22/06/2023
What to consider when choosing a 3PL provider for eCommerce businesses:
1. Scalability: Nimble enough to handle small order volumes just as easily as large volumes.
2. Visibility: Inventory levels are available, accessible and accurate at all times.
3. Fast Shipping: How quickly can your orders arrive with your customers? What'sWhat'sWhat's the most cost effective method to do so?
4. Attention to Detail: When your product arrives in your customers' hands, it must satisfy their expectations, seamlessly exude the qualities of your brand, while also balancing costs and resource requirements. That's Mailshop's specialty!
5. Return Management: Treat returns as a reverse purchase - with all the care and oversight that goes into managing the original purchase. The right 3PL will respect this process and it's ability to keep your customers coming back even when things go wrong with an order.
6. Integration: Perhaps most important in integrating your system with your chosen 3PL is ensuring that your most valuable resource (your time) is not wasted on manual interactions and requests for missing information.
7. Excellent References: Is it a struggle to get good references?
8. Capability: Whether it’s kitting, subscription box services, influencer packs or simple pick, pack and distribute of daily orders, you need to ensure your 3PL is flexible and capable of handling your changing needs.
9. Responsiveness: How well would they respond to large changes in order volumes due to sales promotions? How would they track products in case of a recall?
10. Customer Service: Will you have a dedicated Account Manager to work with you?
Check out our full article for more.
Possibly the most important consideration in choosing a third party logistics (3PL) provider is to ensure they’re nimble enough to service e-commerce fulfilment needs from infancy through to maturity. A 3PL should serve as a strategic partner in helping e-retailers compete, making large scale ware...