So, you may be just starting out your business. You’ve built your product and are planning to start selling.
Or you are in a rapid growth phase right now and are looking to venture into wider markets.
So you start setting up your supply chain.
You begin to look at your inventory data, do demand forecasts, plan your distribution system, setup warehouses, buy technology for warehouses, recruit employees, train them, buy vehicles for transportation, set up your last mile delivery and much more.
Woah!
That’s a ton of work, money and resources.
But hey!
What if you could just hire a third logistics company (3PL) to take care of all these for you?
Simple right?
What is stopping you from doing it?
Like really?
Ok let me explain this to you!
(If this doesn’t already come across as a straightforward decision!)
Hiring third party logistics (3PL) services is cost effective, faster and leads to efficient management of your goods.
3PL companies provide an array of services which include – warehouse planning and management, transportation, last mile logistics, reverse logistics, inventory forecasting, supply chain consulting and much more. You can avail any one (or group) of these services or outsource your entire logistics to these third party service providers.
Ok, let’s take the example of warehousing.
A logistics company might have their own ( or would have partnered with) warehouses across the country.
This means that you would not have to spend money, time or brain energy on setting up your own warehouses and hiring and training new employees for it.
If you are just starting up your business, hiring a 3PL makes a lot of sense.
3PL warehousing accommodates for varying market demands or seasonal demands. (if your business is seasonal).
Companies like Navata SCS, provide flexi warehousing services. This means that you need to pay only for the space used, which makes it easy to scale up during high demands and save costs during off seasons.
The scale at which these 3PL companies operate makes it possible for them to afford warehouse management technology which leads to faster handling of your goods.
This might be a necessity in today’s e-commerce environment where customers expect ‘next-day’ or ‘same-day’ delivery.
If you look at transportation, 3PL companies are flexible in terms of full truck loads or part truck loads, which again leads to higher efficiency and cost savings.
But hey!
What if you manage a large business with perennial demand for goods.
Then hiring 3PL makes even more sense!
3PL companies can help you expand your business to new areas quickly, since they already have an established transportation and warehouse networks in these regions.
Navata SCS has a network of 40,000+ locations in just 10 states, serving every pincode in the south and west of India.
This helps you reach customers in tier 2,3 & 4 cities.
Thinking logically, 3PL companies are better at ‘logistics’ than you!
Their product is supply chain management and logistics services!
They have handled more volume and frequency of goods than your business.
Naturally, they are better at managing your logistics.
In some cases, effective supply chain management, even reduces the final MRP of your product, adding more value to your customer.
Now, you might argue that you lose control over the movement of your goods, since you are outsourcing it.
But that’s not true.
3PL companies like Navata SCS provide live tracking, enabling end to end visibility of your products.
So, seriously consider hiring a 3PL, at least for consulting, especially if you are a startup.
They can help streamline all aspects of your supply chain solutions. 3PLs can make you aware of supply chain mistakes that could be costly and risky.
Last and foremost, hiring 3PL lets you have the mental space, time and resources for perfecting your product and growing your business. (not running behind the headache of logistics)
Looking to hire 3PL services or supply chain consulting? Click here to Contact us.
