The modern business world is fast-moving and constantly evolving. Optimizing your internal logistics has become non-negotiable for businesses striving to gain a competitive edge and successfully scale. Implementing an internal logistics strategy that is forward-thinking and efficient will streamline operations as well as ensure accurate, on-time deliveries – thereby improving the customer experience.
An effective way for your business to achieve these benchmarks is by working with a 3PL warehousing company. Here’s how a 3PL warehousing provider can deliver valuable insights, provide tailored solutions, and optimize your internal logistics.
Exploring the Basics of Internal Logistics
Internal logistics encompasses the operations and processes that support product flow through the supply chain. This entails:
- Managing the flow of information as it travels across the supply chain.
- Inventory management – from a product’s arrival in the warehouse to return management.
- SKU and lot management, stock replenishment, demand forecasting, and inventory tracking.
Benefits of Partnering with a 3PL Warehousing Company
Unparalleled Expertise
A 3PL warehousing provider has the knowledge, resources, and technology to drive efficiency and invaluable improvements for your internal logistics. For instance, as your business scales, you’ll be required to not only fulfill a larger volume of sales, but also to optimize shipping to regions outside your local vicinity. Your 3PL warehousing partner can help you penetrate new markets, scale up production, and distribute your inventory to warehousing facilities closer to your end customer. The result? Improved last-mile delivery times and reduced shipping costs.
Improved Supply Chain Management
Optimizing internal logistics allows for the smooth flow of inventory, minimizing disruptions and strengthening your supply chain management. Upon a product’s arrival at the warehousing company, it’s scanned and tracked, leveraging technology and automation to provide real-time visibility into its lifecycle. Once items are picked and packed during the order fulfillment stage, for example, your stock levels will automatically reflect the change. This can be game-changing for omnichannel sellers, where organization and visibility are integral for supply chain efficiency.
Access to Infrastructure & Technology
By partnering with a 3PL warehousing provider, you can tap into their processes, technology, and systems to automate time-consuming, repetitive tasks, streamline workflow, and enhance information flow across the supply chain. Having this capability will mitigate errors and drive down costs. What’s more, a 3PL warehouse management system (WMS) can integrate with your current technology stack to create a cohesive process, help forecast future demand, and auto-replenish stock to avoid stock-outs.
The Ability to Scale
An irrefutable advantage of 3PL warehousing lies in its ability to help you scale. Think about it: outsourcing a bulk of your complex, time-consuming fulfillment process will allow you to refocus efforts on core business initiatives, such as expanding your customer base or product lines. As you scale, your 3PL warehousing partner will possess the necessary infrastructure to accommodate your evolving needs.
In other words, there’s no need to invest in additional warehousing facilities or hire more staff, the systems and resources you require will be implemented by the 3PL warehousing company. This is why partnering with a 3PL can enable e-commerce businesses like yours to compete with major brands like Amazon.
Enjoy Cost-Savings
Internal logistics is intricate and time-consuming. Often, handing these deliverables off to a warehousing company can equate to time and cost-saving advantages. Costs can quickly accumulate when overseeing a growing business and fulfillment needs without the right technology and support in place. You also run the risk of taking your team’s time away from revenue-generating initiatives like product development and customer support.
Improve Customer Loyalty
A 3PL warehousing partner will help optimize your internal logistics, ensuring your business operates seamlessly. The result? A positive customer experience. From order placement through its arrival on a customer’s doorstep, it’s pivotal for the fulfillment process to be carried out accurately and efficiently. Your 3PL warehousing company will ensure these processes are executed without a hitch while providing you with real-time inventory updates to minimize costly issues like stock-outs.
Visibility into your logistics operations, along with improved inventory tracking, will allow you to offer customers competitive shipping options, like affordable – or free! – 2-day shipping. Quick shipping is a must in today’s business world, and providing a pain-free delivery experience will ultimately help strengthen your brand’s reputation and customer loyalty.
Approach Internal Logistics the Smart Way
Fueling your business success in a way that’s both sustainable and scalable requires you to have the right infrastructure in place. When it comes to the complexities of internal logistics, building out the right systems, acquiring the right equipment and technology, and efficiently facilitating operations can be incredibly costly and time-consuming. By outsourcing these needs to a 3PL warehousing company, you’ll have access to the expertise, tools, and resources needed to drive your business to new heights.
As a trusted 3PL warehousing partner for over two decades, Smart Warehousing can provide you with logistics solutions tailored specifically to your needs, challenges, and goals. From order fulfillment to inventory management to transportation services, we help optimize the supply chain to improve operational efficiency, increase your bottom line, and strengthen the customer experience.
To learn more about how Smart Warehousing can help you transform your internal logistics, contact our team today.