Easy 3PL Company Evaluation (Part 1)
Yesterday, we shared an article on the benefits of partnering with a third-party logistics (3PL) company. In it, there’s a checklist to help you decide which 3PL company you should partner with. Just like our 3PL services, we want to make things easier for you; so, we’ve taken the liberty of filling out most of the checklist’s questions. (We realize it isn’t really a checklist, but assessment questions for the prospective 3PL company.)
We will be answering the questions in two blog posts, to prevent this blog post from being too long to entertain the thought of ever reading it. With that out of the way, here’s part one:
Third-Party Logistics Evaluation Checklist
How long has the 3PL company been in business?
- Since 1998, ADLI Logistics has been providing third-party logistics services. We have a proven track record, 99.9% claims-free.
Do they serve your industry’s products?
- We serve many industries. In our warehouses, you will find products such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, chemicals, construction equipment and tools, and more. For freight, we can move items whether they are fresh, frozen, hazardous, overweight/over dimensional, and more. Contact us today and we’ll let you know how we can help you!
What is the receiving process at their location? Are items scanned?
- We start out with detailed receiving (checking for damages, shortages, and overages), then we scan (if a barcode is present), label, and store the item in one of our three warehouses, and then we enter the item’s data into our warehouse management system (WMS).
How many clients does the 3PL support? Are they near capacity?
- We acquired a new warehouse a little over a year ago, increasing our maximum storage capacity. We are confident that we can meet your warehousing needs.
What level of support do they provide?
Warehousing
- Yes. We offer ambient, cold/refrigerated, and temperature/humidity controlled warehousing. We also have a NFPA30 certified flammable products storage room.
Fulfillment
- Yes. We offer custom fulfillment services depending on your needs. We understand that order fulfillment is important to keep a business successful, and with nearly 20 years of experience fulfilling orders, we know what we’re doing, whether it’s within Canada or cross-border from the US to Canada or vice-versa.
Assembly
- Yes. We can assemble your products for you, if requested.
How do they inform you when you’re out of stock?
- You can check your stock levels via our WMS’ client login portal. We can also schedule our WMS to send you a notification when you are out of stock or at specified stock level.
Are they responsible for damage and/or theft, and at what level are you compensated?
- We have Warehouseman’s Legal Liability insurance and $1,000,000 of Freight Forwarders Legal Liability. If something does happen, you’re covered. Do keep in mind that in nearly 20 years in business, we are 99.9% claims-free.
What condition are the warehouses in? Is there security on the building?
- All three of our warehouses are GMP and GDP compliant, pest controlled, and epoxy-floored to prevent dust buildup. All of our warehouses are clean, neat, and organized. Take a virtual tour of one of our warehouses to see what we are talking about. We’ve received many positive comments about our warehouses — “immaculate” being one of them.
- Yes, our warehouses have security systems in place at all of our warehouses: 24/7 video surveillance, alarms, and digital locks that only allow entry to authorized personnel.
That concludes part one. Check back next week for part two of answering most of the questions in the checklist.
Enlist ADLI Logistics to manage your freight shipping, warehousing, and distribution needs. For more information fill out our contact form or call 1-877-363-7281!
