White Glove Home Delivery Blog

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 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.

Your third-party home delivery carrier plays a vital role in your retail business. As often the last impression made upon your customers is at the point of delivery, your carrier must clearly reflect the quality and service your customers have come to expect through their interaction with your brand in the earlier phases of the sale.

Armstrong & Associates, a supply chain market research and consulting group, recently released its 2012 3PL Market Analysis and 2013 Predictions Report. According to the report, gross revenues in the domestic Third Party Logistics market increased 6% over the course of 2012; specifically, 3PL revenues rose to $141.8 billion, up from $133.8 billion in 2011. The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) paralleled this increase, in what is referred to as a “slow dance” by the report. Furthermore, Armstrong & Associates predict that this slow, steady 3PL revenue growth will continue through 2013, with another 4-6% increase over 2012 numbers.

Some specific facts and figures:

The people, technology, processes, and activities necessary to move your products from their origin to your customers require a strong supply chain system. The logistics side of supply chain management is filled with many important details and complexities. Expectations of quality, quantity, time frame, and location must be met.