5 Common Logistics Problems and How to Avoid Them
Don't be fooled by slick-looking software interfaces and websites. Customer service, efficiency, accountability for inventory, and transparent, honest pricing are what actually matter when working with a logistics company.
AVL Fulfill wants to ensure that we are the solution to all of your logistics problems. So we've researched the most common complaints from the most widely used logistics companies to streamline the most customer-friendly fulfillment experience.
Let’s look at some common problems that leave 3PL customers less than satisfied with their fulfillment services and how AVL Fulfill has improved the logistics.
Lost Inventory
A surprising amount of customers using the most popular logistics services reported issues with lost inventory. Some reviews stated that because their fulfillment center had so many locations, it was easy to lose track of their inventory. Others reported that their product counts would randomly change without any explanation. While these 3PLs offered some customers "fulfillment credits", the lost opportunity for sales and good customer service is nonrefundable.
While AVL Fulfill does have a large warehouse with plenty of opportunity for growth, everything is processed and stored under one roof. We have storage and fulfillment stations dedicated to each brand so that all of your stock is in a well-organized mini-ecosystem, making it impossible to lose your inventory.
2. Mislabeled Inventory
Now let's talk about the importance of clear, accurate, and organized storage and labeling. Too many 3PL user reviews comment on experiencing regular inventory discrepancies when deliveries arrive at their warehouse. The number of items expected doesn’t match what is “received” and it appears some inventory doesn’t arrive at all. In the end, it is almost always a labeling error.
Because of poor attention to detail and lack of organization, simple labeling errors like these will quickly result in inaccurate fulfillment and can critically damage a growing company's profit margins and reputability. These mistakes are avoidable with well-organized and implemented protocols in place.
At AVL Fulfill, we start and end each shift with bin checks to make sure everything is properly labeled and in its correct location for picking.
We implement 2-hour shifts so none of our employees get burnt out on the same repetitive task where careless mistakes can happen.
When it comes to the actual picking and packing of your products, we designed a “meticulous verification” process that leaves no room for error, guaranteeing each package contains the correct amount of properly labeled items.
3. Slow stocking times
Some of the most frequently asked questions on fulfillment center forums are from anxious business owners waiting to add more stock to their online store. “When will my inventory be available?” or, “It says my inventory has been delivered to the warehouse, how long does it usually take _____ to receive your inventory?”.
A study conducted by Harvard Business Review showed that on average retailers will lose about 50% of their intended purchases when customers encounter a stock-out. With the statistic of about 80% of online shopping carts being abandoned, you can’t afford to give any more customers a reason to abandon their order.
With certain logistics services, it is normal for inventory to take 2-3 weeks to become in stock. One 3PL customer said they waited over a month for a delivery to be checked in, creating a very stressful period of upset customers and processing refunds.
At AVL Fulfill, we know the importance of capturing a customer while they are interested and ready to spend money. And we want to see your inventory moving as quickly as you do. Products that are just sitting on pallets waiting to be received aren’t making anybody any money.
Faster turnover rates mean higher margins and profitability so AVL Fulfill never leaves any chance of your product going out of stock when it is physically there for the customers.
4. Outsourced customer service
Even with service level agreements built into the contract, many top-ranked fulfillment centers take over 48 hours to respond to customer service requests. Sometimes the SLAs reset randomly without an explanation or follow-up at all.
With too many moving parts and thousands of customers to manage, most large 3PLs hire call center representatives to screen and manage incoming calls and emails. While this can be a relief to the fulfillment center, it puts stress on the business owners who are trying to communicate with them.
Customers report the call center rep is often too disconnected from the fulfillment center and the brand to understand what the problem is resulting in hours of back and forth emails, explaining the same issue to multiple people.
As a small business-friendly 3PL, AVL Fulfill is dedicated to you and we make sure to maintain the faculties needed to support your business first.
We aren’t overwhelming ourselves with thousands of customers, making you wait days to have your concerns addressed. We are locally owned and operated, meaning we’re right here in the warehouse and accessible to you in real-time.
We promise the most personalized customer service and will provide you with the level of attention, understanding, and care you expect and deserve from a business partner.
4. Overcharging Storage Fees
Storage space is a big reason business owners make the switch to outsourcing fulfillment. You can scale up or down without having to sign a lease on additional storefront space or renting a storage unit. The fulfillment center keeps your inventory accessible and ready to ship out with much less risk.
However, it seems a lot of businesses don’t know what they’re getting into when they sign the contract and agree to pay storage fees. Customers agreed that when they saw the quoted price for storage per shelf or pallet, it seemed reasonable. Yet they didn’t realize these 3PLs were going to put so few products on the shelves or have “allowable pallet height” stipulations.
What you think may fit onto one pallet, may actually take up twice the space according to the warehouse, doubling your estimated monthly storage bill.
Brick and mortar retailers can assign a dollar amount to each square foot in their sales space by averaging their revenue earned and the number of square feet.
But many of those retailers don’t realize that the cost of rent per square foot for warehouse space is generally cheaper than for retail space.
Of course with the increase in e-commerce and decrease in brick-and-mortar businesses over the last few years, it’s not as cheap as it used to be.
But AVL Fulfill made the promise to never overcharge people for square footage in our warehouse. We charge a minimal fee of 50cents per cubic foot and you only pay for the space needed to house your current inventory.
Sure, we could do what most other 3PLs are doing and have our vendors pay our “rent”… But we aren’t here to take advantage of anyone. We started AVL Fulfill as an honest and fair way to help small businesses thrive and we’re sticking to it.
5. Oversized packaging
You know when you receive a gigantic package in the mail and you open it up only to find a tiny little item inside? Whether it’s due to laziness, carelessness, or someone taking advantage of the system, it's obvious to anyone how wasteful the excessive packaging is.
Sadly it seems that some logistics companies are just not packing orders appropriately, whatever the reason may be. And it’s costing business owners and their customers a lot of money.
Many prominent 3PL users say the dimensional pricing seemed fine at first, being told that there’s an algorithm that determines the best size package for their items. But the algorithm seems to be flawed and larger boxes than necessary are used all the time.
At AVL Fulfill, we are constantly researching the newest methods for effective shipping and inventive packaging options to reduce waste.
We’ve implemented steps during the picking and packing process to reassign items to smaller boxes when we find orders that just don’t need all that extra space.
Whether you want to cut back on the amount of plastic you're using or find less cumbersome but equally protective packaging, we are always looking for ways to help you save while reducing our carbon footprint.
There are endless experiences, good and bad, in the world of third-party logistics. Consider your relationship with fulfillment right now and ask yourself “Do I deserve better?”
At AVL Fulfill, we prioritize exceptional customer service, treat your inventory as if it was our own, and are always improving efficiency while lowering your costs. And most importantly, we promise to never overcharge you or hide fees from you.
We know you deserve better. You deserve the best, and AVL Fulfill is here to prove that to you.
Check out our simple pricing page here.
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