More and more companies of all sizes are turning to 3PLs for help with their transportation management. Supply chains are becoming more complex, and securing capacity has become a challenge. 3PLs bring their expertise and solid resources to help shippers improve their logistics operations, while also driving cost savings, and generally make shippers’ day-to-day transportation challenges easier. It is important to set up a strong relationship with 3PL.
Here are some tips on how to build a good relationship with 3PL:
Know what you need
Establish what is important for your company and what you are looking to achieve through this partnership. Make sure to outline your key objectives and requirements to your 3PL before you continue growing your relationship. This will help set the tone and your expectations which will solidify the foundation for a successful partnership.
Measure the performance
It doesn’t end with outlining the objectives which set the general direction you want to go. Once you are clear on the general requirements, it’s time to get to details. Establish a set of KPIs and evaluation metrics which are in line with your general objectives and communicate them to your 3PL. This will help you monitor and evaluate your 3PL’s performance and contribute to achieving bigger objectives.
Know your 3PL team
Any partnership and relationship are solely about people. Get to know your 3PL representatives not only professionally, but personally, too. The better you know each other, the easier it will be to work together and be efficient. At the end of the day, you will be working together every day. Having occasional face-to-face meetings to discuss their performance and review objectives is highly recommended as well.
A 3PL is a powerful tool in managing your supply chain effectively both, time- and money wise. There’s nothing quite like a stable long-term partnership with a 3PL who knows what you need before you even say it.
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