As more and more companies find themselves growing at an unprecedented rate, certain business processes can no longer be handled in-house due to high demand. This leads organizations to outsource or subcontract certain operations to third-party logistics, or rather 3PLs.
Thanks to ERP software, like NetSuite ERP, companies can easily hire 3PL providers and keep track of their supply chain without losing control or data.
Integrate NetSuite EDI with your 3PL provider and automatically transfer data between both company and vendor to ensure continued growth without any loss of visibility.
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What is Third-Party Logistics?
Third-Party logistics (3PL) refers to the outsourcing of certain logistic services to third party businesses. Focused mainly on supply chain operations, 3PL providers handle: inventory management, warehousing, order fulfillment, transportation, retail distribution, shipment, returns, and exchanges.
3PL providers can scale and customize services based on the needs and requirements of a specific company. For example, an organization might only need to subcontract a single service such as warehousing, whereas another business might require a bundle of services across the supply chain.
Why choose a 3PL provider?
For companies looking to focus more on business growth, market expansion, and innovation, outsourcing logistical operations is the ideal solution.
Leveraging automated systems enables companies to leave their operational management to third-parties specializing in the enhancement of these services.
Not only does it help with alleviating time constraints, it allows companies to improve on their supply chain management with access to otherwise inaccessible cutting-edge technology in the supply chain. Companies can quickly take advantage of improving scalability, flexibility, and most importantly, customer satisfaction.
Avoid Free Integrations from 3PL Providers
While companies hire 3PLs to enhance their operations, finances, and customer experience, without the proper infrastructure in place to support additional subcontractors, companies can quickly become hostage to their 3PL providers.
Many third-party logistic companies offer their own free integration to connect to a company’s infrastructure. This can cause challenges for the company involved as there is little to no standardization between 3PLs and their clients.
This means that the 3PL will set up their own standards, leaving the hiring company to fall under the 3PL providers’ processes.
This can pose a risk to the company if ever there is a complication that
arises, since they will not have the power to investigate and fix the issue. Lack of control will quickly become obvious to the company.
When outsourcing, it is always best to set up your own infrastructure and integrations, and then have the subcontractor follow your systems and applications. That way, if anything goes wrong, you can easily solve the problem.
When in Doubt, Always Integrate
Things can quickly become prickly without the proper integration in place to connect your company with that of your 3PL provider. These irregularities don’t only cause problems for your company, but the end user as well, your customers.
It is therefore essential for your company to have a suitable architectural infrastructure that automates communication to secure full visibility of all operations across the supply chain, from beginning to end.
If ever there is a lack of control within a particular procedure during the process, more than likely it will cause a problem that is not only hard to pinpoint but leaves your end user feeling less than satisfied.
These “minor” issues can quickly cause harm to the reputation of the company.
Integrations automate all supply chain processes easing the complication of manual error and guaranteeing an enjoyable and stress-free experience for the customer from A to B.
It also improves communications across both companies. Imagine a scenario without a powerful integration in place:
Company A communicates with the 3PL subcontractor regarding a specific inventory issue that needs to be resolved. As the message - manually - travels across different departments, it gets lost in translation and ends up being misinterpreted. The problem takes much longer to resolve itself, causing inventory to be miscounted and shipments to be delayed.
Now imagine how successful Company A would have been if there had been appropriate infrastructure in place to manage the inventory. An automated message gets sent to the right people, where the subcontractor then knows exactly what the issue is and how to solve it. No muss, no fuss.
In fact, most employees and clients won’t even know there was an issue to begin with.
NetSuite EDI Integration
EDI for NetSuite is used for companies looking to integrate between NetSuite, eCommerce businesses, point of sale (POS) systems, online stores, and third-party logistics providers.
Through automation, data is transferred across multiple systems to keep track of crucial information and reports, cutting down the manual errors and delays managed by spreadsheets and email.
Inventory Management
Accurate data allows users to track items across multiple locations to ensure constant control and visibility on stock and cycle counts.
Order Management
By automating orders, ERP users can speed up and streamline order processing and fulfillment to 3PLs, vendors, and warehouses.
Financials
Outdated financial reporting can cause more than a thorn in the backside of companies. With NetSuite EDI, menial and repetitive tasks can be automated, such as recording transactions, accounts payable and receivable.
This leads to accurate reporting and better control of assets.
Logistics
Fast and efficient shipping has never been easier thanks to a 3PL, which enables round-trip order fulfillment processing. The integration enables orders to be sent from NetSuite to your 3PL, while shipping and tracking information is sent back to NetSuite.
Benefits of Integrating NetSuite to your 3PL
From managing data in many different systems to providing accurate inventory levels, the benefits of implementing NetSuite and connecting it to your third-party logistics systems outweigh anything else.
Manage Data
Be in complete control of all your data. Add, update, and remove product information, which automatically propagates your changes throughout all systems. This is essential for eliminating manual data entry and ensures accurate data across the board.
Track Inventory
There’s nothing more frustrating to a customer than when they place an order, only to be told that said item is not in stock. With NetSuite Connector, companies can ensure all inventory is tracked across all locations, guaranteeing no surprises.
Order Processing
The moment you receive an order, NetSuite will automatically send it to your 3PL provider, vendors, and warehouses to ensure deliveries are on time.
Manual Processes
Take all manual processes to the next level with automated processes that are error-free. Avoid mistakes with invoices, payments and transactions.
An EDI integration with NetSuite verifies the smooth sailing of your supply chain, throughout the process. If blurry vision in your supply chain is challenging your company’s profitability, it’s time to implement better practices.
Contact our team of experts today to find out how we can integrate NetSuite to your 3PL provider.