The outsourcing advantage: How a 3PL can optimise your logistics operations

For fashion and lifestyle brands, there are times when products fly off the shelves and times when inventory inevitably piles up. Successfully managing these fluctuations requires the ability to quickly scale up or down warehousing and transportation operations as needed. Outsourcing your logistics operations to a specialist third-party logistics (3PL) provider  will allow you to scale  capacity when you need it. Here are our top three reasons why outsourcing can give you a competitive edge. 

Cost efficiency: Only pay for what you use 

Especially, with the cost of warehousing rising sharply in recent years, it’s damaging your bottomline to pay for capacity that you don’t use. By outsourcing your logistics operations to a 3PL provider, you can add extra capacity during peak periods, such as Black Friday, without paying for that same on-top-off capacity for the rest of the year. Maintaining just the right level of capacity for your evolving needs can therefore help reduce your operating costs.  

To understand whether your brand is using warehouse space effectively, you need to look at your capacity utilisation rate. This is the amount of space being actively used in your warehouses, as a percentage of the total space available. A capacity utilisation rate of 80% or more is excellent, but that idle 20% could still be working harder. To achieve this, it may be worth creating an annual plan that reflects the demand cycle throughout the whole year, taking into account key sales moments and for example planned product launches. 

Of course, an inventory buffer is necessary to avoid out-of-stock products, which can cause customers to look elsewhere for their purchases. However, by working closely with an experienced specialist 3PL provider, you can create a demand forecast that accurately reflects your brand’s needs. “At Bleckmann, we conduct monthly and quarterly business reviews with our clients to help them determine their capacity requirements for the entire year,” says Joris van de Westelaken, Director of Client Services at Bleckmann. “This ensures that brands have the space they need, exactly when they need it.” 

Speed: Fulfil your orders quickly 

Next-day and even same-day delivery is increasingly the norm, with shoppers prioritising speed of delivery in their purchasing decisions. Indeed, a McKinsey study found that almost half of consumers abandon their online shopping carts when the delivery times offered are too long.¹ “Effective demand forecasting can help you avoid this by ensuring you have enough transportation and warehousing capacity to deliver on time, every time,” explains Matthias Vandecasteele, Sales Director for Lifestyle at Bleckmann. “Customer satisfaction is more and more dependent on fast delivery, and being able to scale up your resources when needed is a huge advantage.” 

Global reach, local excellence: Delivering a consistent service 

Scalability isn’t just important at the individual warehouse level. As your customer base grows, you may need to expand your operations across different regions. Working with a 3PL partner that has a well-established transportation network allows you to extend your brand’s reach as efficiently as possible. “We work with a variety of transportation partners in each market, which means our clients can choose the option that best suits their strategic ambitions – whether it’s the fastest, the greenest or the most cost-effective carrier,” continues Joris. “We can also help the client understand how to tailor their transportation choices to reflect regional consumer preferences.” 

Indeed, one of the areas where regional preferences vary the most is sustainability. In markets such as France, where 98% of consumers are looking for more sustainable delivery options,² flexibility can be a key asset when it comes to meeting consumer demands for sustainability. “Advanced route planning software can drastically reduce transport-related emissions by adapting to real-time driving conditions,” says Ruud Mars, Business Development Transport Director at Bleckmann. “This helps drivers avoid congested areas to ensure that they can maintain a more consistent speed, resulting in lower emissions.” 

Scalability and flexibility: The key to optimising your logistics operations 

As your fashion or lifestyle brand grows, so do its logistics requirements, both in terms of warehousing space and processes but surely also  transportation capacity. But before you invest in assets that are likely to sit idle for long periods of time, consider the benefits of outsourcing your logistics. Working with a 3PL provider gives you the flexibility, scalability and expertise to expand your operations as your brand grows, without wasting your restricting budget.