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Originally Posted On : https://broadrangelogistics.com/how-can-3pl-warehousing-boost-sales-for-your-business/
The key to success in any business is maximizing the value of every related facet.
Whether you’re running a mom-and-pop shop or the CEO of a Fortune 500 operation, the notion from the previous sentence rings true.
How do you extract the most productivity, revenues, and all other growth factors from your available resources?
Part of your success will be dictated by how you allocate your efforts. You and your team should be focused on areas that offer your company the most value.
So, what high-value tasks should your in-house people focus on?
This answer depends on the scope of your operation. Often, companies entering a growth stage want to focus on honing their business model, marketing strategies, sales efforts, etc.
What about the order fulfillment process, though? Is this facet of your business best handled in-house? Or should it be left to an external source?
The Pitfalls of Fulfilling Orders In-House
Fulfilling orders in-house means warehousing, inventory management, picking, etc., all become internal focal points.
These tasks and functions require abundant resources if you’re doing them internally. Moreover, these order fulfillment and logistical processes can impede your momentum as you try to grow and expand. Instead of dedicating energy to selling and reaching a broader customer base, you and your people get overrun by these nitty-gritty tasks, stifling company progress.
All the same, you need a viable solution because your customers need the products they’ve ordered.
So, how do you overcome these in-house order handling and fulfillment challenges? How do you get customers their products promptly and reliably without drowning in tumultuous logistical waters?
Enter 3PL warehousing.
What is 3PL?
3PL is also known as third-party logistics warehousing. It’s the process of outsourcing your traditional and eCommerce logistics to a third-party organization. A 3PL provider handles warehousing, inventory management, and order fulfillment.
With 3PL, companies can be more efficient and profitable because they’re provided the infrastructure and tools to automate order fulfillment.
The roots of 3PL go back to the 1970s and 1980s when companies started outsourcing outbound and inbound logistics tasks to third parties. Then, the 1990s and 2000s saw the advent of eCommerce. From there, 3PL became a wide-ranging term for a series of expanded services.
As 3PL has become a retail standard, the term now applies to supply chain integration of transportation services and warehousing operations.
What is 3PL Warehousing?
Warehousing is one component under the 3PL umbrella.
3PL service providers will receive and store your inventory in a fulfillment center. A dedicated storage location (e.g., a shelf, bin, or pallet) is given to each SKU.
All 3PL warehousing companies have different storage limitations–they aren’t one-size-fits-all.
Thus, you’ll need to ensure there’s enough space offered by a 3PL warehousing provider before signing any dotted lines.
BroadRange provides national 3PL warehousing options to our clients. We can offer a vast number of storage locations because our company and partner-owned warehouses are strategically dispersed throughout the US.
Each BroadRange logistic center focuses on fulfilling your organization’s specific supply chain needs. Unlike many mainstream 3PL providers, our services revolve around keen attention to detail and top-tier customer service.
Our expertise is in managing dedicated and multi-user facilities for your product distribution. We design scalable solutions so that our clients can efficiently fulfill their present and future requirements.
What Are The Other Components Of 3PL?
Warehousing is one component under the 3PL umbrella.
3PL service providers will receive and store your inventory in a fulfillment center. A dedicated storage location (e.g., a shelf, bin, or pallet) is given to each SKU.
All 3PL warehousing companies have different storage limitations–they aren’t one-size-fits-all.
Thus, you’ll need to ensure there’s enough space offered by a 3PL warehousing provider before signing any dotted lines.
BroadRange provides national 3PL warehousing options to our clients. We can offer a vast number of storage locations because our company and partner-owned warehouses are strategically dispersed throughout the US.
Each BroadRange logistic center focuses on fulfilling your organization’s specific supply chain needs. Unlike many mainstream 3PL providers, our services revolve around keen attention to detail and top-tier customer service.
Our expertise is in managing dedicated and multi-user facilities for your product distribution. We design scalable solutions so that our clients can efficiently fulfill their present and future requirements.
Inventory Receiving.
An integral component of the order-handling process is inventory receiving in a 3PL warehouse. This entails accepting incoming inventory, then storing it.
Every 3PL warehouse has different capacities and processes for inventory receiving and storage.
At BroadRange, we’ll sort, label, tag, and send received material/items to the designated locations. Our state-of-the-art 3PL warehouse tech allows us to weigh various criteria to optimize the product’s site. In turn, we can reduce labor costs and order-picking times.
Picking and Packing.
Picking involves retrieving items from a warehouse once they’ve been ordered. Packing is the process of placing all ordered items into a suitable container before sending it to a customer.
The intricate processes involved in picking and packing have more nuance than the straightforward definitions above.
With some warehouse setups, picking and packing can require manual processes entailing spreadsheets containing order and shipping details. Fortunately, there are more efficient ways to pick and pack your orders.
To the above point, BroadRange’s 3PL warehouse services incorporate advanced methods and tech to enhance efficiency. As such, we provide accurate order fulfillment across multiple product lines and brands.
We execute each order independently and based on a client’s specific requirements to ensure top-tier, cost-efficient service.
At BroadRange, we ship orders within 24 hours and often on the same business day. We can offer you this competitive advantage because we process orders as we receive receipts.
Supply Chain Management.
Our primary objective when partnering with clients is to customize our 3PL warehouse services to meet your needs. Thus, we evaluate your unique business requirements to optimize your supply chain management.
These services help our clients reduce freight expenses while improving customer service.
Our comprehensive supply chain management services will vastly reduce cycle times and on-hand inventory. Similar reductions apply to administrative costs since we’ll cut out most expenses dedicated to multiple vendor management.
Your business will benefit from superior results with our expert team monitoring, managing, and optimizing your logistics.
3PL Warehousing Frees Your Team To Focus On Driving Sales.
The effect 3PL warehousing can have on your sales is multipronged.
First and foremost, outsourcing to a third party means you can focus on your customers instead of your shipments.
Think about all the customer-facing facets involved in driving sales. This includes bolstering your marketing strategies and cultivating relationships with your customers. SEO optimization strategies are also crucial in today’s landscape. Really–we’re only scratching the surface. The intensive legwork involved in driving sales is seemingly endless.
You then must ask yourself–can you adequately focus on sales when handling orders in-house?
After all, choosing not to outsource means you must handle the order fulfillment components we’ve already discussed, plus the following issues:
- Digitizing warehouse facilities.
- Negotiating freight contracts.
- Meeting delivery peeks.
- Dealing with the complexities of international deliveries.
3PL warehousing services take these tasks off your hands at a reasonable price. Therefore, you and your team can dedicate your collective brainpower toward driving sales.
3PL Warehousing Can Expedite Business Expansion.
Outsourcing your order management, storage, and fulfillment means you can expand your business more rapidly. You’ll be able to reach a vaster target market without having to fret over shipment complications.
3PL can empower a small business on one side of the world to reach its footprint across hemispheres with seamless agility.
You can become a worldwide entity on a local budget, reaching more customers because you have the available resources at a price that makes sense.
3PL Warehousing Directly Improves Your Customer Service.
You and your team have many remarkable traits. Your company consists of high achievers, marketing gurus, sales experts, numbers geniuses, etc.
That said, do you have a full-functioning logistics team that can streamline order management and fulfillment?
If you’re like many other businesses, you don’t have access to such a luxury.
BroadRange’s 3PL warehousing and order management processes have been designed by industry-leading performers. You can rest assured customers will receive their orders in pristine condition in a prompt manner when you partner with us.
What happens when customers can rely on convenient, foolproof ordering and shipping? They begin to trust your brand and continue to shop with you. They also tell their friends and family how seamless ordering a product from your website was, who’ll then be inspired to shop with you.
Reputation is everything in business. Working with a 3PL warehousing company like BroadRange bolsters your track record. Our top-tier services are a powerful catalyst for positive word of mouth. The result? A vast increase in sales.
Should Your Business Leverage 3PL Warehousing To Increase Sales?
We want to tell you “Yes! Hire a 3PL warehousing team to drive sales immediately.” However, that would go against our core belief that every company is unique and has its own needs.
Your need for 3PL warehousing will depend on your organization’s growth stage. Perhaps, a business still in its infancy would be wise to wait until making this type of business investment. It could be that your market base isn’t yet large enough to justify a 3PL partnership. Nonetheless, a future relationship with a 3PL is worth investigating for a younger business to be appropriately supported when it’s time to expand.
Alternatively, any evolving business with a growing customer base or an opportunity to leverage an untapped market should strongly consider 3PL warehousing. Such a service will equip you to adapt to your evolution more seamlessly while increasing sales exponentially.
Do you have any more questions about 3PL warehousing and what it can do for your company? If so, contact BroadRange Logistics today. We’d relish the chance to learn the ins and outs of your business and how we can help boost your sales to new, soaring heights.
