As a consumer brand in this competitive market, the relationship you have with your third-party logistics provider (3PL) should be a true partnership. The role of the 3PL is to take care of the back-end fulfillment and logistics tasks for the customer, so that the customer has the time and energy to focus on their core business: developing new products, selling their products, and improving their overall brand and customer experience.
As Motivational CEO Tony Altman puts it, “Our customers pass their orders to us, and they trust that we will take care of everything efficiently for them. Our goal is to serve as an extension of our customers’ teams, not just a vendor. We work to learn their business so we can properly support them now and as they continue grow. We’re not successful if they’re not successful.”
We sat down with Altman to understand more about the ideal relationship between a consumer brand and its 3PL as well as signs that it’s not a true partnership.
Characteristics of the Ideal Consumer Brand and 3PL Relationship
Open Communication and Transparency
You should have quality visibility into the operations and processes of your fulfillment partner. Your 3PL should proactively give you updates on any issues that may arise, solutions they’ve come up with, and performance metrics. An open invitation to visit your 3PL at their facilities or to tour their warehouse space is an example of the level of access you should feel welcome to with your 3PL.
Continuous Improvement in the Warehouse
Your 3PL should constantly be looking for and offering you recommendations to enhance your logistics operations and fulfillment efforts. Motivational often finds opportunities to save their customers money, shorten their delivery times, or improve their customers’ experience. Proactive problem-solving and pro-active assessments of opportunities are things you should be getting from your 3PL.
The collaboration needed for this sometimes becomes a “help us help you” situation for the 3PL.
For example, Motivational had an experience where a customer was manufacturing products with very small SKU numbers on their boxes. This made it difficult for the warehouse workers to efficiently pick orders. The forklift drivers were having to frequently park and dismount their lifts so they could physically get closer to the boxes to accurately see the numbers. We consulted our customer and suggested increasing this font size so that the drivers could see the SKU without having to get off of their forklift thereby allowing us to better service them. Our customer was happy to oblige, and in the end, this small change boosted our productivity and efficiency for them.
Custom Solutions & Value-Added Services
Your unique requirements should drive your 3PL’s approach to handling your business. Some 3Pls provide only an inflexible, one-size-fits-all service. Some examples of the value-added services your 3PL should be happy to provide are:
- Kit Assembly
- Product Rework and Refurbishment
- Design Display and Assembly
- Packaging
- Ticketing and Labeling
- Parts replacement
- Software re-flashing and updating
- Quality Control Testing
Data Visibility
You should have easy access to the data you need to assess and optimize your operations. Altman explains, “Your 3PL’s tech is a big part of what you are getting with that partnership. They should be able to provide you with the data and visibility you need to track orders and inventory with ease. We recognized this early on, and that’s why we have our own proprietary WMS as well as in-house IT team. We can do integrations and custom requests on a shorter timeline and more cost effectively than most.”
Real World Examples of a 3PL Efficiently Working for Their Customers
The hallmark of a great 3Pl is the ability and willingness to truly go the extra mile. Here are some examples of requests your 3PL should be able to gladly accommodate:
- Staying open on weekends or extending service hours to meet peak demand
- Loading trucks on a holiday for special circumstances
- Completing special projects or developing additional value-added services
- Handling rework, refurbishing, re-boxing, re-ticketing
- Actively staying on top of vendor compliance guides to minimize chargebacks in retail logistics and improve your retailer relationships and avoid lost revenue
- Finding ways to say “yes” to customers, thereby adding value to their business rather than constantly saying “no” when asked for new or unique services
Signs of an Imbalanced Relationship With Your 3PL
If any of the following apply, you may doing more than you should for your fulfillment and logistics operations. Essentially if you’re having to micromanage your 3PL or if you feel like you’re serving as your own account manager, those are signals of an imbalanced relationship.
Lack of Access
You can’t visit and audit processes involving your own products.
Inflexibility
Your unique needs can’t be accommodated due to rigid services, systems or policies.
Limited Capabilities
Your 3PL can’t scale with your growth or provide extra services that you require to enhance your own customer’s experiences. If you’re 3PL is not omnichannel, you will be unable to reach your customers across all your sales channels and that can hinder your growth in the long-term.
Altman summarized this bluntly, “If you’re hearing a lot of ‘no’s from your 3PL, that’s a problem. If they can’t fulfill special requests, do integrations, or have too many system limitations, they’re not a true partner that you can grow with.”
Looking Ahead
Altman emphasizes the importance of selecting a 3PL that can adapt and grow alongside your own business for the long-term. The goal should be to not only fulfill immediate needs, but more importantly to establish a lasting partnership that fosters continuous growth and success.
In conclusion, the relationship between a consumer brand and their 3PL should be characterized by mutual trust, collaboration, and a shared commitment to excellence.
If you have that trust and feel that your 3PL is truly invested in your ongoing growth and success, congrats! You are in a healthy partnership! If not, it’s time to reevaluate and find a 3PL that can reliably service your needs, today, tomorrow, and for the long-term.
About Motivational
Motivational Fulfillment & Logistics Services is a leading omnichannel 3PL based in Southern California. Founded in 1977, Motivational partners with a variety of consumer products, from housewares & appliances to consumer electronics, beauty, cosmetics, toy & baby, and more.
Motivational offers turnkey direct-to-consumer services, award-winning e-commerce fulfillment, and retail distribution to all major retailers. Beyond standard logistics, they offer a spectrum of value-added services such as custom kitting, displays, product rework & refurbishment, re-boxing, re-ticketing, and more. Motivational is pleased to offer a free consultation to consumer brands looking to elevate their logistics game.
To learn more, visit mfals.com.
