White Glove Home Delivery Blog

You hire a 3PL provider to help you work through the necessary and final step of completing a sale, but taking a vested approach by collaborating and communicating with your 3PL provider can cut costs and improve customer satisfaction. 

A great customer experience not only increases customer satisfaction it increases sales. Your customers want quality, reliability and trouble-free operation in the products they purchase. But the thing that will keep them coming back to your store is the level of service you provide.

While the retail world is a challenging place today, most retailers know that this has always been true. There are too few hours in a day to deal with all the complications and details of providing good retail selection and service to your customers so they become satisfied repeat buyers. Outsourcing your furniture delivery can be a great way to provide the service your customers demand without taking excessive time and money from your bottom line.

In our last post, we discussed the importance of choosing a 3PL provider that is willing to go the extra mile to provide you with “Golden Rule” service. Part of this service is ensuring that your working relationship is a true partnership, where both groups are committed to success and have similar viewpoints about how to attain it – through every stage of the process.

Unfortunately, both Third Party Logistics companies and their clients sometimes forget this important point.  The result: misaligned goals, crossed wires, and an unhealthy working environment.  We all have full plates, and the last thing anyone needs is the extra time and heartburn associated with dealing with issues that arise when clients and providers aren’t working together as a team.

So how can you avoid potential problems and work together as a team?  Here are some suggestions:

Maintain open lines of communication. Misunderstandings are often the result of a lack of communication between provider and client. If you’re keeping in regular contact with each other, you’re less likely to

Take responsibility for – and learn from – mistakes. No one is perfect. Sometimes things don’t happen the way we expect them to; rather than wasting time pointing fingers, admit slip-ups and ensure that you avoid repeating them in the future.

Work to your strengths. One of the great things about a partnership is that both groups can look to each other as experts in certain aspects of the business. Tailor your plans accordingly and pool your resources – you’ll achieve much more with much less stress.

Remember the goal. Ultimately, it’s about working together to achieve your objective.  Try not to sweat the small stuff too much; if your interests are properly aligned, you’re bound to be more efficient.

When you choose a Third Party Logistics provider, the hope and intention is that you’re forming a partnership that will last for years. Indeed, you likely spent months researching, interviewing and analyzing your candidates before making your decision. But what if your provider isn’t living up to expectations?  When do you resolve to look for another company? Consider the following factors when making your decision.

Lack of growth.  Your company is growing – but your 3PL provider isn’t growing with you. Maybe the company is resistant to change – or maybe they’re losing clients due to poor service.  Either way, it’s a cause for serious concern.

Massive price hikes. While price fluctuation is inevitable, huge spikes in cost shouldn’t be. In addition to affecting your budget, major price increases on the part of your logistics provider suggest poor financial management.

Turnover.  No company is free from employee turnover – it’s the nature of business. But if your 3PL provider’s executive team appears to be a revolving door, it’s a clear indication of internal turmoil – which affects the company’s overall focus.

Not learning from mistakes. No relationship is perfect, in life or in business. Part of fostering a successful partnership is through trial and error.  But is your logistics provider making the same mistakes time and again? And are you dependent on workarounds to control the damage that these mistakes cause? Your productivity suffers as a result – and it demonstrates poor management on behalf of your provider.

No “disruptive innovation.”  In our last post, we talked about the importance of disruptive innovation on the part of 3PL providers – that is, striving toward the discovery of new methods and innovations that disrupt the industry status quo in a positive way. Ask yourself if your 3PL provider is motivated to make these kinds of discoveries. If not, your bottom line is ultimately affected.

In previous blog posts, we’ve discussed the advantages of hiring a Third Party Logistics (3PL) provider for your business needs. We’ve also talked about what to look for in a provider.

Choosing a 3PL provider is just the first step, however. In order to guarantee a successful partnership, you – and your selected provider – need to take steps to nurture your business relationship. Below are some tips for ensuring a long-lasting and beneficial association with your chosen logistics company.

Get – and stay – on the same page.  Have an in-depth and honest conversation with your 3PL provider at the outset of your relationship; discuss your mutual goals and the steps that both of you need to take in order to make sure that those goals are met. Otherwise, you run the risk of making decisions that don’t align with your shared objectives.

Understand the technology.  Recent advances in technology processes are making an impact in the logistics industry. For example, some 3PL companies are looking at cloud computing as the future of their information management systems. Treat your 3PL’s technology offerings as more than just a peripheral, value-added service; taking advantage of the benefits these offerings provide may translate into increased efficiency for your business.

Be flexible (within reason) – and reward initiative. You provide your own employees with incentives for performing; think of your logistics company in the same light. If you allow your outsourced logistics provider the flexibility to exceed expectations – and reward them accordingly – you strengthen your relationship and reap the benefits of superior performance.

Analyze progress regularly. Keep an open dialogue with your 3PL service, and evaluate progress on a regular basis – not just yearly.  In the world of logistics, strategies can change, and you and your provider need to be agile in your approach, ready to tweak processes if necessary.

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:

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.

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?