3PLs Vs. Freight Forwarders

There are a lot of new terms that most of us have no idea about. Supply chain, freight forwarding, last mile, 3PL, and also fulfillment are becoming new terms that people absolutely love. Ecommerce is also a major topic currently, and right now, the supply chain has two major areas that are involved, and those are 3PLs and freight forwarders. It’s hard to understand the industry. But here are a couple of terms, the differences and also what the similarities are between this. 

Freight Forwarding 

Freight forwarding by definition is basically a company that forwards, or literally moves, a product from one location to the next. They’re non-asset providers and usually don’t manage the same trucks or drivers are typically workers at the port. They manage the locations of the fulfillment, the places where they’re shipped, and how they get transported for distribution and fulfillment. 

They are better with shipping rates than your traditional shipping company for the sole reason of they know what they’re moving, and they can move a lot. They oftentimes usually do more than a regular ecommerce company. They also coordinate the shipments that need multiple transport types, and also look to the air and sea. 

Freight forwarders also get the imports and the exports of this, and this is something that typically involves a lot of red tape that smaller companies struggle with. They also know the best way to transport something, so you can get the best deals, and the best shipping possible to anywhere. 

Third Party Logistics Companies 

3PL, or third party logistics companies are a bit different. While the freight forwarder manages all of the freight weight, they handle one of these: 

• Transport 

• Warehousing along with fulfillment 

• Forwarding 

Transport is usually different moving services, and usually involve trucks, rails, ocean, air, and also other models. Fulfillment and warehousing involves fulfilling the inventory, ecommerce, inspection, or also sitting too. Forwarding is something as well that falls under 3PL, as this can be something that does help with B2C shipping 

This can be confusing for people to understand, but if you look at it, the forwarder does manage the warehouse in many chances. They may also pick, fulfill, and even pack the fulfillment orders. This is something that can definitely offer DTC shipping for people. You can outsource this in a lot of cases, and then, you don’t have to worry about the leases or renting a warehouse, hiring and firing different employees, or the other tacks that go with fulfillment. 

Choosing between them

There are different factors to consider when choosing one of the two. If you’re only focused on getting git from point A to point B, then you just want a freight forwarder, since that’s their job. If you’re getting inventory shipped from China to a warehouse, and then to consumers, then get yourself a 3PL, as that will handle all of that work. 

If you have some inventory that’s new, but you don’t have enough to actually justify the shipping container costs. This is a good one for freight forwarding as they can handle all of the needs, organize this, and usually it’s much cheaper than you will think. If you’re working in one locale and you have it pouring in from another place, maybe across the country, get a 3PL, as they can usually help with the issue, get it to customers fast, and in a way that helps. 

You’ve got two options, so make sure to weigh in these options before you choose, and you can also improve the service that you give to customers.