Logistics is one of the main business activities that earns you bread and butter. Especially when you are an e-commerce business in Melbourne, handling the supply of goods and fulfilling orders on time is a significant task to keep up with the rush pace. However, logistics come with a lot of challenges that can impact your business for a long time.
One of the major logistic challenges that you must be struggling with are higher costs, whether in terms of transportation, managing stocks, or shipping hundreds of different parcels to local customers. On top of that, buying or renting a warehouse is another expense that always sweats your finances. That is why external providers like 3PL in Melbourne stand as a solution to these problems, so you can efficiently run your business without worrying about fixed costs.
In this blog, we will gather an understanding of 3 PL providers and line haul trucks in Australia, how these services are beneficial and how to combine them for your ecommerce needs. Let’s dive in as we begin with introducing the concepts of 3PL and line haul trucks in Melbourne.
Understanding 3PL and Linehaul Services
3PL Services
Managing customer orders, storing, and delivering products on time internally is a traditional approach that comes with a lot of hidden challenges. Sometimes, either the staff needs more expertise. Or workflow changes impact deliveries at other times. That is when joining hands with experts like 3PL in Melbourne simplifies all these, including many other logistic processes, within time.
A third-party logistic provider in Melbourne offers many helpful services till the end of receiving returns and escalations. Let’s have a look at them.
● Storage and Inventory Management:
Under this service, third-party logistic companies offer a premium and supportive service to store any size, type, and number of products in a suitable warehouse environment.
For this reason, third-party logistic experts ensure their warehouses remain clean and free of disruptions and are designed with an appropriate environment to store all products harmlessly. They have warehouse experts who pick products and use pallet storage systems to carry heavy products with ease.
Alongside, experts also take care of managing the right stock levels to optimise the storage space and manage the tracking in the easiest way possible.
● Packing, Unpacking, and Quality Control:
Apart from storing and managing products in designated warehouse facilities, 3 PL companies offer assistance with the appropriate packing of all the products, ensuring goods meet the Australian and industrial regulations, and inspecting them before moving them out for deliveries.
● Distribution and Order Fulfilment:
Once you receive an order, an external logistics provider takes up the responsibility of packing the deliveries, preparing the shipment, assigning the work to delivery agents, and transporting it to a customer’s doorstep on time.
● Handles Reverse Logistics:
A third-party logistics provider listens to the customers when you receive a return update, ensures product returns are done without damage, and manages the refunds and exchanges for your customers.
Linehaul Services
Linehaul Australia are another offering where you can transport bulk quantities of stock from one central location to another. Suppose your business in Melbourne receives orders from regions across Sydney, Berth, or other locations. In that case, line haul trucking helps you to transport products across long distances without additional stops or fulfilment centres.
With line haul trucks available in Australia, you get the following services.
● Timely Delivery of products Nationwide:
Employing multiple trucks for frequent deliveries of orders within Melbourne or crossing the state borders is a cost-burden strategy. To minimise these expenses, you can choose linehaul trucks in Australia as a measure to send and receive minor or significant cargo on time with less than truckload and full truckload systems in place.
● Modern and Efficient Fleet Availability:
With the use of modern, tech-advanced, and large trailers, linehaul services integrate advanced tracking software with real-time maps that help you to access where the trucks are and how much time it will take to complete the deliveries.
● Comprehensive Management:
Linehaul trucks available with 3PL providers are cost-effective, quick, and safe measures to overcome the logistics challenges. With comprehensive services containing warehousing, inventory management, fulfilling orders and vast efficiency of linehaul trucks in Australia, you can maintain your business functions efficiently and safely.
How Can You Take Advantage of Both Services?
Third-party logistics (3PL) providers offer outsourced logistic services covering warehousing, transportation, and distribution management. The interconnection between 3PL and linehaul services can be seen as follows.
● Comprehensive Logistic Solutions:
3PL providers combine line haul trucking with other logistics services to offer end-to-end solutions. This means they manage the entire flow of goods from the manufacturer to the consumer, including long-distance transport through linehaul services.
● Seamless Integration:
You can efficiently move your stored products from a 3PL warehouse onto line haul trucks for long-distance transportation to another hub or warehouse.
● Inventory Management:
3PL providers utilise modern inventory management systems to combine supply chains while coordinating with linehaul schedules to optimise delivery times and reduce storage costs.
● Enhanced Efficiency:
You can further improve logistic efficiency through sharing transportation networks, combining freight loads to maximise vehicle capacity, and using data analytics for route and schedule optimisation.
Final Words
Investing in efficient services like 3PL in Melbourne is a cost-saving strategy when you are a retail or e-commerce business. While outsourcing logistics to 3PL providers is a simple way to focus on your core offerings, combining linehaul services allows you to save significant expenses when compared to handling logistics in-house.
We have outlined what each of these services contains and how you can take advantage of these services to meet the changing demands and regulations in Australia. If you are already in search of reliable service providers, then choose Carrabba’s Group for combined benefits and affordable services.
