Thursday, November 29, 2012

The Selection Process Of 3PL Providers

By Lenore Bolton


There has been a trend in the global market whereby most if not all institution are specializing in core areas of business. In this respect, 3PL providers have become very important in facilitating the achievement of the objective of specialization. All in all, there are a few guidelines to be followed in the selection of a company that you would like to outsource a function to.

If you are looking for a supply chain management firm, carefully select the company as it could determine your overall performance. The first rule is to select a company with a good reputation. You can use the internet as a reliable source of information for ratings and customer reviews regarding the quality of services offered.

Take note of the companies that have consistently received positive reviews. In simple terms, the company to be chosen should have a good track record. You can also get such information from friends or acquaintances that have had the opportunity to work with a particular company before.

Choose a firm that is competent enough to perform all the functions that you need to be done. For instance, it would be advisable to select one that is able to determine if they can handle the workload at hand. This is why it is important to select a company that is experienced and an expert in the field.

Another factor that one needs to consider is the price. This is mainly because these companies have transformed to offer many more services compared to what was being offered before. In fact, at much lower rates. You can easily get a firm that has worldwide coverage coupled up with additional services at very affordable rates.

The information that is provided to you by the company regarding the price of the contract should be as detailed as possible. In fact, the prices should be broken down so as to ensure that all details are transparent. This can help you to reduce the chances of incurring additional costs arising from missing details.

Preferably, you should have a selection team that is tasked with the responsibility of choosing the right firm. The team should be thorough enough to investigate each and every detail prior to the engagement. Other factors to be considered include whether the company has the right human resource or technological facilities to efficiently carry out the job.

Find out if the company is able to efficiently deal with any changes that may arise when work is in progress. Flexibility should not be overlooked. By all means, the company should be able to deal with such a situation as efficiently and effectively as possible as delays can turn out to be very costly.

The final step of the selection process of 3PL providers is to carry out face to face interviews and reviews of financial records. You should be dealing with a service provider who is financially sound. The most important thing to note is that the reviews should be as detailed as possible before the final agreement is made.




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