5 benefits of logistics in every business

Businesses, whether online or brick-and-mortar, have to cope with particular activities that determine success when handling an order. These logistics components include order fulfilment, warehousing, inventory management, and transportation, all being important parts of a business operation.

Depending on factors such as business size and budget, merchants can choose to outsource their logistics to third-party logistics companies (3PL) or perform self-fulfilment. While each has its pros and cons, the benefits of logistics outsourcing are unparalleled. On the other hand, self-fulfilment has logistical challenges such as scalability, cost-ineffectiveness, and time consumption.

With third-party logistics, businesses can enjoy reduced shipping rates, professional cargo handling, and automated inventory management. In this article, we explore some of the reasons businesses should consider having proper logistics systems in place.

1. Experience in logistics simplifies shipping

Customers expect a smooth and straightforward checkout process when shopping online. The lack of streamlined processes is one of the reasons 69% of online shoppers abandon their carts. To counteract this, experienced logistics companies like DHL Express provide handy e-commerce tools such as an integration API that improves the checkout process for your customers.

The activities that happen from the moment a customer makes an order to the last-mile delivery can be pretty intricate, especially for cross-border shipping. This is why logistics personnel undergo intensive training and certification to prepare them for these operations. Activities such as warehousing, packaging, route planning, and transportation involve an army of professionals, which ensures efficient shipping.

2. Lowers your shipping costs

Another advantage of engaging a third party logistics company is that they can help you lower your shipping costs. The standard expectation among online customers is low shipping or delivery fees. In fact, a study by Inc.com revealed that 88% of online customers prefer free shipping. Outsourcing logistics services delivers a lot of value for money, so businesses can afford to offer low shipping fees to their customers.

Third-party logistics service providers have several ways that help clients cut costs, which in turn allows them to share the benefit with their customers. With numerous warehouses, dozens of human resources, and fleets of transportation vessels, they are able to offer excellent services at affordable prices. Handling these services as a business owner is costly, which forces you to charge your customers high shipping costs.

3. Speeds up shipping

Most customers expect a delivery period of one to three days. If the delivery period exceeds five days, the customer will likely abandon their cart.

A number of reasons cause delays in shipping. Pressure on logistics networks, inadequate personnel, and unexpected accidents are the common causes. In most cases, customers are rarely concerned about the shortcomings that can lead to delays in shipping. Third-party logistics companies solve this issue by offering prompt communication and tracking capabilities.

Third-party logistics companies provide order tracking to let customers view the items in transit. This transparency aids in accurate shipping information and updates, which strengthens customer trust.

Fast shipping – up to same-day delivery – is made possible by strategies such as omnichannel fulfilment. This fulfilment approach involves the distribution of cargo to customers from the nearest fulfilment centre based on their location. Cutting delivery times remarkably and reducing shipping costs are just some of the many advantages of logistics.

4. Help you reach more markets

E-commerce businesses have great potential to expand to markets beyond their borders. Brick-and-mortar businesses can establish online stores to widen their markets. While most enterprises recognise this potential, according to DHL Supply Chain, 60% of them have not tapped into e-commerce.

Going global has its fair share of challenges, one of them being international shipping. However, with the right help, cross-border is manageable. Third-party logistics are equipped with the means required to ship internationally successfully.

Third-party logistics exposes businesses to markets in regions they would have otherwise not been able to access, as doing this in-house is quite costly in terms of warehousing, transportation, and other logistical operations.

5. Allows businesses to focus their effort elsewhere

Besides shipping, companies have a lot of other activities needed to run everyday operations in the business. For the most part, operations will depend on the size of the business, as well as their industry. Managing all the activities in these sectors while still worrying about transportation is typically infeasible. The importance of logistics management in business cannot be understated, and this is where working with a reliable company like DHL Express is critical for the success of any business.

There are many benefits of third-party logistics, such as leaving you with not only more time but also peace of mind. That means most 3PL companies have exemplary success rates such that you are guaranteed logistical expertise at affordable costs.

Partner with DHL Express

DHL Express is among the top third-party logistics companies in the world. Most businesses look to DHL Express for same-day deliveries, best shipping rates, dedicated and priority support, and so much more perks that help grow their businesses. Learn more about the benefits of partnering with us, and when you are ready to ship, sign up for an account.