5 ways a 3PL service provider can improve your warehousing processes
Warehouse management has become a challenging task in the recent times. Gone are the days when one warehouse had only one type of product and everything was managed manually. Now, technology is taking over this crucial business area and a single warehouse that has multiple products is run by a few people and software. If you hope to ensure that your warehouse remains ahead of the competition and satisfies a large number of customers then you need to learn about 5 ways a 3PL service provider can improve your warehousing processes.
1. Enhance the Inventory
A 3PL service providing company will help you to boost your inventory management processes. These processes have become more complicated and tough to handle as the norms, SKU parameters and fulfillment channels have gone through loads of variations. Experienced third party providers can make things easier with regard to inventory management by sharing the knowledge on which methods fit in for your specific business needs. This knowledge helps you to enhance efficiencies, reduce costs and cut down the inventory risks. The third party service providers also implement technology that suits your inventory management needs. This helps in keeping the supply chain processes up and running.
2.Ensure Faultless Movement of Goods
If there is a hindrance in the inward and outward movement
of goods, it creates unnecessary bottlenecks and hinders other warehousing processes. There are many variables that affect the inward and outward movement of goods like the generation of GRN, picking, sorting, put-away, shipping etc. So if any of these variables fail to go smoothly it impacts the entire order fulfillment process. This is a challenge for warehouse managers. Professional 3PL companies help with the smooth flow of goods by knowing how to set rules that differ from traditional warehousing processes. It generally leads to expected outcomes.
3. Uses Technology to Make Lives Easier
This is perhaps the most important one among 5 ways a 3PL service provider can improve your warehousing processes as third party logistics companies make use of technologies such as barcode readers, paperless pick & pack, RFID, WMS, etc. to ensure that the people working in a warehouse don’t need to spend hours in capturing the details of each carton on paper. The use of technology makes information flow smoother and helps in reducing mismanagement or waste of precious inventory.
4. Make Picking Easier
If there are inaccuracies in the picking process, it is assured that the entire order would be ruined. There are many challenges that make picking process more complicated than ever before. A prime example can be the varying order volumes in the e-commerce sector as a customer can order a single item or one can order large quantities in the same order. Picking processes are also a headache for warehouse managers as color, type and other such features of thousands of SKUs vary. A third party logistics firm can help make things easier by using tactics like voice picking, batch picking, light to pick and zone picking among others.
5. Offer Value Added Services
Each and every client looks for value added services these days. So, you can’t help but notice that offering value added services such as installation, repackaging, labeling, reverse logistics, kitting, quality control, etc. is another crucial one among 5 ways a 3PL service provider can improve your warehousing processes. It ensures that the customers get a
little extra without paying much and it boosts customer satisfaction. Making value added services available in traditional warehouses is not easily possible as you will need expert guidance and capable infrastructure that are offered by third party logistics firms.
Conclusion
It is hoped that the aforementioned points have made it
clear to you that hiring a 3PL company for warehouse management is a safe bet
for your organization because it offers many benefits. Even when you calculate the monetary value of these benefits, we are sure you’ll realize that the money savings surpass the cost of hiring a 3PL company in India.