Designing Your Business to Meet Customer Expectations

3PL, Logistics, Technology , Supply ChainShippers need actionable insights to improve business operations and better serve customers. The right 3PL can help.Tracy Rosser, Executive Vice President, Operations, Transplace, 866-413-9266Due to the rise of the "Amazon Effect" and growing customer demands, businesses are faced with the challenge of delivering goods directly to the doorstep of an end customer within days (or even hours). These new expectations have shaped the inner workings of the logistics industry, especially in terms of the level of customer service needed to stay competitive in today's market.To succeed in this increasingly demanding environment, shippers need actionable analytics, and those organizations that fail to provide these experiences to its customers and properly leverage data are often missing the big picture. That's where the right 3PL can help. Below, are key insights into what it takes to meet the expectations of the modern customer, and what shippers should expect from their 3PLs to help them achieve the necessary efficiency and optimization required in their supply chain.Destroy Your Silos and View Your Supply Chain HolisticallyToday, customers have more ways of achieving convenience and expect retailers to constantly create better, more efficient and reliable convenience for them. This could include free and expedited shipping or having dependable inventory in a brick-and-mortar store. In order for organizations to achieve success in this marketplace, they must create efficiencies across their entire supply chain. Transportation is just one component of a supply chain that must work in harmony with other parts in order to be effective. Companies must take a holistic approach to serving customers by eliminating silos and fully understanding their end-to-end supply chain today, especially in terms of customer service.How the Right 3PL Can Help You Meet the Needs of Your End Customer3PLs are in a unique position as shippers trust logistics providers to execute on their behalf and help fulfill their customers' expectations. When looking to select a partner to work with, shippers should be taking into consideration questions such as: Does the logistics provider have a deep and intimate understanding of your business and your customer's business? What is the 3PL doing to gain and build your trust? Does the provider truly understand your mission and purpose? Can the 3PL provide strategic insights such as both customer service strategies and cost-saving strategies? Do your company cultures align?A logistics provider should be seen as an important extension of a shipper's supply chain organization and should be truly integrated into their full business function.Your 3PL Must Do More Than Execute, They Need to Provide You with Real ValueAt a basic function, logistics providers must be able to execute on delivering shipments. However, businesses across every industry are looking for more than just execution. Shippers need actionable insights that go beyond just the raw data to help improve business operations and better serve customers. 3PL providers that are doing a great job of executing should have tremendous access to data and insights that can help shippers find and create value, as well as figure out where the waste is in a network, work to eliminate it, and help provide tremendous value for the end consumer.