Consumer Goods Logistics Blog

If you are a user of third-party logistics (3PL) services, you know that 3PLs tend to have a metric for just about everything – productivity, accuracy, timeliness, costs….

3PL metrics are used as a barometer of performance and to inform continuous improvement programs. But should these same numbers be used to measure the success of your 3PL/Client relationship?

Are you happy with your logistics performance?

A pretty simple question that calls for a yes or no answer.

Unfortunately, among us logistics types, our operations and engineering brains rely on formulas, not feelings, to provide the answer. 

If you were contracting for home renovation work, you might deal with a single general contractor to coordinate the project. But you’d like to feel confident that the people actually laying the tile, putting up the drywall, and attaching the plumbing fixtures have the experience and training to do a quality job. 

The same holds true for the use of temporary labor for warehouse staffing. As a user of third-party logistics (3PL) services, you want to understand how your 3PL utilizes temporary labor and how that might impact work quality.

Distribution network optimization has become a white-hot topic these days as “the Amazon effect” leads businesses to evaluate how quickly they can get products to customers. 

Warehouse optimization modeling exercises examine the upside of being closer to customers versus the downside of carrying more inventory in more locations.  The biggest mistake companies make in this area is relying too much on the modeling software itself to provide an answer to the question: “How many warehouses should I have and where should they be?”

Listen. React.

Listen. React. 

Listen. React.

These two words summarize the day of many customer service representatives (CSRs) across the world. 

In logistics, we measure just about everything. If it moves, we measure how fast. If it sits, we measure how long. If it costs money, we measure how much.

But do we ever measure happy? 

Not often, if at all. And that’s too bad. Happy is an under-rated metric.

The bar has been raised on logistics performance.  Retail customers want perfect orders (expect a fine if they’re not perfect), and they want them faster and delivered within tighter and tighter time windows.

As a logistics manager, the spotlight is shining brighter on you and, by extension, your logistics service providers (3PLs).  You want and need your 3PLs to be great. But, ironically, achieving that result may have as much to do with how hard and how smart you work, as your 3PL.