If you work in supply chain management, you understand how important it is to keep good relations with your third-party logistics (3PL) suppliers. After all, a strong 3PL connection might be the difference between efficient logistical operations and major hiccups that could negatively affect the performance of your company. In this blog post, we’ll look at five essential methods to optimise your 3PL partnership for better outcomes.

Check your relationship and value to your 3PL

Depending on your size of business within the 3PL it may be worth considering how you are supporting them and what value they put on your business. The smaller your business within the 3PL, the more value there is in ensuring you meet their needs of you and in some cases becoming a model client.

Establish a Reporting Schedule with Clearly Defined KPIs that Work For You

A reporting plan must be established in order to keep the lines of communication open with your 3PL supplier. It lets you monitor your provider’s performance and take care of any problems early on. Make sure your reporting schedule is consistent and dependable. Additionally, you must clearly define the reporting requirements, including what information must be provided and how it must be displayed. Make sure your key performance indicators (KPIs) are SMART—specific, measurable, realistic, relevant, and time-bound. On-time delivery, order accuracy, and inventory correctness are a few KPI examples.

It is also essential to visit your 3PL on a regular basis and even hold each performance review at their warehouse. What you see and hear on each tour of the warehouse can often be invaluable.

Check if Your 3PL is Competitive

Checking to see if your supplier is competitive is the first step in enhancing your 3PL partnership. You want to confirm that you’re receiving the greatest service attainable at a reasonable cost. Comparing your provider’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to industry benchmarks is one approach to do this. This will enable you to spot potential weaknesses in your provider and offer you a chance to rectify them.

Collaboration, Innovation, and Cost Evaluation

A successful 3PL relationship requires three essential elements: collaboration, innovation, and cost assessment. Working closely with your provider to find areas for improvement and make adjustments is what is meant by collaboration. Innovation entails examining fresh tactics and technology to enhance logistics processes. Cost evaluation is evaluating your provider’s services on a regular basis for cost effectiveness and looking for areas where money can be saved.

Tracking Information, Competitive Pricing, and Personnel Integration

Additional ways to update and improve your 3PL relationship include tracking data, competitive pricing, and personnel integration. Monitoring performance against your KPIs on a regular basis is part of tracking information. To make sure you’re getting the best value possible, your provider’s price needs to be constantly compared to industry benchmarks. Working closely with the staff of your supplier to make sure they are in line with your aims and objectives is known as personnel integration.

At Bisham Consulting, we think that each supply chain management operation needs a strong 3PL connection in order to succeed. We provide a variety of solutions and services aimed at assisting you in achieving your logistics objectives as 3PL and 4PL outsourcing professionals. Our advisors are in a unique position to assist you in assessing your present 3PL partnership and discovering areas for development. We have the knowledge and tools required to produce significant improvements that will have a positive impact on your bottom line. We specialise in strategy, assessment, and tender process management. For more information on 3PL click here

Optimising your 3PL partnership and updating your logistics processes are essential for raising business performance.

Contact us for more information today on 01628 487000.