6 Qualities To Look For in a Growth-Ready 3PL

Do you have a nagging feeling that you might be outgrowing your current logistics provider? Whether your in-house team is visibly frustrated with communications or your outsourced partner just isn’t quite meeting your expectations, it may be time to lean into a larger and more experienced third-party logistics (3PL) provider that can provide integrated logistics solutions for your growing organization.

The right 3PL can help you scale your business with stable and reliable integrated logistics services so you can embrace the excitement of “growing” without being hindered by “pains.” When you’re in growth mode, inefficiency is not an option. Neither is dragging along a logistics provider that can’t seem to keep up, much less get ahead. If you’re outpacing your current provider’s capabilities, expanding beyond their footprint, or simply not seeing the solutions and performance that are supposed to make outsourcing logistics the more cost-effective alternative to keeping logistics in-house, you likely need a different breed of logistics provider—one that’s built to fuel business growth. Here's what that looks like in a 3PL:

Agility

Large, established 3PLs like ODW Logistics offer integrated logistics services combining supply chain design, warehousing, distribution, transportation management, freight brokerage, and more. If your current provider is unable to support certain sales channels or strategic objectives, switching to a provider with a wider range of 3PL services can give you the infrastructure to scale, followed by the agility to adapt and evolve with your business. Growth is rarely linear, and challenges are to be expected. A 3PL needs to be agile so that your supply chain can be agile, too.

Save 20–30% with ODW's integrated logistics solutions.

Capacity

Some 3PLs simply aren’t focused on driving growth. It’s not necessarily a shortcoming; it may just be their business strategy to serve smaller and/or middle-market clients with day-to-day logistics. If your business is growing while your 3PL’s business is not, you’re going to reach a crossroads where they won’t have the resources, strategic locations, or sheer warehousing space to scale with you. They might even be just as willing to admit that they’re no longer the right fit for your business.

When considering other 3PLs with greater capacity, ask those 3PLs about their own business growth over the past few years. What investments have they made? How many people have they hired? Are they opening additional facilities? The answers will provide a snapshot of their ability to manage growth first-hand.

See why you get more from your 3PL with ODW Logistics.

Technology

One of the main benefits of scaling with a 3PL is access to the latest warehouse technology without capital expenditures—but, once again, not all 3PLs are interested in or capable of investing in advanced technology. If you’re having noticeable, persistent logistics issues, you can’t keep throwing labor at the problem. You need your 3PL to provide technology-driven solutions.

Most 3PLs will have the basics, like a warehouse management system (WMS) and transportation management system (TMS). Those are table stakes. When it comes to scaling a business, it’s time to find a 3PL that has a significant amount of warehouse automation available. For example, leading wine importer and distributor Lionstone International benefits from ODW’s robotics that auto-construct box sizes, place bottle dividers, and insert marketing materials. Box branding, palletizing, and order picking are all automated as well.

The benefits of warehouse automation center on efficiency and scalability but encompass much more—from accuracy to safety to customer and employee satisfaction alike, all with potential cost savings in the process. Learn more and see several examples of ODW’s technology in our essential guide to warehouse automation.

Find out how the right technologies can give you the flexibility and transparency you need in your supply chain. 

Visibility

Is your 3PL actively, bordering on obsessively, reporting on their performance? Are they consistently, almost relentlessly, providing recommendations? Growth-minded 3PLs don’t settle for getting the job done; they want to do more and better. If you’re ready to experience real synergy with a 3PL, look for one that gives you complete visibility into the immense data that integrated logistics services can provide. This data, paired with your 3PL’s experience and constant communication between your team and theirs, can help establish best practices and opportunities that align with your growth goals. Aside from reporting, you should also have real-time visibility into your supply chain to quickly identify and solve issues.

3PLs improve each shipper's supply chain visibility in five ways. Find out what they are.

Value

Alongside visibility, the best 3PLs also emphasize value—not just in terms of helping you spend less, but more so with the goal of helping you achieve more. Hiring a 3PL is of course an investment, but with the right provider, the economics will ultimately (and perhaps sooner rather than later) be favorable as your business scales. Beyond warehousing, there are many ways a 3PL can add value to your supply chain with contract logistics, including distribution, e-commerce fulfillment, manufacturing support, and more. There are also smaller, but in a scaling operation, equally important value-added services a 3PL can offer, such as pre-kitting, assembly, sequencing, custom labeling, inserts, mailers, and customized gift boxes. Learn more about finding the right 3PL services for your business.

Take the next step toward achieving your growth goals. Request a quote from ODW today.

Partnership

All the above lead to the most important aspect of all, a true partnership between you and your 3PL. You know your business. We know how to optimize it. When you partner with ODW, we take the time to design and implement your growth-ready supply chain so you get the most out of our logistics services. 

As a business leader, you know the gut feeling of needing to make a change. If you’re getting that sense, start the conversation with us today. Ask for our references and speak with them. Tour any of our facilities and allow us to tour yours. Let’s see if we’re the right fit. The most effective way to find a long-term 3PL provider that’s ready to support your growth is to choose the partner first and then get to work together setting the foundation for your business to scale. Learn more about our integrated logistics approach and contact us to speak with our team.