How to Find the Right Third-Party Logistics Provider

There are plenty of reasons to hire a third-party logistics provider for your business. From an experienced team that knows the intricacies of shipping to their connections with carriers, a quality third-party logistics provider can have a major positive impact on your bottom line.

But how do you find an experienced, top-notch 3PL - third-party logistics provider?

It starts with knowing exactly what you need out of one before you begin shopping.

First things first: What, exactly, are you shipping?

Before you can decide on a 3PL provider that will meet your needs, you need to know what those needs even are.

Are you shipping bulk dry goods that don’t have a particularly tight time constraint?

Do you need to check on a heated or cooled truck for sensitive food products?

Maybe you’re shipping industrial equipment – and it needs to arrive at a guaranteed time, all while being handled with extreme care to help ensure it’s in working order when it arrives.

Knowing what you’re shipping, and when it needs to arrive, is the first step before you even consider which 3PL provider to hire (or if you even need one).

This includes the weight break and freight class of your shipment.  If you’re not sure, ask.  The use of dimensioners means that if you inaccurately put the wrong weight, class, NMFC, or dimensions on an LTL shipment, the rates will be adjusted according to their actual specifications.

You can prevent these kinds of errors using the correct weight by weighing your palletized items when they are ready for shipping.  It’s also important to use the correct class, and the correct NMFC number, and provide accurate dimensions of your shipment when it is ready to be loaded onto the carrier.

If you are not familiar with all these details, or worse, think they’re not all that important, you should consult a 3PL so they can advise you of the pitfalls that will occur.

What you’re shipping – and when you need it to arrive by.

While knowing what you’re shipping matters, it’s equally as important to properly plan and schedule the arrival date.

No matter the time of year, weather can have a dramatic impact on the arrival time of your shipment.

The method of shipment can also have a major impact on how quickly you can expect it to arrive: shipping via rail can be much more cost-effective than LTL or full truckload across the entire country, but just how quickly do you need it to arrive?

Does it have to arrive by a certain date?  Are there ways you can ship it early, to guard against delays, or should you ask about guaranteed shipments?

If you aren’t sure about the shipping times for various methods of shipping, that’s also something you should note before you start shopping for 3PL providers.  A quality 3PL provider will be able to help you and your business understand transit times – and set realistic expectations on when things will arrive.  You’ll need this information to plan out your schedule to prepare your shipments.

Not planning can be a surefire way to end up with a provider who may not take into account your overall needs.

Let’s face it, anyone can give you a price.

But - you could work with a true industry leader.  One that’s dedicated to their client’s overall success, as well as understanding their overall needs.  This focus on the client’s complete needs, not just price, is what sets a best-in-class 3PL apart from the rest.

Wait – didn’t you just say we could request that the shipment have a guaranteed arrival date?

If your shipment is high priority or time-sensitive, you can always request guaranteed arrival.

However, there’s a very important caveat when it comes to guaranteed shipping.

Guaranteeing a shipment means that it goes to the front of the line at every point along its journey.

Think of your shipment as riding first class on an airplane.  This makes it significantly more likely that it’ll be on time as it gets preferential treatment – but it doesn’t guarantee the arrival date as Act of God events can interfere with even the best laid-out logistical game plan.

Those Act of God events are things you can’t avoid.  Derailed trains, blizzards, or even high winds can result in delays all over the US that will impact the delivery date of your shipment.

This means that even if your shipment does end up delayed, yes, you still pay the guaranteed rate.  Your shipment still went to the front of the line at every stage of its journey – but that act of God prevented it from arriving when it was supposed to.  Instead of being upset at a delayed shipment, be grateful: your shipment could have been last in line, and even more delayed, if you hadn’t paid for that guarantee.

That is, of course, a very small fraction of shipments that ever get affected by such unavoidable incidents.

The last thing you want, though, is to be that business that left things just a little too long before booking the shipment, and losing out on business or trade show opportunities as a result.

The purpose of this post: Selecting the best third-party logistics provider for your needs

A great 3PL provider acts as a supplement to your existing shipping department, turning your overworked team into rock stars.

You’ll want to look for a logistics provider that is experienced in your industry – be it industrial equipment, restaurant supplies, trade shows, aerospace, or any number of niche industries. You need a logistics provider who knows what you’re shipping, inside and out.