According to a Forbes 2021 report, the pandemic made the e-commerce industry grow by 77.6%. The majority of online shoppers of every age resorted to online shopping for safety, convenience, and ease.
For catering to such fulfillment and logistics demand, 3PL (third-party logistics) providers had to prove adaptability, agility, and flexibility more than ever.
In the post-pandemic world, business leaders are witnessing a delicate supply chain, along with increased customer demand. 2B e-commerce is taking up a major market share, too. Such factors can result in business development changes.
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The Utility of 3PL Services
Companies trust 3PLs to conduct tasks all through the supply chain, right from start to finish. That aside, the companies also anticipate that their goods get delivered and managed effectively to ensure continuous customer satisfaction.
3PL acts as a go-between which manages each stage in the supply chain network. They offer compact and one-stop solutions for warehousing, order fulfillment, packaging, and transportation.
Every technology and practice of 3PLs can work together and get incorporated with the business to cater to challenges within the supply chain. It ensures that things stay agile, functional, and responsive.
Businesses that join hands with a 3PL fulfillment company create a strong association with every gear inside to make sure there is a good customer experience.
According to Red Stag Fulfillment, top-notch 3PL service providers offer a clean and professional warehouse ambiance with uniformed and vetted employees. Many of them also provide an easy, fast, and 100% free RFP template that can enable companies to choose the best fulfillment solution.
The Opportunities Present
The e-commerce revenue three years back in the U.S. was $431.6 billion. According to the Statista Digital Market Outlook, this revenue will grow up to $563.4 billion by 2025.
A greater space can appear to be business development scopes for 3PLs. But the overall advantage of any other option for corporate-driven and operated regional distribution nexus will get lost in case the throughput, efficiencies, and productivity promised don’t get delivered.
The space demand in the near term will be led by e-commerce. According to CBRE Research, about $1 billion in incremental e-commerce sales will create about 1.25 million square feet of space demand for a warehouse.
Catering To Customer Needs with Reliability
3PL companies should concentrate on offering technical and operational excellence at each step. To acquire a leading position, these companies should depend on a reusable and flexible system that uses advanced technology for efficient operational services.
The companies need to focus on the following factors to cater to the customer requirements:
- A dependable system to cater to growing customer demands.
- The capacity to offer real-time data for improved supply chain management and performance.
- Visibility and control situations that offer a secure view of every data all through the supply chain.
- The ongoing process enhancement.
- The ease of catering to the needs and demands of multiple customers.
- Enhanced IT efficiency.
- The dependence on the recent Warehouse Management System software (WMS) and effective transportation management.
- Simple and quick customer implementation.
The Capacity To Point Out Problems
An efficient logistics strategy enables companies to track product orders and stay updated with shipment information. Implementing an advanced WMS provides an edge to the service provider to manage things better than companies that use manual processes. Such processes can make the workflow sluggish and also erroneous.
Implementing state-of-the-art software enables the business to spot the product location first and check where it was ordered and shipped initially from. It helps in resolving any issues that might take place.
Also, improved communication and tracking processes can make even the irate customer content. It can transform a negative customer experience into a favorable one.
High-End Quality Control
Logistics play an essential part for the manufacturers as it leads to distinct quality control that gets accompanied by instant changes. It also results in better process management.
Increased hold-ups and damaged or lost items can aggravate a company’s business reputation. The 3PL service provider and the brand partnering with it can receive a severe hit because of such customer dissatisfaction.
However, effective logistics enables a company, manufacturer, or a 3PL to detect any issue, focus on it, find out the root cause, and correct the same.
Conclusion
In a competitive market, developing customer satisfaction is essential for long-term success. When consumers feel that they are shelling out more money for the services, they will look around. Chances are that they reach out to your competitors if they offer advanced services and an appealing deal.
When you intend to maximize customer satisfaction, it’s necessary to look closely at the technology to decide whether you should upgrade to a 3PL service provider or not.