The decision to outsource fulfillment to a third-party logistics (3PL) provider can be a strategic move for e-commerce businesses. 3PLs expand your fulfillment capacity and can even give you a hands-free approach to fulfilling orders. However, selecting the right partner and managing the relationship effectively can be challenging. Many sellers have reported problems with their 3PL ranging from same-day cut-offs, SLA issues, difficulty reaching support, and disruptive management changes.
What if outsourcing your fulfillment to a 3PL or doing fulfillment out of your warehouse doesn’t necessarily need to be a binary decision? Merchants have sometimes tapped into the best of both worlds by doing both. We’ll explore that in today’s article.
What is the benefit of working with a 3PL?
Outsourcing fulfillment to a 3PL can offer numerous advantages for e-commerce sellers. Firstly, 3PLs possess the expertise and infrastructure to handle the entire fulfillment process efficiently and cost-effectively. They have access to state-of-the-art warehouses, transportation networks, and experienced staff, allowing them to optimize operations and minimize errors. Their operations are set to do general e-commerce fulfillment well, this could be a big benefit for sellers new to fulfillment.
Secondly, partnering with a 3PL can provide businesses with greater scalability and flexibility. 3PLs can easily accommodate fluctuations in demand, ensuring that orders are processed and shipped promptly, even during peak seasons. Having multiple warehouses is especially important for meeting customers’ fast delivery expectations. This frees up e-commerce sellers to focus on other core aspects of their business, such as marketing, product development, and customer acquisition.
The Challenges of Choosing a 3PL
The benefits of working with a 3PL is not without its downsides. Selecting the ideal 3PL involves careful evaluation and due diligence. Businesses often encounter several challenges in this process:
- Hidden Fees and Overcharging: Many businesses report being surprised by unexpected charges or higher-than-expected costs. It’s essential to obtain detailed pricing information upfront and be wary of hidden fees. Make sure to estimate your total cost of ownership when getting quotes from a 3PL. Blindly comparing rates across many 3PLs can also be misleading as fulfillment fees (and other line items) can include different things at different providers.
- Inventory Inaccuracies: Ensuring accurate inventory management is crucial for avoiding stockouts and customer dissatisfaction. Some 3PLs struggle with maintaining precise inventory records and sellers have reported losing inventory as a result.
- Communication Breakdowns: Effective communication is vital for a successful 3PL partnership. Businesses often encounter challenges in reaching customer support, receiving timely responses, and understanding complex pricing structures. Large, established 3PLs may find it difficult to provide personalized attention, and it can be challenging to get in touch with someone who can fully resolve your problems, such as storage fee errors or missing inventory in transit.
- Lack of Flexibility: 3PLs may be unable to accommodate specific business needs, such as custom packaging or specialized handling requirements, or even reasonable cut-off times. For example, one merchant reported that their 3PL had an 8 AM same-day cutoff, which is unacceptable for any business offering fast delivery.
- Management Changes: While not frequent, changes in management at a 3PL can bring major disruptions. This risk should be considered when selecting a partner.
Why should you not work with a 3PL?
While outsourcing to a 3PL can offer benefits, managing fulfillment in-house also has its advantages and disadvantages:
Pros:
- Greater Control: In-house fulfillment provides businesses with more control over their operations, including inventory management, shipping, and order fulfillment processes. This allows for better oversight and the ability to address customer questions and concerns more effectively.
- Potential Cost Savings: For some businesses, managing fulfillment internally can be more cost-effective, especially for smaller operations or those with unique requirements. For example, we have seen merchants that generate less than $1 million in annual sales and sell items for less than $10 often find savings when doing fulfillment on their own rather than outsourcing.
Cons:
- Scalability Challenges: Scaling up operations can be difficult, especially during peak seasons or periods of rapid growth.
How to minimize risk when working with a 3PL?
To mitigate risks and ensure a successful 3PL partnership, consider the following strategies:
- Thorough Due Diligence: Conduct comprehensive research and reference checks before selecting a 3PL. This includes evaluating their reputation, experience, and client testimonials.
- Regular Monitoring and Audits: Conduct regular audits to ensure that the 3PL is meeting performance expectations and complying with agreements. This can include ordering a package to yourself periodically to assess packing quality and identify any issues.
Consider a Hybrid Approach
Sometimes the best method is to use both in-house and outsourced fulfillment. If you already run a warehouse for your e-commerce fulfillment, outsourcing can be used for extra capacity for your popular goods. This way you limit the “risk” of a 3PL being unfamiliar with your items by sending just a small set of SKUs. Or you can use the 3PLs to power fast delivery programs like Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime, which can then be leveraged to offer fast shipping on all channels.
The downside of doing a hybrid approach is additional complexity in determining which warehouse to ship an order as most popular shipping software today is designed for single warehouse fulfillment. To minimize this downside, you can use fulfillment networks like Cahoot that have integrated software and fulfillment service solutions built for hybrid models.
Conclusion
Choosing the right 3PL and managing the partnership effectively is crucial for e-commerce businesses. By understanding the challenges, evaluating the pros and cons of in-house fulfillment, and implementing strategies to overcome common issues, businesses can establish successful partnerships that drive growth and improve operational efficiency.