What To Consider When Hiring A Third Party Logistics Company
A third party logistics company can help you manage your supply chain and logistics, making life easier on you and freeing up your time to focus on core business activities. Considering, though, how important operations like inventory forecasting, shipping management, and processing returns, to name just a few, are. It is imperative you choose the right company. What are the things that one should consider when hiring a third party logistics company to handle your supply chain.
Considerations When Hiring A Third Party Logistics Company
What Level of Resources Are They Offering
There is a wide range of factors to consider, and the level of resources the company is providing is an essential one. So, make sure to check they have sufficient warehousing space for your needs and whether their location is the best option for your shipping needs.
You also want to check whether they have the necessary equipment to ensure efficient operations, such as scanning stations, forklifts, conveyors and more.
The staff is another resource you need to consider. Not only do you want to check whether they have enough staff to handle your needs, along with their other clients, but also how well qualified and experienced their employees is. Better qualified, more experienced staff will minimize mistakes and be highly efficient.
How Flexible Are They
To further narrow down the list of third party logistics companies, you should look at whether or not they provide a sufficient range of services to cover your needs. If they do not, see if they partner with other companies or suppliers to offer those additional services, which shows that they are more interested in keeping their customers happy than making an extra buck at your expense.
You also want to see how flexible they are in terms of overtime, working on the weekends and the ability to handle emergencies. Things happen, and the last thing you need is to have a large shipment coming in over the weekend with no one to unload and store it. Also, check what the additional costs are for these services and compare them to other providers.
What Qualifications Do They Have
Checking out the company’s qualifications is essential, so you do not have any unpleasant surprises down the line. See how long they have been in business, what type of third party logistics company they are (asset or non-asset
), what qualifications their staff have, their accreditations and definitely references.
References are probably the most important. And once you do get the references, try to speak to one or two of their customers directly to get a better feel for how the company operates.
Finding the right third party logistics company for your needs is essential because of the importance of the operations they will be handling. This is why we detailed a small part of what to consider when hiring a third party logistics company. The recommendation is you spend some time doing your due diligence because it will be a good investment when your operations are running smoothly and efficiently.…