Plan, procure, execute, & track transportation for every shipment across your supply chain & logistics operations
A SaaS solution to help grow your business by achieving 100% perfect order execution at high volumes
Increase vehicle capacity utilization and customer promise adherence
Grow your business with omnichannel presence and automated pickups
Consolidate shipments for hub to hub movement across land and air
Real-time customer communications and collect accurate PODs
Orchestrate logistics operations with multiple 3rd party carriers
Achieve cost effective, scalable, sustainable, and customer centric deliveries
Orchestrate all your cross-border logistics operations with ease
Improve address accuracy, ensure first-attempt delivery success, reduce costs and boost customer experience
Gain end-to-end shipment visibility, get proactive alerts, and send customers live tracking links
Grow business in a dynamic world and manage operations across First, Middle & Last mile
Delight customers by seamlessly managing store and online orders across own fleet and 3rd party
Reduce freight costs & get end to end visibility across shipments
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Recent research by IBISWorld reveals the 3PL market size in the US to reach USD 246.2 bn by 2029. Also, the 26th Annual Study of third-party logistics by NTT DATA reveals that the overall user experience exhibited by the shippers and 3PL consumers has been positive, with 73% of 3PL users agreeing that 3PLs help them elevate the end customer experiences and provide new and innovative ways to improve logistics efficiency.
With a rapid surge in eCommerce, B2C commerce, and cross-border shopping, the overall logistical movements have increased in the USA. Also, customer expectations are constantly changing and evolving, leading to increased logistics costs. Consequently, the need for effective logistics is rising, so businesses are rapidly partnering with 3PL service providers, working with multiple 3PLs simultaneously.
However, manual management of 3PL operations is tedious and inefficient, which is why businesses are increasingly looking for ways to manage all their 3PL partnerships with a unified view of operations and partnerships.
What is 3PL software, and how can businesses benefit from it? Further, how to choose the best 3PL software in USA for your business? We discuss the answers to all these and many other questions in the following write-up.
A 3PL software allows businesses to manage all their 3PL partners, operations, shipments, documents, etc., via a centralized dashboard and offers actionable insights via smart data analytics capabilities. Businesses can automate order allocation, vendor selection, carrier prioritization, and more. They can automate invoicing and billings, and digitize the documentation, etc., for highly streamlined 3PL management.
3PL software is important because it enables businesses to:
Various third-party logistics providers utilize distinct templates for updating shipment statuses. However, with the implementation of 3PL management software, communication is standardized, and updates are sent in a uniform format.
Businesses using 3PL software in USA can gain comprehensive visibility into shipments dispatched through various third-party logistics partners. They can conveniently track all shipments on a single screen, streamlining the monitoring process, and can also share this information with their customers via automatic updates and alerts.
With robust 3PL software, businesses can gain access to powerful data analytics, comprehensive reporting, and actionable insights. Leveraging these valuable insights, businesses can identify patterns and make informed, data-driven decisions to optimize their logistics operations. They can also generate highly consumable reports with rich data visualizations in a no-code format for strategic decisions.
Using 3PL software in US, businesses can provide end customers with a range of delivery options to meet their diverse demands. Leveraging the unique strengths of each 3PL partner, smart solutions like Shipsy can automatically select the most suitable option for hyperlocal deliveries while utilizing another option for same-day or next-day deliveries, thereby, optimizing the fulfillment process.
With the intelligent in-built capabilities of 3PL software, businesses can achieve enhanced operational control. Integrated dashboards allow businesses to efficiently manage operations at scale, automating tasks such as document creation, including label generation and more, streamlining logistics processes, and improving overall efficiency.
The 3PL software should have an intelligent auto-allocation engine that automatically selects the optimal third-party logistics partner based on various parameters, including 3PL performance, SKU type, weight, payment type, and order volume. Further, the businesses should be able to set/configure these parameters as and when required to ensure operational efficiency, flexibility, and scalability.
This advanced feature ensures the efficient allocation of shipments to the most suitable logistics partner, optimizing logistics operations and enhancing overall performance.
Real-time tracking provides up-to-date information, allowing businesses to efficiently monitor all shipments, avoid unnecessary delays, and obtain an accurate estimated time of arrivals (ETAs), enhancing overall shipment visibility and ensuring smooth logistics operations.
The software should empower businesses with the ability to track multiple shipments, whether shipped via the same or different 3PL partners, all from a single window. Further, it must be able to send automated and configurable alerts/updates to multiple relevant stakeholders for proactive communication and status updates.
Generating efficient and optimal routes for delivering orders within the shortest possible time is a significant challenge for every delivery company. Top providers of 3PL software in USA offer robust features for logistics managers, such as generating highly optimal routes for efficient logistics movements and dynamic route optimization.
They also trigger real-time alerts if a delivery vehicle deviates from the optimized route or remains stationary for an extended time. The intelligent software also factors in variables such as traffic congestion, weather conditions, express delivery demands, and other factors to dynamically adjust the delivery route in real-time, ensuring timely deliveries.
It is important to choose a 3PL software that can easily integrate with the existing tech infrastructure, such as ERP/WMS/OMS/CRM, etc. This helps businesses get a highly comprehensive understanding of operations and manage all the logistics components in a unified manner.
Further, a 3PL application that is capable of collecting data from various data management solutions enables businesses to make more strategic business decisions and unlock higher productivity.
Multiple 3PL partnerships facilitate rapid scaling of delivery operations, help businesses move beyond standard 3-4 day delivery models, and empower them with cost-efficient management of elastic demands. However, a multi-carrier ecosystem can easily evolve into a complex puzzle when managed manually.
Hence, invest in 3PL software that comes with intelligent rules to select 3PL providers automatically. Further, these rules should be configurable, thereby allowing businesses to ensure flexibility and efficiency as per evolving needs.
Technology-driven capabilities enable businesses to control, track, monitor, and manage different components and operations in the logistics ecosystem. Examples include order tracking, rider management, customer communications management, feedback collection, and automation-powered business processes.
As the managed IT service bundles vary across the 3PL software in USA, it is important to identify the core logistics and distribution functions a business requires and determine how well their choice of 3PL aligns with them. Also, it is important to check whether the 3PL can scale up or down as per the evolving business requirements, such as pricing flexibility, volume commitments, shipping, and service bundles.
Smart capabilities like asset prioritization, dynamic order processing/clubbing/deliveries, etc., enable businesses to plan the most efficient deliveries and logistical movements. They can work with a mixed fleet, plan for rescheduled or planned deliveries in a cost-optimized manner, and boost their bottom lines, without compromising the CX.
Shipsy is an intelligent 3PL management platform that helps businesses leverage smart technologies, such as AI/ML, data analytics, and automation, for intelligent carrier selection for specific shipments and routes. The users can set specific rules for 3PL prioritization, 3PL allocation, and trip optimization based on multiple factors, such as carrier performance, cost, delivery speed, shipment value, delivery location, etc.
It is a powerful multi-carrier management solution that comes with a centralized dashboard for unified carrier and logistics operations management. So, businesses can always keep an eye on real-time shipment movements, digitize invoicing and billing, set KPIs for individual carrier performance assessments, and collaborate with multiple partners seamlessly.
Thus, businesses can gain 100% visibility into all the 3PL operations across different geographies and data-driven insights into core operations to unlock:
For more information on Shipsy’s offerings, or to get a hands-on experience of how they work, please get in touch with our experts and schedule a personalized demo today!
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