What More Can A 3PL Service Provider Offer?

The role of a logistics service has been changing with every passing year. New and innovative services are being introduced and what was known as a value added service in the past has been adopted by the logistics providers as a standard function. With the emergence of a number of top players in the logistics market, competition is on the rise and every company wants to offer something unique and unparalleled to its potential customers. Given below are some examples of such additional services that are being offered by 3PL transportation and distribution companies:

Analytical Reports

Nowadays, the function of a logistics partners has transcended simply overlooking the transportation of goods and providing warehousing facilities. There has been a growing demand for additional services of reports and analytics. People involved with logistics are quickly realizing that every shipment that passes their systems has high potential for analytics departments as it contains data about transportation trends, warehousing details, and changing customer demand.

A careful study of the data collected by them can be used to understand and even predict consumer demands accurately. This will help in managing the supply chain better and reacting well to what the consumers are looking for. If warehouse inventories are analyzed properly, demand and supply issues such as out of stock can be reported and solved even before they occur.

Strategic Support

Nowadays, 3PL shipping companies no longer transport goods from one part of the world to another but also offer answers to complex supply chain situations. Logistics is no longer considered to be “backroom” work. They now help their clients come up with innovative solutions and realize strategic goals.

In the completive world of today, innovation is the key. This is why 3PL services are striving to offer innovative methods of making deliveries that will help manufactures get more attention from buyers. For examples, the proposed use of drones in making deliveries is a genius strategy to generate interest.  In the future, more and more companies are expected to turn to logistics providers for additional strategic solutions related to global shipping and freight management and warehousing among others.

Kitting and Packing

This service is being provided by logistics services for some time now. The idea behind this is to bring packaging closer to the customer so that the demands can be properly considered before the final packing is done. Kitting refers to the putting together to separate items that are a part of a whole just before they are sent to the consumer or buyer.
For example, the various parts of a laptop, such as the cord and the software storage devices might be shipped separately. But these have to be put together in a kit before the consumer receives it. This service is provided by modern logistics providers. Some 3PL providers in logistics are known for their innovative and impeccable methods to packing and making the final goods look appealing. This is an important value added offer that raises the bar.
Therefore, these are some of the additional solutions that logistics providers are now offering their customers. These have made supply chain operations much smoother and have thus become very popular globally.