3PL Integration & Coordination

For Last Mile Distributors. It often means The Outsourced Buffer. For some, everything is outsourced; but for many, the outsourced constitutes only part of the operation. This, of course, raises the question:  

“How much of our information should/ought/can be shared; and how?” 

Integration

We all know that the tighter the discipline and the higher the quality of your data, the easier it is to establish digital and operational integration. The devil, however, is always in the detail and the ROI on full and seamless integration with every single subcontractor may often seem unattainable; and so we “choose” to rely on partners we can trust. Nothing wrong with that but there are costs and risks related to not having operational transparency – a few of them: 

1. Deployment of new products can be more cumbersome 
2. If something is consistently not going right, we may discover it too late.
3. We tend to gather much less information from that part of our operation 
4. We have foreign entities representing our brand  

The regular 3PL 

We think there should be no reason to not be fully integrated. Our experience tells us that proper seamless integration rather requires conscious decision making on the strategic – or managerial - level than it requires “IT-projects”. The main reason for this is that most data processing today already adheres some kind of industry-standard and is therefore accessible with relative ease.  

We frequently see constellations where the Last-Mile-Partner already has the logo on the uniform and on the vehicle, but the “IT-integration” is a piece of paper that is handed out just prior to loading and departure. With the technology available today, the ROI on a full digitalisation is just too short to be dismissed. Do not wait – Let us get it done!  

If they are going to represent you in the facing of the customers, make sure they have as much and as good information as possible, and vice versa, that you are informed of what they are doing. 

The occasional 3PL 

As with the regular 3PL, the arguments are much the same. The only main difference is the matter of hardware for the digitalisation of the Last Hands. If it does not seem likely that you will hand out equipment; Cubivue can offer an extremely quick and safe application download in what we call Kiosk-mode. This gives your subcontractor full access to what you want and need but gives you no access to anything on their device. You are in complete control of your application(s) and data, and you can remove it anytime you want. 

The one-off’s 

As with the occasional 3PL, handing out pre-configured hardware may not be realistic. With Cubivue you can establish a simple kiosk by the use of a 2D barcode scan.  

Whether the reasoning behind the outsourcing is high volatility in Route Length, or special vehicle- or driver-needs, expansion into new, or contraction from old geography; whether it is that of a strategic decision to not own the means of transportation or something else, the fact remains that you tend to be in less digital and/or operational control than you would otherwise have been.