3PL Services That Drive Value Throughout Your Supply Chain

In today’s complex supply chains, third-party logistics providers (3PLs) are the backbone of many companies, providing an array of essential services. These days, very few companies of any size don’t work with a 3PL to some degree.

A 3PL delivers value by taking care of logistics services for you. It’s wise to rely on experts for essential services, including warehousing, inventory management, transportation, and freight consolidation. When executed appropriately, these 3PL services can deliver operational efficiency, risk management, and cost-effectiveness.

Working with a 3PL lets you be you. Logistics may not be your company’s core competency. Partnering with an experienced 3PL like ODW enables your organization to focus on its core value proposition and let the 3PL manage the complex logistics details. Companies can tap into the expertise, infrastructure, and technology that would be too costly for all but the largest organizations.

ODW has earned an enviable reputation for delivering core 3PL services, including:

Warehousing and Inventory Management

Managing inventory levels is one of the toughest challenges in logistics. If you have too much inventory, you’re wasting your investment. Too little inventory, and you risk stockouts and lost revenue. ODW Logistics brings innovation and discipline to solve strategic warehouse issues.
A recent success story came with a direct-to-consumer wine distribution business.

What’s the secret? We looked at forecasting and trends based on seasonality for a product manufactured by international suppliers. Together, we built a robust just-in-time inventory strategy.

The customer relies on ODW to move products quickly – we unload products, tag and cross-dock, and repackage for consumer delivery on the same day.

Because this customer operates a food and beverage subscription service, it’s all about renewals. Failed shipments cause customers to cancel. We can’t have that now, can we?
We helped the company get a handle on inventory control, reduce product costs, and maintain customer service. 

We developed a Saturday delivery service that met their unique requirements for package acceptance. The routing maintained 98.5% confidence for on-time delivery. This is a prime example of our integrated logistics approach that helps reduce inventory carrying costs and returns.

Transportation and Consolidation

Transportation and freight consolidation are critical for the smooth running of supply chains. At ODW Logistics, we manage these functions to minimize risks and reduce costs.

We can optimize routes, manage delivery windows, and update delivery routes and time as needed using our WMS and TMS technology. One of the benefits of working with ODW Logistics is your company has access to technology and expertise that’s difficult to build in-house. It’s our job to stay up to date with all the complexities of managing warehousing and transportation end-to-end. Using a single-source 3PL provider to manage your entire supply chain can deliver economies of scale that can transform your operations.

Our systems can manage the entire operation from order to delivery to payment for the retailer or seller. Information flows on an integrated solution based on EDI transactions. Our solutions reduce the cost of freight delivery for the customer. Especially if you’re a medium-to-small company, we give you access to technologies and capabilities far beyond what you could manage independently.

Consolidation is one of the core functions of a 3PL, and at ODW Logistics, we consider it our bread and butter. By managing customer orders, we can build a 100% optimized full truckload of products. No one wants to ship air. We can arrange the loads to drop off along the route, ensuring fast service without extra costs. With freight consolidation, you can get the best pricing for your transportation. If you’re looking for a 3PL provider, make sure freight consolidation is one of their top strengths.

E-commerce Fulfillment

For fast and fluid e-commerce businesses, scalability supports their plans for success. A company may start in a garage, but the goal is to grow into a multimillion-dollar business. However, one of the most challenging events is to have that dream become a reality. A small company wins a big contract with a nationwide retailer and must ramp up production and distribution. If you’re in that situation, who do you call? A 3PL.

When a small food and consumer supplier won a big contract with a warehouse store chain, demand increased exponentially. ODW Logistics stepped in to help them ramp up to supply their big new customer and capitalize on that opportunity with upgraded e-commerce fulfillment.

We helped them crawl and walk, and now they’re getting ready to run with increased automation, reduce labor costs, and support their growing base of happy customers. Also, we have helped industrial companies like Plaskolite scale their transportation strategy, handling increased shipment volumes with little to no additional expenses.

Continuous Improvement

Your 3PL should do more than execute your plans. A true 3PL partner should help create a cohesive and effective logistics strategy for your business. ODW Logistics offers continuous improvement services that help your supply chain keep pace with changing technology and trends. The continuous improvement services align with our other offerings, including logistics and supply chain innovation. Our teams are focused on fully leveraging our 3PL services to streamline your operations and drive efficiency improvements.

One of the key elements is our data-driven approach to using data to become more innovative and efficient. Our systems connect, so we use integrated data for analytics and performance metrics that reveal targets for improvement and monitor performance solutions.

Use the Power of a 3PL Partnership to Drive Value in Your Supply Chain

It’s critical to understand all the services that a 3PL can provide to your company. Whether you need warehousing and inventory management or want to take advantage of the cost savings of consolidation, ensure your 3PL is equipped and experienced to meet your unique requirements.

A partner like ODW Logistics empowers your business to adapt to market fluctuations and industry trends. Let’s talk today.

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