Rising Costs? 6 Ways a 3pl Provider Can Help
We live in uncertain times, and that tends to translate into volatile markets, rising costs and financial shocks for everyone. The past year has been one in which eCommerce brands have had to ‘steady the boat’ in the face of high energy costs, rising inflation, and shoppers who are tightening their belts. If your online business if feeling the squeeze, perhaps a 3pl partner could help to reduce your business costs. Read on to find out how.
What is a 3pl Partner?
A third-party logistics partner (3pl) offers eCommerce brands support with the management of their supply chain. The services a 3pl partner provides include storage, inventory management, order fulfilment, global shipping, and returns management.
For many eCommerce businesses, partnering with a 3pl allows them to manage global turbulence with minimal disruption, keep costs stable for customers, and increase their profit margins even in the teeth of a cost-of-living crisis.
A 3pl partner offers online businesses the support of their industry knowledge, extensive resources and cutting-edge tech. This gives brands the breathing space to focus on what they do best; R&D, marketing and selling their product. As partners they can prosper.
6 Ways a 3pl Partner Helps Reduce Costs
As your eCommerce business gets bigger, you have probably noticed that it starts to cost you more money to operate efficiently. Once this begins to impact your profit margin, it’s time to consider a 3pl partner. Instead of investing your capital in more assets, a 3pl provides the assets you need, and relieves you of the more cumbersome aspects of business operations.
- Take Advantage of Your 3pl’s Extensive Resources
- Reduce Your Wage Bill
- Enjoy Supply Chain Consultation Services
- Reduce Material Costs
- Reduce Shipping Costs
- Reduce Returns Costs
1. Take Advantage of Your 3pl’s Extensive Resources
No doubt you started your business because you were passionate about your product; so when did you start to get bogged down by inventory management, customer returns and shipping tariffs?
A 3pl partner has an infrastructure that’s custom built to deal with all the operational aspects of your business. It will have teams of people to receive goods, pick and pack, and manage returns. Instead of tying your capital up in ever increasing fixed costs, a 3pl offers you a fulfilment machine that is sleek, tested and streamlined.
2. Reduce Your Wage Bill
What does your team spend most of their time doing? If the answer is that they’re tracking customer orders, packaging goods for shipping or managing returns, they’re being wasted. And your business is losing out.
If you want your business to grow, it’s a good idea to hand over the jobs that need a different skill set from your own. Your team can then return to using the skills they excel in.
3. Enjoy Supply Chain Consultation Services
You’re the expert when it comes to your product, but how much do you know about fulfilment? Your 3pl provider may not understand your product in detail, but they’ll be an expert when it comes to managing your supply chain. Together you increase the opportunities for your brand to succeed.
Prolog Fulfilment eats, drink and breathes fulfilment for its partners. Our account managers are experts whose job it is to:
- Create personalised fulfilment for each partner brand.
- Manage a seamless onboarding experience.
- Act as a supply chain consultant, proactively seeking new opportunities.
4. Reduce Material Costs
Your customers want more than just an adequately packaged item; they’re looking for an unboxing experience they can share with friends.
eCommerce brands are finding themselves increasingly stretched as they seek to please customers, without hiking their prices prohibitively. With a 3pl partner onboard, though, those dilemmas disappear. Prolog offers packaging services as one of its value-adds, and we’re able to do it in a cost-effective way, precisely because we work at scale.
As a result, you get branded packaging, optimised for shipping, at lower costs.
5. Reduce Shipping Costs
Fuel price hikes are determined by a global market over which you have no control. Brands find themselves faced with higher shipping costs and no bargaining chips.
A 3pl partner is in a different situation, simply because of the number of items we ship from our fulfilment centres each day. We can’t magic away the price rises, but we can negotiate a better rate, because of our size, than a sole eCommerce brand could achieve. Keeping the boat steady get’s easier when you’re in a bigger vessel.
6. Reduce Returns Costs
Returns can cost businesses up to 66% of an item’s original price when labour, shipping and inspection are factored in. Many eCommerce businesses are now charging for returns because of this drain on their resources.
Prolog will honour whatever returns policies our brands decide to apply. Our returns management service will also seek to reduce returns wherever possible. We use data collected as part of the returns process to diagnose repeat problems. These are flagged to brands and solutions sought.
Ready to Reduce Costs For Your Business?
Prolog Fulfilment is an established 3pl with over 30 years’ experience in order fulfilment and logistics. If you’re looking for a 3pl partner that is committed to reducing costs for your business in the short term, and growing your business in the long term, we would love to talk to you.
We’re centrally located in Nottinghamshire, and our fulfilment centre provides warehouse storage, picking and packing, shipping and returns management. Our Warehouse Management System makes it easy for brands to manage their inventory effectively, track goods in real time, and make changes to orders if necessary.
