【eShop Tactics】What to be cautious when outsourcing eShop logistics to 3PL?
Warehouse management and logistics can be very troublesome issues for many online shop owners, many of them prefer to outsource to a 3PL company. Let’s check out what you have to be aware of when you decide to outsource your warehouse and logistics to a 3PL.
1) Clear Plan
Make sure you have a clear picture of what you want your business to be in the future, choose a 3PL company that best fits your development plan. For instance, are you planning to expand your business to new markets? Any action plan? How rapidly are your sales growing? How much space will you need 6 months later? You need a plan!
2) Communicate with 3PL
To gain the most from cooperating with 3PL, good communication between the shop owner and 3PL is critical. Let the service provider understand your needs and expectation. For example, they can tailor-make a storage plan for you according to your inbound and outbound frequency and quantity, recommending the best solution that best suits your business.
3) Research on couriers
Every logistics provider varies in their price and efficiency, some 3PL have their own logistics team while some cooperate with local courier companies. To better understand which logistics solution is the most suitable for you, doing more research would be great for you to compare different logistics methods on their service and fee.
4) Utilize new system
During the onboarding phase, make sure you understand the function of the 3PL system. Not only understanding its basic functions in warehouse and logistics management, exploring other value-adding functions can allow you to get the most from it for your business development. Kube’s Client Portal provides different sales statistics and summaries for you to manage and analyze your sales performance, enhancing your business development.
5) Shipping your products to warehouse
To make sure the inbound process runs smoothly, the best practice would be to make sure your stocks are marked and coded specifically with their SKU type. Even if your goods are not marked and coded, Kube can also help you to generate a code for defining the identity of the stock for a smooth inbound and outbound process.
6) Impress your customers through customization
To stand out from keen competition, customization might be a good way for you to impress your customer. “Packaging can be a theatre and it can create a story” – Steve Jobs, try to choose modern and attractive packaging to create great branding, maybe it would be great to insert a decent thank you message to your orders. Make sure to communicate that with your 3PL provider to make it effective.
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