3PL – Pillars of all Business Operations?

Most of us are familiar with the levels of difficulties associated with running a thriving business. It does not just take long hours, meticulous planning and managerial aptitude. More often than not, it requires a forward-thinking attitude that can take a business to greater heights.

Making an efficient logistical process is simply another cog in a large machine that can effectively boost any business in the right direction.

Logistics are not only one of the key elements that either take your business to the next level or make you suffer a loss but it is also an essential factor in creating a better customer satisfaction sales model.

Several organizations across the globe use third-party logistics (3PL) to outsource various elements of its transportation, warehousing, distribution, inventory, etc. These logistics providers expertise in integrated operations essential to these services that helps in increasing the sales, profit margin, and most of all, improves the working of a company. They also help in enhancing their business values and are the core pillars of businesses.

Comparing if your logistics services are justifiably serving your business with those pillars or not can be a chore and a half though.

But we have created a short list that can help you get through that task in a short time!

Infrastructure, cost efficiency, reliability, customer service, advanced technology, data records, freight billing, etc. are some to be named as the pillars of 3PL.

Problems faced by 3PL companies and businesses who invest in 3PL.

• Providing the right product in the right quantity to the right place at the right time is what logistics management is all about. If the product or shipment doesn’t reach the customer at the right time, the company has to face the repercussions. This results in disturbances between the 3PL logistics and the businessman investing in one such agency.

• Fuel cost! It’s often difficult to establish a cost-effective partnership between a shipper and a 3PL. Also, sometimes, there is a hike in fuel prices which becomes a loss at the shipper’s end or the truck drivers.

• Lack of reporting and analytics tools. When all the essential elements of a public warehouse including inbound, outbound, warehouse storage, transfer of goods and processes such as order picking, shipments, inventory, blocked goods, navigation, invoicing and reporting aren’t reported timely and without transparency to the owner of the manufacturer or businessman, it creates a huge problem. This causes trust conflicts between the two parties.
  This usually happens because it is a hectic task to keep track of all the shipments which are sent out. The task of having to ask the vendors about the shipments to create a monthly statement is a painful job.

• Lack of Infrastructure is another problem. One may be looking for a storage space at a certain temperature, for example, pharmaceutical companies need to store their product in a warehouse where the temperature is preferred comparatively lesser than room temperature. They need logistics to maintain that temperature, too. Failing this builds a great cause.

• Every country has its own set of laws and regulations and these companies need to be updated with all the rules to continue trading without any hassles. It is a challenging task, especially for 3PL companies who do not access to a suitable taskforce which can take care of remaining up-to-date with the different regulations. Therefore it is vital to be aware of the continuously changing rules and regulations.

• Identify and quantify risks, such as changes in the market, such as new product launches, global sourcing, credit availability and the protection of intellectual property, in order to control and moderate them.

• Carriers face significant compliance regulations imposed by federal, state and local authorities of the government of India.

• While the industry understands and supports many of the benefits of technologies’ use in 3PL making it an easier process all the way, some questions remain as to how they will pay for it and who will help implement the improvements. Notwithstanding the need for new technology, it has become an increasing challenge for the logistics industry to stay on top of new advances in business processes.

There are number of benefits that companies gain by outsourcing supply chain management and logistics to a value-added 3PL service provider. Third party logistics offers an all in one solution for assembling, packaging, warehousing services, and distribution. Utilizing a 3PL provides businesses with a reliable logistics advantage, and maximizes profitability through combined knowledge and resources.

Here are the pillars of 3PL that you should be aware of before investing your time and money in a 3PL company.

Advantages of investing in a 3PL firm – 

• Financial management: Maintain chart of accounts, work with bank accounts, multiple currencies if working internationally.

• Contacts & accounts: Keep track of your leads, customers, business relationships and sales opportunities.

• Supply chain management: Track your inventory as it moves location.

• Human resources: Group, track and organize employee information.

• Warehouse Management System Essentials: Includes inbound, outbound, storage, transfer of goods and processes such as order picking, shipments, inventory, blocked goods, navigation, invoicing and reporting.

• Value Added Logistics: All VAL activities are planned and administered in the WMS & fully integrated into the scanning process.

• RF-Scanning: Used for real-time data insights and control over logistics processes.

• Quality control: Allows you to check the quality of goods at all times during the logistics process.

We can say that 3PL is INDEED one of the pillars of all the business operations!

Looking at India’s growing consumerism and increasing mobility of products from one place to another due to growing globalization, it has become more important:

• To have safe and secured logistics services.
• To have logistics services that are available on short notice and quick-time.
• To have logistics free of any kind of hassle.

As a result, business operations become easier to pursue as a lot of work is outsourced to a third-party logistics which further results in higher returns. This makes your business grow and this service comes to you at an economical price.

AAJ Supply Chain Management brings you the best 3PL services for your business.
Want to see your business touching the heights with lesser workload?

AAJ Supply Chain Management comes with promising services under 3PL at a very affordable cost. Satisfying our customers and businessmen who put their faith and time in our services is what we aim for. Whether your company requires essential warehousing & distribution or end-to-end supply chain network management, AAJ Supply Chain Management through its team of operation specialists and data-driven experts provide solutions that helps. The third party logistics process begins with analysis of your operational capacities and followed with creation of customized solutions to meet your business needs. Our “sufficiently enough” infrastructure space backed with in house WMS enables you to stay agile throughout all situations.

We manage pan India transportation including last mile delivery. The company has tie ups with third party transporters and have its own fleet of vehicles to manage both FTL and part load shipments. Irrespective of the size of the shipment and its destination, with its extensive tracking system and the information available at its disposal, company chooses the most efficient transporter for a pin code and the size of the shipment to ensure that your shipment reaches its destination in least possible time and least possible cost. Through the use of economies of scale the company is able to pass on the benefit to its customers of low transport rates from some of the best transportation companies in India.

Safety of your stock is our prime consideration. We are committed to building an infrastructure that is equipped with best in class German Material Handling Equipment, High End Racking Solutions, and Modern Storage Systems with the load-bearing capacity to deliver you uncompromised quality. Space & Infrastructure of our warehouses is laced with ample open and green space for multiple vehicle movement, 24X7 CCTV coverage, state of art fire safety equipment and in-house customer service team to help you gain operational efficiency and competitive edge.

We manage end to end supply chain operations that include improving the efficiency of material movement and optimum utilization of resources through a team of experts. Our flexible working model allows us to extend our services to organizations across industries that either outsource a part or whole of the supply chain management to us enabling AAJ to deliver an Efficient, Transparent, and Accurate operations.

Digital disruption and advancement in technology have transformed the business ecosystem to such an extent that organizations have now begun to relook at their existing supply chain models and strategies. Considering the technological advancement, there exists a need to have such systems in place that are capable in empowering warehouses for performing multiple tasks on a regular basis with agility and seamless technological integration. AAJ SCM warehouse management, document management, security management, and retailer management systems have been exclusively and meticulously designed to give the upper edge that you are looking for and in the changing business environment.