Article

Innovate or Die: The 4 KPIs of 3PL You Need to Know

by Dave Carleton
US Practice Director, Manufacturing & Distribution, TARGIT,

In the world of third-party logistics (3PL), innovation is king. Indeed, innovation is one of the top aspects companies look for when considering a move to horizontal collaboration. But in recent years, short contracts and price pressures have prevented inventive changes for many logistics companies. So how do you overcome these challenges to innovate, profitably and creatively?

Let's start with the core reasons companies look outside their organization for the shipping process in the first place. From a shipper's perspective, 3PL offers a level of expertise and a core competence that they don't have. A third party also offers attractive economies of scale, so they can negotiate low rates that a manufacturer might not be able to achieve on their own. Lastly, a 3PL is expected to offer an innovative solution to the status quo.

But what does this mean exactly in terms of logistics? When it comes to supply chain management, it's not about re-inventing the wheel. It's about collaboratively creating better or more effective products, processes, services, technologies, or ideas from shop floor to the door step of your customers.

Innovation means anything and everything from reducing working capital to reducing transit times, and displaying a higher level of visibility into the process. In order to achieve any of this, there must be a process of collecting data, understanding it, and transforming it into actionable solutions. Indeed, increased access to an ocean of data-and the tools that allow you to analyze and understand it-is one of the strongest and fastest factors driving innovative new ways to approach supply chain management today.

And how do you achieve all of this? The answer, put simply: a data discovery process with business intelligence and analytics. Business intelligence and analytics gives insight into ...

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About Dave Carleton

Dave is the U.S. Practice Director for Manufacturing and Distribution at TARGIT, www.targit.com. Dave has spent his entire career, over three decades, providing business solutions to the Manufacturing and Distributions industries. His practical experience includes program development, marketing, and sales with an education in accounting.

Dave's passion is twofold, providing and assisting individuals to reach their potential and helping businesses reach their potential through technology implementation.

Dave has spent the last five years consulting with Microsoft Dynamics ISV's to expand their businesses through channel development, branding, marketing, and direct sales. Prior to that, he was the founder and President of Maximum Business Solutions. Max Biz, as it was known as, was one of the fastest growing and recognizable ISV's in the Microsoft Dynamics eco system with solutions in WMS and Route Accounting. He proudly wears the title "Godfather of WMS."

Dave is married with three adult children.    

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