Articles
3PL

Choose a 3PL with a Culture and Vision that Match Your Own
Transportation has often been considered a commodity. Equipment, fuel, software, and wages are all very similar from a cost perspective. A 3PL’s culture can be a competitive advantage. Q: Why does culture matter? A: Today, cost is just one of many factors to consider when selecting a 3PL. A low-cost provider may produce short-term savings […]
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Don’t Say No and Never Give Up
Lisa Mernin is director of operations with ADS, Inc., a military equipment and tactical gear supplier.
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3PLs Drive Logistics IT Solutions
Massive shifts in consumer expectations and e-commerce acceleration signal a new direction and new challenges. Shippers are turning to 3PLs’ technology expertise to meet service expectations in an ever-changing marketplace.
Read MoreLeveraging 3PLs to Ease COVID Business Growing Pains
As the COVID-19 pandemic swept the nation, a second and unexpected problem emerged along with it: A shortage of toilet paper. Panic-buying and hoarding left store shelves empty. New deliveries routinely were sold out within minutes. And toilet paper manufacturers, who had long ago leaned out their operations in an effort to maximize profit, found […]
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What is the secret to a successful shipper/3PL partnership?
Three fundamental pillars define a successful partnership: a direct application programming interface (API) integration, a shared target customer, and a partnership mentality focused on solutions. When any one of these pillars falter, the client suffers and that is unacceptable. As a 3PL, it’s our responsibility to help clients mitigate pain points and enable growth.
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Catch Me When I Fall
A trust fall is a team-building exercise where the one doing the falling willingly trusts that those standing behind will catch them before they hit bottom. We chose the trust fall as an apt theme for our annual third-party logistics edition. Whether you voluntarily fall or are shoved by business realities—pandemic, labor shortages, remote workforces, […]
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3PLs Have Your Back
Shippers trust their third-party logistics partners will be there for them—no matter what the business conditions.
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Top 10 3PLs Readers’ Choice Excellence Awards
These third-party logistics providers have earned your trust—and your votes—with their consistency and customer service.
Read More2021 Inbound Logistics Perspectives: 3PL Market Research Report
Our 16th annual 3PL market research report reveals the current state of the union between shippers and their logistics service partners.
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2021 Top 100 3PLs
When your enterprise faces supply chain and logistics challenges, these partners won’t let you fall. In alphabetical order, here are the 100 third-party logistics providers deemed best of the best by Inbound Logistics editors.
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3PL Outsourcing Beyond the Initial Goals
RedStone understands that cost savings are just a part of each client relationship; a 3PL must provide more if the relationship is to withstand the demands of an ever-changing supply chain.
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3PLs in Agriculture: Know the Roots of the Industry to Make Your Impact
From LTL and dedicated route service to seasonal and year-round storage, 3PLs need to be well-versed in the space to meet the specialized needs of agricultural companies.
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Supply Chain Continuous Improvement Requires Collaboration, Trust, and Tolerance for Failure
Q: How can a 3PL affect continuous improvement of their partners’ supply chains? A: Ruan’s approach to effective continuous improvement (CI) is centered around creating value within our partners’ businesses. CI begins with a clear understanding of each unique supply chain and baseline performance measures. Although tools and techniques vary, the first steps involve analyzing […]
Read MoreOptimizing Your Transportation Network
Optimizing a transportation network is complex. It requires an ideal combination of personnel, tools, and strategic alignment. Here is a map to help support your journey.
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Robotics Deployment Increases 3PL’s Productivity from Day 1
Locus Robotics deployed autonomous mobile robots along with actionable reporting tools and dashboards for Taylored Services. The scalable solution brought immediate gains.
Read MoreLEGACY at the Crossroads of America
As e-commerce continues to dominate the retail landscape, many logistics services providers are evolving their solutions to meet this new demand. One example is LEGACY Supply Chain, a Franklin, Indiana-based third-party logistics provider focused on e-commerce fulfillment in the United States and Canada. LEGACY recently acquired a new facility in Indianapolis, and continues to flex […]
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A Supply Chain for the Next Normal
The fluctuating economy over the past year impacted how companies across industries responded in a pinch. Now that crisis responses have passed and the pandemic settled into a new normal, many companies are looking for ways to adapt their long-term supply chain strategy for the unexpected.
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3PLs Custom Fit Solutions
From providing seamless technology integrations to tailoring transportation networks, 3PLs reinforce supply chains of all shapes and sizes.
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Logistics Challenges: Small Businesses Clear the Bar
These agile small and mid-sized businesses have picked up the pace to vault over supply chain challenges, including the pandemic.
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WMS Must-Haves: Adaptability, Scalability for Efficiency and Profit
Q: What do you consider to be the primary commercial advantages of a contemporary WMS? A: The DNA of a WMS should be adaptable, fast, affordable, and scalable to offer a low entry point into the warehouse versus Tier 1 solutions, while at the same time providing a platform that expands exponentially according to the […]
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