every one of their buyers is impressed with your customer service, delivery tracking, and product returns performance-every time.
Help Your Customers Grow Their Business
3PL customers are looking for warehouses that go above and beyond to help them achieve the success they are seeking. Your role as a fulfillment provider already makes you a vital part of your customers’ success. But your 3PL should aspire to become a true business partner who can drive their customers’ success.
Being such a partner will undoubtedly earn their customers’ respect – and long-term business. Your 3PL can accomplish this by:
- Meeting with your clients on a regular basis to show your value – and learn their future plans
- Providing invaluable insights about their business – and showing them how they can use this to plan and make decisions
- Working with customers directly to help them develop their long-term planning, tactics, and strategies
- Providing customers with data required to measure their results
In short, your customers want a 3PL who is easy to work with, utterly reliable, and an expert in the business of fulfillment. Such 3PLs will quickly become an irreplaceable part of their customers’ daily operations and future success.
To learn more about how Extensiv 3PL Warehouse Manager can help your 3PL become a warehouse your customers will love, request a demo today.
