It’s that time of the year! Peak Season! Not everything always goes according to plan. Sometimes you need to make a change — fast. If you find yourself in the position of looking for immediate help ulfilling your customer’s orders, you may come across many companies offering third-party logistics (3PL) services.
When it comes to getting started with a new 3PL, the onboarding process can be slow and inconvenient. It can potentially take several months before you are even ready to start fulfilling orders with them. Fortunately, this is not the case for every 3PL.
If you need to secure a 3PL (whether it’s because you’re growing fast, aren’t happy with your current provider, or need help for a busy holiday season), learn how Yaca can help you get started fast. Schedule a call with a Yaca Fulfillment Expert.
Why partner with a 3PL?
You may be overwhelmed, but the good news is that you don’t have to go at it alone. 3PLs can offer many benefits to ecommerce businesses that find their volume difficult to keep up with on their own.
Get started fast while handling volume spikes effortlessly
Black Friday through Christmas Eve is the time of the year when the majority of ecommerce brands experience the biggest surge in orders. For many founders and small businesses, it’s impossible to fulfill these orders on time and keep customers happy. It can also be difficult to recruit friends and family or hire people to help pack boxes. It’s likely not your ideal way to spend the holidays or your free time either.
Offer fast shipping
Yaca’s 2-day Express Shipping is a guaranteed shipping option that enables you to offer 2-day shipping to all your customers in Panama City across all of your platforms.
How to get started quickly with a 3PL company?
Not all 3PLs are created equal. Make sure you have an understanding of your business’s needs and 3PL capabilities. Once you begin talking to 3PLs, here’s what you should prepare for and expect.
Share the right details with the 3PL upfront
When you request a quote from a 3PL, there are three key pieces of information you must be ready to share with them to expedite the process. This includes:
- Product details: How many products you need stored, each product’s weight and dimensions (length, width, and height to calculate dimensional weight to determine whether they need a pallet, shelf, or bin)
- Packaging: If you will use the 3PL’s packaging materials or your own branded materials; if you need kitting and assembly services; if you will offer bundles
- Inventory you’re sending: How many units you plan to send to the 3PL’s fulfillment center and when you expect it to arrive
Providing this information upfront and any other services you need can help you get custom pricing fast that’s based on your unique business needs.
Connecting your online store in minutes:
A tech-enabled 3PL will have software that includes integrations built with all the leading ecommerce platforms and marketplaces you may sell on such as Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Amazon, eBay, and more. Syncing your store correctly will enable you to automatically push orders to the 3PL’s technology and have them fulfilled.
For Yaca, these integrations are already built and take a matter of minutes to connect.
Selling via Instagram, Facebook Marketplace, or WhatsApp, no problem! Simply upload an excel file of your orders to Yaca’s customer portal.
Sending your inventory to the 3PL’s warehouse
Once the technology piece is set up, you’ll need to send your inventory to the 3PL’s fulfillment center. They can also teach you how to send your inventory properly so there aren’t any delays when they receive and store it.
In order for the 3PL to be able to receive your products and store each SKU, you’ll have to indicate which products they will be receiving and how many units. This is one of the most important steps to ensuring a quick warehouse receiving turnaround.
Get started now
If you need a 3PL, check out YACA. Getting setup with YACA is very straightforward. Once we help you get up and running and have your inventory, we can quickly fulfill orders that are placed on your site or uploaded via the customer portal.
Don’t wait any longer — speak with a fulfillment expert today.
