The growth of a small business often comes about through the close attention and management of the the founder. You have your fingers in all the pies, you know everything that’s happening, and you do almost all of it yourself.
But there comes a point when micromanagement becomes counterproductive. If you’re doing everything yourself, your business can never grow larger than your capacity to do it all. One of the things that you may need to let go of is your inventory management. Using third party logistics (3PL) can seem like a daunting step at first, but relinquishing control to the experts can help you business grow in 3 ways.
3PL’s can improve your customer service
What do your customers want? Their stuff, now. Or yesterday. Customers have always been focused the end result, but in this age of high speed order fulfilment, your company’s reputation depends more than ever smooth, speedy shipping. Top 3PL providers like Oveflo are not only experts at warehouse management, they also have contacts and contracts with providers at every step of the logistics process. This can allow them to negotiate the seamless shipping experience that your customers are looking for, even during busy seasons or worker shortages.
3PL’s can trim your overhead
This may seem counterintuitive, since one of the reasons that smaller businesses often hesitate to contract with a 3PL is the upfront cost. However, when comparing the cost of working with a 3PL, you can’t just look at what you’re spending inventory management, order fulfillment, and other logistics now. You need to look into the future. When the time comes that you need more space for your products than your basement or office shelves can provide, it will almost always be more cost effective to contract warehouse space with a 3PL than to set up your own full warehousing operation.
A quality 3PL provider already has everything that you would need to set up your own space – warehouse space, trained workers, machines, technology, and software systems. Instead of laying out the cash to set all of that up, and then maintain it, you can buy into their existing system. A 3PL not only eliminates the need to set up your own warehousing operation from scratch, they are also much more flexible than a dedicated system. You won’t find yourself paying for warehouse space, workers, or technology that you only need for part of the year.
3PL’s can give you your time back
What might you be able to do with your business if you could stop spending so much time inventory management and order fulfillment? Where could you concentrate your energy if you didn’t have to worry about training staff in an area that is not within your expertise?
If your business is poised for a growth spurt, you may soon find that there isn’t enough of you to go around. You can’t concentrate everything that needs attention. When this happens, a quality 3PL provider could help you regain some of the time that you so desperately need. When you turn one part of your operation over to the experts in that field, you can then concentrate the areas where you are the true expert. Who knows what could blossom in your business as a result?
If you decide to go 3PL…
Overflo is a 3PL provider with over 30 years of experience, and two million square feet of warehouse space across 10 locations. We have a lot of experience working with growing businesses, and offer packages to meet specialized needs, like store openings. If you’re ready to let go to grow with 3PL, contact us for a free quote.