Win the Race in your Supply ChainLook at Third Party Logistics Outsourcing
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PacificCoastWarehouseCompany
AreyouWinningtheRace? 2
OutsourcedServices 4
IsOutsourcingRightforyou? 5
Benefitsof3PLServices 6
AboutPCWC 8
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Table of Contents
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PacificCoastWarehouseCompany
Areyouwinningtheraceinyoursupplychain? Doyoufeelyouareaheadofthecompetition?SupplyChainsarecomplex.Betweenglobalization,technology,fiercercompetition,it’shardtodetermineifyouarewinningtheraceorthepacehasoutpacedyou.
Asalogistician,youneedtothinklikearunnerandestablishthemindset(inourworld– tools)towintherace.
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Warmup. Yourwarmupisthefoundationforagoodrun.Goodroutineshelpyoupreparefortherace.Inlogistics,isyournetworkready?Doyouhavethenetworkinplacetoaccommodateamulti-channelenvironment?Iftheinfrastructureisnotinplaceorintherightplace,howcanyouexpecttheracetobewon?
BeststartingPosition. Runnerswanttogetagoodpositionwhiletheyarerunning.Theyneedtohaveagoodstart,breathingintheairastherefsays“set”.Waitingforthatflagthatindicatestheracehasbegun.Inyoursupplychain,areyoureadytomeetthechallenges?Haveyoupositionedyourorganizationtostarttheracewell?
RunatanevenPace. Don’toverreact.Don’twasteyourenergyinareasthatdon’tbringyouareturn.Thinkthroughhowyouwantyoursupplychaintowork,putthestepsinmotionandworkthroughtheissues.Staysteady.You’llknowwhenit’stimeforthesprint!
Stayfocused. Don’tgetdistracted.Remember,youcan’tbeeverythingtoeveryone.Whatarethedecisionsthataregoingtoallowyoutogiveyouareturnonyourefforts?Whatarethechangesthataregoingtogiveyouacompetitiveadvantage?
KnowhowtoPasssomeone. Onceyouhavethatcompetitiveadvantage...useit.Don’tbeafraidtopassyourcompetitor!Makedecisions– bebold!
Keeptheweatherinmind. Consumerskeepchangingjustliketheweather.Anticipatewhatmaygowrong.HavePlanBreadysothatit’salwaysseamless.Alittleplanningcangoalongway.
Are you winning the Race?
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Keepyoureyesontheprize. Efficiency,Effectiveness,andCustomerRetention.Remember,whileyouwanttodrivesales,ultimately,it’saboutthecustomerexperienceandeaseofdoingbusinesswithyourorganization.Don’tgetcaughtupinotherthings.
StayHumble. NimbleisthewordforSupplyChain.Justwhenyouthinkyouhaveitfiguredout,it’sgoingtochange!Don’tpatyourselfonthebackbutbenimble.Ensureyoursupplychainhasroomtomoveindifferentdirectionsasbusinesschanges,competitorschange,productchanges...andthelistgoesone.Stayinghumble,alertandnimblewillhelpyouwintherace.
So,howdoyougetallthisdone?Well,supplychainsarecomplexandifyouwanttobuildonethatisflexibleandnimble,youneedtolookbeyondyourfourwalls.
Thinkaboutoutsourcingyoursupplychaintoathirdpartylogisticsprovider(3PL).Youcanoutsourceelementsofyourdistribution,fulfillmentandtransportationfunctionstoalogisticsandsupplychainmanagementcompanywhospecializesinservingorganizationsandtheircustomers.
WhatisidealforaShipperisthattheydon’thavetoinvestinbuildings,ITinfrastructuresandtrucks.Usinga3PLcanofferbigsolutionswithsmallcosts.A3PLserviceorganizationallowsyoutoselectthespecificservicesyouneedinyoursupplychaininaspecificmarket.It’sallcustomizedtofityourneeds.
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Winning the Race?
As the complexity in supply chains increase, more companies are turning to 3PL’s to manage their inventories, ship their orders and ensure orders deliver to the customer.
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INBOUNDPROCESSINGProductReceiptsCrossDockingInspectionReverseLogistics
TRANSPORTATIONMANAGEMENTTruckload/Less-than-TruckloadClaimsManagementCarrierManagementDrayageServicesFreightConsolidationPoolDistribution
VALUEADDEDPlantSupportServicesSpecialtyPackaging,VarietyPacksandDisplayAssemblingPostponementProjectManagement
OUTBOUNDPROCESSINGOrderManagementCustomerCareManagement
STORAGEMANAGEMENTANDINVENTORYCONTROLInventoryManagementCycleCounting/PhysicalInventoriesReporting
Outsourced Services
Themostcommontasksoutsourcedto3PLorganizationsaretransactional,repetitiveandoperational.Belowareareasofopportunity:
Asyoudetermineifoutsourcingworks,theseareasofbusinessshouldbereviewed.
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Ifyou’veneveroutsourcedinthepast,it’salwaysabigdecisiontodetermineifyoushouldhandleservicesin-houseoroutsourcethem.Doyouhavetheresourcesavailable?Doyouneedtooutsourceallorjustspecificservices?Aresupplychainservicesyourcorecompetency?Reviewingcostfactors,financialimpact,suitabilityofoutsourcingandperformancegapswillhelpyoudetermineyouroutsourcingstrategies.
Somecompaniesbelievethattheirbusinessisuniqueandonlytheyknowhowtoservetheircustomer.Whileproductsmaybeunique,anexperienced3PLcouldactuallyservicecustomersbetter.Withefficientprocessesinwarehousing,storage,fulfilment,EDI,labeling,ordermanagementandshipping,anfull-service3PLcanbringimprovedperformanceandspecificityinanalyticsthatwillbeusefulinmakingdecisions.Thisallowsyoutoreturntoyourcorebusinessandfocusonwhatyoudobest.
Whilemanybelievethattheywilllosecontrolofthesupplychain,thisisactuallynottrue.Throughawell-structured3PLagreement,performancemetrics,constantcommunicationandacollaborativerelationshipbuiltontrust,controlcanbeatahigherlevelthanin-houseoperations.Withtransparencyofinformationwithonlineportals,companiescanreviewallandanydataatanytime.
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Is Outsourcing right for you?
Beforegoingforwardwithoutsourcing,evaluatewhereyoumighthave:
• limitedresources,• aneedforflexibility,• littleexpertise,or• aservicethatisanon-coreactivity
Theseareascombinedwithspecificservicescouldhelpyouidentifyifoutsourcingwouldworkforyou.
Make sure you know what services fit for outsourcing.
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Thirdpartylogisticsproviderscanprovideavarietyofbenefitstoorganizationsandtheyarewelldocumented.
TimeSavingsTimesavingsareavailabletoaShipper.Whenyououtsource,younowgaintime.Logisticaltaskscanbehandledbyyour3PLrelievingyouandyourteamoftheburden.Spendyourtimeonthecoreactivitiesthatgrowyourbusiness.
ExpertiseMost3PLproviderscareabouttheirclientsandarepassionateaboutdeliveringthebestexperiencepossible.Theyareknowledgeableaboutindustrybestpractices,latesttechnology,transportation,andlocalmarketexpectations.Efficientprocessesallowyoupeaceofmindknowingthatyourneedsarebeinghandledbyreliable,seasonedcustomercareprofessionals.
AgileResourcesA3PLproviderhastheabilitytoscalespace,laborandtransportationdependingonseasonalneeds.Theseswingsinvolumescanbehandledeasilyandprovideflexiblesolutions.Asyouneedmoreorless,theycanaccommodatethoseneeds.
ContinuousImprovementA3PL’sproductis“service”.Itisalwaysnecessarytocontinuetoimproveupontheirproducts.Withalifestyleofcontinuousimprovement,3PLorganizationshavethetoolstooptimizeprocessestoensureyourneedsaremetwiththefastest,mostefficientandcosteffectivemethodsavailableresultinginhelpingyoumaximizeyourprofits,andimprovingyourcustomer’sexperience.
Benefits of 3PL services
INCREASEREVENUE• Increaseresponsiveness,being
nimbleandflexible• Fasterspeedtomarket• Improvecustomerexperience• Easeofnewmarketentry• Improvedquality
IMPROVECAPABILITIES• Focusoncorebusiness• Receivefacilitycapacity
flexibility• Gainaccesstowarehouse/
storagetechnology• Receivemarketlogistics
expertise• Increasebackupcapabilities
REDUCECOSTS• Reduceoperatingcosts• Reducecapitalinvestments• Movefromafixedtovariable
costelements• Meetdownsizingneeds
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OutsourcingMOTIVATORS
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AccountabilityTrustingandrelyingonanothercompanywithyourbusinesscanbedifficult.However,whenexpectationsareoutlinedandcommunicated,metricsaretracked,thena3PLproviderwilltakeresponsibilityforyourbusinessknowingthattheyareanextensionofyourcompany.Theyunderstandthattheyarerepresentingyou.
Technology3PLcompanieshavemadeinvestmentsthatarespecifictoefficientprocessesbecausetheyuseitdayinanddayout.Theseinvestmentsinwarehouseandtransportationmanagementallowthemtospreadtheircostsoveralltheircustomerswhereyouareonlypayingasmallportion.Theintegratedsystemsprovideyoucustomanalyticsthatyoumayrequireandgiveyoufullvisibilityandtransparencyofyourbusiness.
OperationalControlandPerspectiveYoucanactuallygainmorecontrolbyoutsourcing.Improvedsystems,analytics,andmetricsallowyoutoworkandplanmoreontheareasthatcangrowyourbusiness.Plusworkingwitha3PLexposesyoutoothermethodologiesacrossdifferentindustriesandclients.Thesebestpracticesarenowavailabletoyou.
AvoidInvestments3PLcompanieshaveinvestedinbuildings,systemsandequipmentsoyoudon’thaveto!Thesecostsarepartoftheratestructureyoupaybutareanallocatedcostthatyousharewithotherclients.Havingtheflexibilitytoplaceyoursupplychainindifferentlocationswithoutcapitalexpenditureallowsyourcostsmovefromafixedcosttoavariablecoststructure.
So,ifyouwanttowintherace– looktooutsourcingallorpartofyourlogisticsservicestoathirdpartylogisticscompany.Withover70yearsinthebusiness,PacificCoastWarehouseCompanycanpartnerwithyouandmakeadifferenceinyoursupplychain.Weunderstandtheimportanceofservicingyou,yourteamandyourcustomers.
Benefits of 3PL services
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PacificCoastWarehouseCompany
PacificCoastWarehouseCompanydatesbackoverseventyyearsandhasclearlybecomeoneofthefinestdistributionorganizationsintheWesternUnitedStates.
Weareoperating nearly60,000palletsonongoingstoragecapacity inSouthern California. Ourfacilitiesareofthehighestqualityconcretetilt-upconstruction,withlargetruckcourtsandcompletesprinklerandalarmprotection.OurASIaward-winningsanitationprograms,completecodedatetrackingandstockrotationareallintegralpartsofourservice.
Inhandlingthedistributionneedsofeachofourcustomers,weapproacheachsituationasaveryrealmemberofthatcompany’sdistributionteam.Wearecontinuallylookingforwaystoimproveouroperationintermsofbothlogisticsandproductivity,withtheendresultbeinglowercoststoourcustomers.Ourmanyyearsofservicetoourrespectedclientscertainlyconfirm oursuccessintheseefforts.
Ourcorebeliefsarethecornerstonetoourbusiness. Weusetheseprinciplestoguideusinourconductandapproachtothebusiness. Webelievethesebeliefsallowustoexcelandbecomea"partnerofchoice"byourcustomers.
Stewardship ‣ Unity ‣Betterment ‣ Authenticity
Ifyouarelookingforwaystoenhanceyoursupplychain,youneedtopartnerwithacompanywhohasyourinterestsfirst.LetmetellyouaboutPacificCoastWarehouseCompany!
[email protected] formoreinformation.
About PCWC
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