You've been thinking about moving your existing company to a third party logistics company but you can't decide if you should make the move or not. Rather than spend your valuable time and energy focusing on the back side of the warehouse, you're thinking that you'd much rather dedicate your limited resources to the sales and marketing that you enjoy and that brings in a much better return for the time you invest into it. So now comes the question... what's the right time to make the move from your warehouse to your new 3PL and when should you do it?!?

Update - The Port of Montreal, shut down since Monday July 19th, 2010 by an employer lockout of longshoremen, reopened for work at 8 a.m. Saturday the 24th following a compromise agreement reached Thursday evening.

As the economy gradually recovers, the impact on shippers is predictable, and some different strategies offered in a partnership with a third party logistics providers are worth considering. The first reaction will be price increases, directly through lane rates, or by using tools such as fuel surcharges. In the first case, as a customer, you will need to sign off on any rate adjustments, but depending on the lane, you may not really have any better options. Even worse, if you have an irregular shipping pattern, and rely on spot quotes, you may be in for a real shock. As for the fuel surcharge, can we honestly claim to keep abreast of all our carriers, some of whom even change their rates weekly, or even more often?

When selecting an Internet Order Fulfillment Partner, potential clients should consider eight critical factors before a final decision is made. Volume, location, TAT (turn-around time), communication methods, rates, order entry method, percentage of error, history and credibility. Evaluating these factors when selecting an Internet Order Fulfillment provider will increase your chances of operating a streamlined and successful internet order fulfillment business model.

If you are shipping to downtown Toronto during the week between 21st - 28th please let your customers know that there will be no way to guarantee anything over that time. I've compiled a couple of links below that may help with organizing around this event. Officially the event is from June 25-27, and the restricted areas will include Spadina - Yonge and from King to Queens Quay.

The 3PL world can be very confusing for anyone who is interested in potentially outsourcing their logistics needs. Questions abound and there are hundreds of possible solutions. Once you've decided to move forward, some of the more common questions are: - Which provider should I use and what's the difference between them? - What are the costs for doing this and how do I go about setting this up? - Will I lose the visibility of my product and become just another customer in the vast sea of accounts that the company I go with services? How do I know that I'll get the attention that I need from my provider?