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Pick a 3PL provider designed for scale
Today’s customers expect fast, accurate and reliable order fulfilment, no matter where in the world they are. Fulfil that expectation with James and James’s third-party logistics service.
Through ControlPort – our award-winning, cloud-based order management system – and our global network of fulfilment centres, we can help you improve your operations, customer service and inventory management.
How our 3PL solutions can help
Understand your orders and inventory
The real-time data and user-friendly dashboards that ControlPort provides enable you to:
- Access live and historic data on orders, stock, goods-in, returns and more
- Monitor stock levels, to maximise profits and customer satisfaction
- Access your data online, from any device, anytime
Provide fast, international shipping
Through our global network of fulfilment centres and carriers, your customers get:
- Their order automatically allocated to the most cost and time effective shipping service
- The chance to change their order and delivery details until the last minute
- The option to delay shipping and choose a dispatch date – ideal for special occasions
Fulfil your brand promise
Our fully branded order fulfilment option helps you build customer loyalty and encourage repeat purchase. To every order, you can add:
- Branded labels and packing slips
- Custom packaging
- Custom gift messages
- Promotional flyers and leaflets
Have confidence in your 3PL
With our award-winning order fulfilment software, you’ll benefit from a third-party logistics service with:
- 100% uptime
- Robust data security to protect customer information
- Fraud prevention rules to avoid fraudulent orders
- Speedy responses to support requests by email or phone
Cards Against Humanity expands fulfilment network with James and James
The crowdfunded card game chose James and James to provide UK and European fulfilment for its own brands and those backed by its Blackbox spin-out.
James and James is a great partner. Their operation is highly organised, their technology is sharp and always developing, and best of all, the people are kind, helpful and smart.
– Ben Hantoot, Co-founder and Partner, Cards Against Humanity
Hairstory brings its “New Wash” to Europe, increasing order volumes five times
New York's Hairstory launched its haircare products in Europe with help from James and James, increasing order volumes five times in less than two years, while managing everything remotely.
It can be a bit tricky, due to the time difference, but having access to the software is really helpful. We can see the status of any order we need to check on.
– Hailey Harn, Logistics Coordinator, Hairstory
The Literary Gift Company gains the “brainspace” to double turnover
The Literary Gift Company has solved storage issues, reclaimed valuable time and doubled its turnover in four years, by outsourcing its fulfilment to us.
There’s no way we could’ve managed the volume of orders we receive at Christmas now. Outsourcing was definitely the right thing to do.
– Dani Hall, Founder, The Literary Gift Company
FAQs
What does 3PL stand for?
Third party logistics, or 3PL for short, is a term used to describe the practice of using third party logistics companies to move goods from manufacturing plants to retail stores or even direct to consumers.
What are the benefits of using a 3PL?
Third party logistics providers offer a bespoke supply chain solution with a number of benefits, including:
Increased efficiency and productivity – By using third party logistics distribution services, companies can save time and money on shipping operations. Additionally, the use of tracking software helps to ensure that shipments are delivered to customers in a timely manner.
Improved customer service – Third party logistics companies also provide improved customer service through their experience in managing transportation operations. They have the expertise to handle any type of shipment, whether it is urgent or non-urgent, at any time during the day or night.
Reduced risk for business owners/operators – When operating a business without third party logistics support, there is increased risk in terms of potential damage caused by accidents or unforeseen delays. This can reflect badly on companies and result in poor brand reputation if not handled properly.
How does the 3PL fulfilment process work?
There are a few different ways that third party logistics fulfilment can work, but in general, in order to solve supply chain challenges, the process goes something like this:
- The customer places an order on the company’s website and selects their preferred delivery option.
- The company’s orders are forwarded to the 3pl warehouse services team who have access to the latest warehouse management technology to aid picking and packing.
- The 3pl provider picks and packs the order and prepares it for shipping.
- The order is shipped to the customer in their chosen format.
3PL companies work by taking orders from customers and then fulfilling those orders by shipping the products to the customer. The 3PL will usually have warehouse services where they will store the products, and they will also have a team of dedicated fulfilment staff who are responsible for picking and packing the orders. Once the order is ready, it will be shipped to the customer.
When should a business use 3PL?
Third party logistics companies can be very valuable for businesses of all sizes. 3pl providers offer a range of services that can help businesses manage their supply chains more efficiently and save money. It may be advantageous for companies to use a third party logistics company when they lack the appropriate resources and expertise to manage their own logistics operations. Outsourcing non-core functions can also be of benefit as this can reduce internal costs and give companies greater capacity to meet demand through more efficient inventory management.
How to find the right 3PL for me?
Finding the right third party logistics services for you will depend on your specific needs and business. You should start by evaluating your business requirements and then finding a provider that can offer the services and bespoke solutions that meet those needs.
Some things you may want to consider include the following:
- What is the size of your company/how much stock are you predicting to move?
- What distribution services do you need to provide? For example, do you offer international shipping?
- What are your delivery goals? Do you want to focus on speed or care? (Ideally you should aim for a balance of these!)
- What is your shipping budget?
- Do you need additional customer support services such as order tracking?
When should you begin to outsource to the order fulfilment services sector?
The best time to begin outsourcing fulfillment is when you have a product that is in high demand and your inventory needs exceed what you can produce in-house.
Outsourcing helps to meet order fulfilment requirements flawlessly and has many supply chain related benefits for some of the world’s leading retailers. These benefits include increased efficiency, decreased costs, and better customer service. The key point here is that if your company’s products are in high demand then there will be no need to overstock or keep expensive stock which would only serve as a drain on profits. This way, by outsourcing fulfilment services they can take advantage of fluctuations in the market while still maintaining an adequate supply without having too much excess stock piled up at any given time – this helps reduce waste and increase profitability overall!