One of the most difficult decisions for a smaller/ newer/ startup company that is growing in size is to know when you are finally ready to make the big leap and turn your order processing and fulfillment business over to a 3rd Party Logistics company (3PL).
Specifically, this means a myriad of changes, both good and (seemingly) bad. 3PL companies in California and more specifically 3PL companies in Los Angeles are great places to start your growth because of their close proximity to the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
One of the biggest concerns on the part of small business entrepreneurs is the loss of control.
“Will a 3rd party care about my business as much as I do?”
“What would my customers say if I am not in charge of all aspects of my business?”
“How safe is my inventory in someone else’s hands?”
Just like your kids, there may not be anyone else who cares quite as much about your business as you do, but a reliable, professional 3PL performing ecommerce fulfillment in Los Angeles, treats your business as an extension of theirs. That means rapid response to communications and orders, as well as reliability of service standards and cost savings.
Customers are often treated to faster shipping and order fulfillment once a company decides to turn that aspect of their business over to a 3PL. The owner and employees still deal with customers, they just have more time to devote to doing that, once the burden of getting product out the door is relieved.
In today’s current business climate, any professionally run 3PL will have an online inventory management system. This allows (or should allow) the 3PL’s clients to view their inventory; online, 24/7, from anywhere in the world that has internet access.
If you are an ecommerce business, you will want to make sure that this system will integrate directly with your online shopping cart. That way, the orders automatically upload into the system for the fastest order fulfillment.
Often new 3PL customers find they have better information on their inventory after this change, than before they began having a third party handle this part of their business. Stock levels are updated as orders go out, giving a clear view of trending or hot items. This makes third party logistics in Los Angeles even more valuable to growing companies, as well as those companies that want to grow.
One of the common sentiments we have heard from new customers who finally decided to take the plunge is that they just could not do it themselves anymore. They were running out of hours in the day, trying to burn the candle at both ends, while simultaneously trying to make ends meet. No small feat in today’s fast paced and competitive business world.
By turning over this time consuming and challenging aspect of their business to a company that performs warehousing and distribution in Los Angeles, entrepreneurs and managers find there is more time to spend running and growing their business. This allows sales to keep growing, without the fear of what to do if storage space, shipping volume and fulfillment processing all have to keep growing as well to keep up with a bigger sales volume.