If you have large growth ambitions for your business, outsourcing your logistics department can help you reach those goals without logistical restraint. Working with a 3PL or 4PL has many advantages, which apply to B2C and B2B businesses.
1. Save Money
Working with a third-party logistics company means avoiding any upfront investments when your business is still in a key period of growth. It can be challenging to forecast what size warehouse your business will need in 12 months or how many delivery vehicles you’ll require to distribute your products, so choosing a ‘pay as you grow’ model could save you a lot of money!
Working with an external logistics company means you can scale logistics at the same pace your business grows, giving you a stable commercial structure by keeping your finances in check, as you’re aware of all the costs from the get-go.
2. Additional Time and Resources to Focus on Your Core Business Offering
What makes your business stand out? Your USP! Whether that’s down to the quality of your products or your distinctive product packaging, a USP wouldn’t be unique if you could outsource it.
By working with a third-party logistics company, you have additional time to focus on what makes your business different to the competition and outsource the logistics to a company who do it day in and day out for a range of other businesses.
3. Access to Market-Leading Technology
You can’t be expected to be the expert in everything, and the same goes for the latest logistics and operations technology. A significant benefit to working with a logistics provider is that they keep up to date with the latest market-leading technology, so you don’t have to.
A good logistics provider should be able to seamlessly integrate into your business and take care of your logistics, ensuring the service they offer uses the latest technology, so their full-service logistics service is as streamlined as possible.
4. Improved Customer Satisfaction
Keeping your customers happy is the number one priority for any business. By accessing market-leading technology and talent to ensure the logistics part of your business is functioning as it should, you can guarantee to keep your customer satisfaction consistently high due to:
- Delivery fulfilment - all your orders are delivered directly to the correct addresses on time.
- Smart route planning - with daily road closures and traffic jams, an experienced 3pl or 4pl provider should be able to plan their routes accordingly, always prepared for the unpredictable.
5. Flexibility
As your business grows, you can work with your logistics provider to increase your allocated warehousing space and delivery quota.
For example, you may unexpectedly receive an order beyond your monthly forecast. If your logistics team were still in-house, it’s likely you wouldn’t have the capacity to fulfil it. By working with an external logistics company, you have increased flexibility to say yes to orders out of forecast that can help you scale quicker than anticipated.
So, should you outsource your logistics department?
For your business to grow, you must be able to evolve with the latest advancements in logistics technology, alongside your customers’ continued expectations for you to meet their ever-growing demands. By handing over the control, you can meet rising customer expectations, generate profits with a ‘pay as you grow’ model and sustainably scale your business. Contact us today to find out how we can help you scale your business for less.