The hours you spend doing your own fulfillment services can be a rewarding part of your business ownership experience, but if they’re turning into an anchor around the neck of your company, you may be looking for a way out.
You essentially have two options if you want to continue to grow: hire a full time fulfillment team and invest in the proper infrastructure to support future expansion or outsource your warehousing and distribution. Outsourced supply chain management can be a massive help to a small business like yours, but it’s not for everyone.
Outsourced Supply Chain Management Takes Out the Guesswork
When you choose outsourced supply chain management, you’re transferring your fulfillment headaches to a team of professionals who know exactly how to handle your orders.
From warehousing to distribution and even restocking and reverse logistics, a 3rd party logistics or 3PL firm specializes in your packages. Behind all that pick, pack and shipping is an incredible amount of data that helps improve efficiency for both you and the 3PL you choose.
There are a lot of reasons to choose to outsource your logistics, including:
- Improving shipping speeds. You do your best to get packages out the same day they’re ordered, but the demands of your business can make it difficult, especially when you get a lot of orders at once. That’s not a problem when you outsource your supply chain management.Instead of having just one person handle your packages, you have a team that can immediately bring wanted items from the warehouse, put them on the pick line and have them packed and ready to go in no time. Choosing a 3PL that has a centralized distribution point or several smaller facilities spread across the country can also cut days off of shipping times.
- Giving you time to focus on your company. At some point, your company’s growth has to plateau simply because there’s not enough manpower to do everything it takes to continue to expand. Instead of having to split your time and focus between two very different jobs, you can hand off your shipping to a pro and focus on what makes your business so special.
- Allowing unlimited growth. Hiring a flexible 3PL means that you have virtually limitless access to warehousing space and fulfillment professionals to help ensure your packages keep flowing.Whether you ship one package a day or 100, you only pay for the resources you use, making outsourced supply chain management a low overhead option. You can grow as much as you want without having to hire more warehousing and distribution staff, it’s a great option for small businesses that have big dreams.
Outsourced supply chain management performed by a high-quality 3rd party logistics company might be the lifeline your business has been looking for. You can free up your time, free up your resources and free up your mind by partnering with supply chain professionals.
