White Glove Home Delivery Blog

A key part of successful warehouse logistics strategy is something a lot of us might not think about on a regular basis: risk management and adherence to proper safety precautions. Warehouse managers have a responsibility to their employees to provide a safe working environment, where the likelihood of on-the-job accidents are low. Likewise, managers understand that time lost due to illness or injury means loss of profits, which directly affects their bottom line.  

But physical safety isn’t the only warehouse logistics risk that needs to be considered. In this day and age, where many 3PL companies are turning to Internet technology to manage and track their shipments, the hazards of cyber crime are very real, and need to be monitored closely. Clients cannot risk having their personal information compromised by security leaks.

So what can members of the warehouse logistics industry do to safeguard against the possibility of accidents, both physical and technological?

Harry Bassett once said, "To prosper soundly in business, you must satisfy not only your customers, but you must lay yourself out to satisfy also the men who make your product and the men who sell it."

It may seem like an obvious statement, but it’s one that all business owners need to remember. Your company will only be successful if the men and women who work for you are happy, engaged and focused on the task at hand.

Likewise, when choosing a Third Party Logistics company, you should look for providers who are committed to keeping their employees happy - because the more engaged employees are, the more successful the provider (and by extension, you) will be.

So what are the key metrics of employee engagement to look for when choosing a 3PL provider?

Low rate of turnover. Can your 3PL provider boast long-term employee tenure, or do you feel as though you’re dealing with a new person every time you contact them? Not surprisingly, satisfied employees tend to stay put – and the longer they stay, the more their employers value them. It’s a win-win.

Steady, year-on-year growth. A motivated workforce has a direct effect on corporate success. On the other hand, employee ambivalence or lack of engagement can lead to stagnation or worse, decline.

Transparency and desire to improve. When employees are engaged, motivated, and properly rewarded, they are more willing to go above and beyond to make sure that you receive the best possible service. Likewise, if they’re working in a healthy environment, employees know that they can be honest about when things don’t go as smoothly – without feeling the need to gloss over mistakes for fear of employer reprisal.

When your 3PL company provides a positive working environment for its employees, you, the customer, reap the benefits.

What else do you think contributes to an engaged work environment? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.

Let’s face it, in today’s world there are a lot of choices, and customer’s expectations are higher than ever. Often times businesses are focused on well, running their business, and they fail to grasp what their customers are experiencing, or more importantly what they want to experience. You may have ingrained into your head that the only thing your customers care about is price and that if you cut your prices they will be happy.

We invite you to take a step back and look at your company as though you were the customer. What type of customer experience would you want to have? Whether you’re dedicated to logistics and home delivery (like Diakon), or any number of other industries, the basic principles associated with producing a positive customer experience are much the same – as are the consequences of mismanaging (or worse, ignoring) it. From the moment they walk in the door to the moment they are at home using one of your products or reflecting on your services, the experience your customers have will determine how your company is perceived. How your company is perceived will determine how your company succeeds. 

The last mile is always the most important one, no matter what we’re talking about, be it a race, a car trip, or a sale. And in the supply chain, it couldn’t be more of a truism. The last mile is the final connection between you and your customers—home delivery and installation, and product returns are prime examples of “last mile” moments. Especially with regards to big-ticket or oversized items, ensuring true white glove handling over the last mile is essential. Here are a few ways these services integrate for a successful end result with a happy customer:

Recent IT buzz indicates that Third Party Logistics (3PL) companies are starting to consider the implementation of cloud-managed services for their clients. While it’s still too soon to see the overall impact of this trend, the concept is important to understand.

The Third Party Logistics Study, created in the mid-1990s as a means of evaluating trends in the 3PL industry, has developed into a valuable research tool over the course of its 17 years of publication.  The most recent survey provides some interesting findings that are worth touching upon. Here is a rundown of the more salient points.

The state of the market today.  This year’s research has found that the vast majority of shippers and 3PL providers consider their relationships with each other successful. This would explain why roughly 65% of shippers look to their 3PL partners when the need for expansion arises (rather than returning to insourcing for their distribution needs).

The need for disruptive innovation. Surveyed shippers expressed an increased desire for disruptive innovation from their 3PL providers. Simply put, disruptive innovation is the concept of a development, advance or invention that literally “disrupts” the existing status quo because of its measurable improvement upon prevailing processes.  Shippers are challenging their 3PL partners to introduce these types of “positive disruption” within the market – be they in management, infrastructure or technology – in an effort to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Nurturing workforce talent. 3PL companies and shippers alike agree on the importance of cultivating a talented workforce in order to achieve their goals and to drive the aforementioned disruptive innovation. Employee and management training and certifications topped the list of preferred methods of human resource investment.

The importance of IT. Over 50% of 3PL providers are anticipating a substantial investment in their IT services over the coming year. It will be interesting to see if that increased spend translates to buy-in of the emerging cloud computing model, or simply bolstering current IT infrastructure and resources.

Trends for the coming year.  Respondents agreed on the need for continual, agile monitoring of 3PL-related data, in order to better identify new opportunities in the field as they arise.  Many 3PL providers are also seriously considering global expansion as an antidote for the current weakened national economy.

The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, or “MAP-21” Act that was signed into law and went into effect October 1, 2012. Besides consolidating the more than 100 transportation programs into a much more manageable (and hopefully better managed) number, the immense bill has several lofty goals. Two of MAP-21’s central themes are the “strengthening of America’s highway and public transportation system” and the support of “the Department’s aggressive safety agenda,” according to the FHWA’s map act website.

So you’ve decided to go with a Third Party Logistics Provider (3PL). It’s a growing trend in the retail industry, and for good reason. There are many benefits, all resulting in a better business model for you, as well as more satisfied customers. But you need to choose your provider well. There are more than a few out there, but only a few really good ones. And logistics can make or break a retailer. Here are a few guidelines to help you on the way.

As everyone continues to try and keep costs down, personally as well as professionally, a trending impulse is the austere notion to do more on your own. Having someone else do what you could just do for yourself costs more money, right? Whatever you can handle yourself will save you in the long run, it seems to follow. Mow your own lawn, do your own taxes. Take care of your own delivery, warehousing, and supply chain. Or should you?