Consumer Goods Logistics Blog

Third party logistics companies (3PLs) are often in the news these days – but for reasons quite different than they were 10 years ago. 

This thought occurred to me while I was skimming recent news items in some of the top logistics industry trade publications. I decided to start counting and classifying the types of stories about specific 3PLs. Close to 75% were related to either acquisitions, financial performance, lawsuits or problems with labor contracts. The remaining 25% or so were about value delivered for customers or service expansion.

Usually, this is the time of year when we can take a few moments, breathe deeply, assess the past year’s performance, and plan for the upcoming year. But with the ever-increasing pressure on the logistics/supply chain function to get products to market faster and more efficiently, we no longer have that luxury.

Each month, school district superintendents from Lackawanna County in northeast Pennsylvania meet to discuss a variety of issues common to them all – things like curriculums, budget management, and security. Typically, they meet in a conference room at the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, however last month they met at KANE headquarters in Scranton, where there was one more topic on the agenda – jobs.

Every logistics operation will say safety programs are a priority. But many such claims are lip service only. Safety solutions, over and above OSHA-mandated programs, cost money – for training, equipment and software. Many companies struggle to invest money in things that might happen.

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.

KANE’s new Chief Commercial Office is Stan Schrader, a 35-year logistics industry veteran with a strong background in building and scaling successful logistics sales organizations.  We recently sat down with Stan to discuss some of the changes he has seen in the industry over the years and where he sees the greatest opportunity.

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.