meeting a 3pl provider for the first time? be prepared
TRANSCRIPT
Meeting a 3PL Provider for the First
Time? Be Prepared
Contributed by Charles Intrieri on April 8, 2013 in Operations & Supply Chain
Forming a relationship or partnership with a Third Party Logistics (3PL) company is an
important decision. When visiting the 3PL’s facilities for the first time, it is important to
come prepared. Be prepared to ask the right questions, cover the right topics, and achieve
the right objectives. You are interviewing the company to see if they can fulfill your
company’s immediate and long term needs.
This article presents an agenda for a visit to any 3PL provider. In this case example, the
agenda has been customized for a frozen food service company.
TENTATIVE AGENDA
<Date of Meeting>
Quest to be partners working in collaboration and trust
Are you a public or private company? Asset or non-asset 3PL or both?
Re-Distribution Discussion : Our suppliers to the 3PL facility TL,
(Consolidation/pooling with other 3PL customers) for storage in a freezer/reefer
warehouse/mixer, out to our customers TL (Consolidation/pooling with other 3Pl
customers) and “last mile” program, exceeding our customer expectations
Discuss our customer control and “Last Mile” of going beyond customer expectations
and driver deliveries; “dock high” or no dock (Lift Gate Service)
Food Discussion : Temperatures, Safety, Damage (RMA procedure), Spoilage,
Dunnage, Pooling/Consolidation, Temp Tags, GPS, Deliveries to our customers
LTL/TL Discussion : quote review/Quarterly Business Plan (QBR) review time; goal:
use TL to gain best freight rates by pooling and consolidation with 3PLs other
customers
Do you have a mission statement?
Can we review your Table of Organization (TO) chart, if available? Who do we call for
all activities? Who will be our main contact, point person? Our contact person?
Kindly walk us through some critical processes: e.g. incoming order processing,
receiving, cross-docking, dock-to-stock, damage/quality checks, inventory records
accuracy, warehouse inventory level/turns management, warehouse/picking, quality
checks, etc.
Meet the people who do the actual warehouse work on the 3PL floor
Customer Satisfaction Measurements/Customer Service to our customers: going
beyond their expectations: your drivers and our customer relationships? VOC (Voice
of the customer) feedback mechanism.
Invoice/Billing methodology: One invoice per month?
Reports you use/we may require
IT discussion: your IT person (name) : MWS options and Integration , TMS, YMS
and integration with us; reports needed: Optimization QBR/cost reduction sharing
OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Association) management
Continuous Improvement Methodology : Lean, 5S , Gemba, Six Sigma , Cycle
Counting process, Cost Reduction focus, Slotting/Re-slotting, Kaizen Blitz , Value
Analysis , Using your expertise, WMS/TMS Optimization; do you use YMS (Yard
Management Systems) and Optimization of Freight
Export Tracking System/Logistics/Freight Forwarder/Customs/discussion:
shipment timeframes, documentation/management
Carrier Management: TL/TL TMS Optimization
Top Management availability should critical problems arise, (names; contact
numbers) our counter point person here/on the East Coast?
SLA/KPI/Escape clause, change process, modification clause and cancellation clause
discussion
Contract negotiation: who/how/when?
Your financial stability
Food Industry Experience/ Food Customers References?
Ask for the 3PL’s Value Proposition
Value Proposition A value proposition is a promise of value to be delivered. It’s the primary reason a prospect should buy from
you. Learn about Value Proposition definition, within the context of business model innovation here .
Tell us why we should choose you as our 3PL partner?
What are additional issues you’d like to discuss, other than these topics?
Good luck with your initial meeting!
About Charles Intrieri
Charles Intrieri is subject matter expert on Cost Reduction, Supply Chain, and 3rd Party Logistics.
Managing his own consultancy for the past 25 years, Charles has helped dozens of clients achieve leaner
and more efficient operations. You can connect with him here on LinkedIn or email him directly (
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