Blog

What Does my 3PL Actually Do for Me?

November 29th, 2018 by admin in Blog Comments Off on What Does my 3PL Actually Do for Me?

When customers decide to sell their products via Ecommerce, order fulfillment and shipping are quite often the last things considered. However, keeping your online clients happy is about far more than a great Shopify site, you need a proven plan of action once your customer hits the “submit order” button!

Enter the 3PL – a clean and secure warehouse facility that can store and keep track of all your products (getting it out of your garage maybe?). A 3PL also offers competitive shipping rates by combining the volumes of all customers, something you just can’t achieve shipping your own product through a major carrier.

Undoubtedly, these two things alone will help streamline your business and reduce your costs, but have you ever considered the steps that are performed to get your product in the hands of your customer?

1. Orders must be picked in a fast, efficient, accurate manner.
2. If orders are picked in batches, they will need to be brought to a sorting area to separate out individual orders.
3. Items must be brought to the packing station and checked to ensure that step 1 was done correctly.
4. Appropriately sized outer packaging must be chosen.
5. Items must be packed in the most efficient way possible (to cut down on cubing or DIM weight charges) while still guaranteeing their safety.
6. The proper carrier must be chosen to optimize both delivery time and rates, given the customer’s address and maybe even his/her shipping preferences.
7. Shipping labels must be printed and must accurately reflect the “ship to” address given during ordering.
8. A final check must be made to ensure order accuracy and minimize returns.

If you need a Canadian 3PL partner who can offer all this and more, contact Innovative Response Marketing today. We offer a no-obligation quote for 3PL services in Toronto & Mississauga. With 23 years in the business and recent state-of-the-art upgrades to our warehouse management software and pick and pack systems, we welcome the ability to help you get your orders out – on time and on budget.

Share this post: