3PL is prominent on the west coast, but what if you’re on the east coast? Are there 3PL services available in Connecticut?
There are, and east coast companies can benefit from 3PL as well as their west coast counterparts. Here are some of the services that you can expect from a 3PL company.
Warehousing
If you’re a small business, you may not have the resources or capital to devote to a warehouse and all it entails: equipment, employees, security, real estate and the rest. A 3PL company can receive and store your goods until they’re ready to ship out, as well as store it, and move it with their own equipment. Need more space, or less? Most 3PL companies can offer scalable space to suit your needs, and services for every part of the fulfillment process. You won’t have to manage your own warehouse, including personnel. Many offer shared warehousing for many companies in their space, and some can offer an entire warehouse to a single company.
Shipping And Transportation
A 3PL company also has the resources and experience to handle all of your shipping needs from the manufacturing plant all the way to your customer’s door. Many 3PL companies use their own trucking fleets to move merchandise around, and some include cold storage and transport in their offerings. They also use systems designed for maximum fleet utilization and optimized routes.
Logistics and Freight Forwarding
Getting your freight from one place to another is one of the biggest challenges of a business, especially a small business. But a 3PL company understands the complexities of logistics and freight forwarding, and can work with you to ensure that your freight is handled correctly.
Customer Service/Call Center
Customer contact is one aspect that must be handled well. If your customers don’t have a good experience when they need order help, they won’t order, or they won’t come back. Many 3PL companies offer call center services with live operators for customer service for order tracking, returns and replacement. If this is a service you need, have a conversation with 3PL providers about how their call center operations work and how it will benefit you and your company.
Order Management/Fulfillment
Need help getting your orders out to your customers? A 3PL company can also take care of the packing, kitting and shipping that goes along with getting your product to your customers. Many 3PL companies will also take care of returns as well.
Support And Reporting
In order to ensure the best cost and service, a 3PL company frequently partners with other vendors, such as freight forwarding. By working with a number of vendors, a 3PL company ensures that you’ll always get great service for the best price.
If you want to know if your shipments are in the warehouse, still on the road, or if they’re being sent to customers, 3PL companies offer live reporting that will tell you everything you need to know. You can quickly see what products are selling, and which ones aren’t, so you can make decisions about promotions and ordering. Most companies offer anytime access, which means you can monitor company’s reports whenever it’s convenient for you.
3PL WorldWide For Your Connecticut Supply Chain Needs
Supply chain management is a business by itself—so why should your company have to do it? With warehouses on both coasts and a host of support services, 3PL Worldwide takes care of your company’s orders, customer service, warehousing and other related functions. Let us handle your supply chain in Connecticut (or anywhere else) so you can concentrate on your business. Ready to talk to us? Contact us at (888) 456-1920 or use our online contact form.