What is 3PL?
3PL = 3rd Party Logistics
3PL (3rd Party Logistics) is the outsourcing of a company’s warehousing, fulfillment and/or transportation services to a 3rd party company. At Precise Services we are your warehouse operation. Instead of leasing a building, hiring a manager and staff, investing in a WMS (Warehouse Management System), and negotiating your own rates with the carriers Precise Services will handle all these elements.
Precise Services is your 3rd Party Logistics partner; warehousing and shipping product on your behalf. This allows your company to focus on manufacturing, marketing and selling your product. Precise Services takes away the worry of warehousing and logistics while letting you focus on running your company.
Why Use 3PL?
Because Someone Else Can do it Better
Even if you have resources available, another organization within the supply chain may be able to do it better, simply because its relative position in the supply chain, supply chain expertise and economies of scale.
To Share Responsibility
3PL companies can share responsibility for managing global supply chains, keeping customers and stores properly stocked, and delivering the perfect order every time.
To Re-Engineer Distribution Networks
Logistics outsourcing can be a quick way to re-engineer distribution networks to meet global market demands and gain a competitive edge. Did you know that you can drill into the history of each SKU number tracked by P3PL and view when and to where every piece was shipped, when new stock arrive and how many?
Benefits of Using a 3PL
- Reduced total delivered cost for your customer
- Local expertise in new markets
- Improved customer service through shorter shipment times
- Reduced inventory costs through better management
- Cost benefits through volume shipping discounts
- Improved focus on core competency
- Increased shipment visibility
- More scalable logistics operation and cost model
- Improved variety of technology and service
- Risk reduction
What is Cross-docking?
A strategy to minimize your warehouse costs
Cross-docking is a practice in the logistics of unloading materials from an incoming semi-trailer truck or railroad car and loading these materials directly into outbound trucks, trailers, or rail cars, with little or no storage in between. This may be done to change the type of conveyance, to sort material intended for different destinations, or to combine material from different origins into transport vehicles (or containers) with the same destination or similar destinations. In the LTL trucking industry, cross-docking is done by moving cargo from one transport vehicle directly onto another, with minimal or no warehousing. In retail practice, cross-docking operations may utilize staging areas where inbound materials are sorted, consolidated, and stored until the outbound shipment is complete and ready to ship.
What is LTL Shipping?
Less Than Truckload shipping
This means a shipment that does not require a full 48- or 53-foot trailer. There are many carriers that specialize or offer this service and, like full truckload carriers, the LTL carriers themselves specialize in different services such as lift gate and residential pickups and deliveries, guaranteed services, freeze protection, transit, and bottom line costs to name a few.
How are my rates determined?
We determine your rate according to the:
- Storage cost which is on a per pallet basis
- Complexity of the 3PL handling process you require
Are my goods Insured?
We have general liability insurance which covers the warehouse; however we recommend that customers insure their goods through their own insurance provider.