Over the past few weeks we have been talking about ways that 3PLs can help companies succeed and minimize some of the “School fees” (as one of our prospective clients calls them) associated with running a business. School fees can be anything from infrastructure costs like a new building or equipment for handling storage and distribution, to employees or costs to find a partnership. With start-up companies popping up all over the nation and Fortune 500 companies trying to improve their operations to keep up with the increasing demand for products, everybody is trying to gain an edge within their supply chain. Every person you ask will have a different answer to what the most important factor is when trying to run a successful business, but improving efficiency, minimizing risks, and saving valuable time and money seem to be on virtually everybody’s lists.
Improve Efficiency
Murphy’s Chief Operating Officer, Paul Welna says “In a lot of cases, running the business efficiently is the most important thing that a company can do to succeed. This is especially important when there are a lot of moving parts [like manufacturing and retail companies]”. If storage and distribution is not run in an efficient manner, everything within the company is set up for hardship. It is hard to keep up with demand, there are more risks with shipping errors or employee issues and valuable time and money are wasted when a company is not running at peak efficiency. 3PLs can help businesses with efficiency by:
- Creating customized logistics solutions for project
- Reducing the resources needed to run the supply chain
- Allowing for fluctuation in volumes of storage or distribution
Minimize Risks
Assessing a company’s risk can be a scary thing. Risk has many faces including everything from the people working to the buildings that they work in. There are also many different factors that work into mitigating risk. Outsourcing storage and distribution can cut down on these risks by providing:
- Trained employees that know how to handle product the right way
- Infrastructure investments that eliminate worry for clients
- Options to keep supply chains moving in any situation
Save Time and Money
How much more could get done with an extra couple of hours each day, what about if some more money was freed up for investing back into business? It is pretty obvious that the more time and money that is available, the more that can get done. 3PLs are a great way to help companies find savings in time and money each month. By outsourcing their supply chain through Murphy, our clients have found benefits like:
- Only spending based on what they use
- Easy changes in business strategy
- Strategic partnerships for shipping and volume discounts
- Programs already in place for quality assurance in logistics
There are many different ways that a company can benefit by using a 3PL for storage and distribution, our top picks are all essential to running a successful business. If you are looking to improve efficiency, minimize risks, or save time and money, outsourcing your logistics operation may be the best fit for you and your company. If you would like more information about how Murphy can help your business, please feel free to Contact Us, or even fill out an RFP form!