How Non-Traditional Services are Revolutionizing the Supply Chain

Introduction

Failure to develop efficient supply chains results in costly overages or detrimental shortages.

To overcome inefficiencies, many businesses bring in third-party logistics (3PL) partners to streamline customers’ supply chain operations.

Traditionally, 3PL providers offered a specialized set of services focused around warehousing, order fulfillment, transportation and supply chain logistics.

Today, several factors have driven 3PLs to non-traditional services that spread their influence further into the supply chain.

This white paper will look at the impetus behind this change, as well as examples of non-traditional supply chain services.

From there, the paper discusses how these value-added services impact the partnership between 3PLs and their customers.

Contents

• Background: Growing beyond tradition
• Background: Embracing new solutions
• Impact
• Conclusion

Today, 3PLs must be able to handle many projects outside the scope of traditional services. From packaging postponement to customer call centers, these non-traditional services allow the 3PL provider to positively impact various steps in the supply chain. It is also a value-add for customers that are seeking an enriching relationship that can evolve over time.