The rapid growth of ecommerce and omnichannel shopping is drastically changing the 3PL warehousing industry. The demand for faster delivery times, rising customer expectations, and high-volume fulfillment are putting a strain on 3PL warehouses to deliver on their SLAs. In fact, a study conducted by hardware manufacturer Zebra found that 66% of supply chain businesses claim that they’re struggling to keep up with the velocity of sales. Despite this, what’s more surprising is that 55% of organizations are still using pen and paper to manage the growing demand for omnichannel logistics. As a response, more and more 3PLs are now turning to technology partners like 3PL Central to develop a streamlined, scalable solution that cuts out manual processes, human error, and extra cost.

To help third-party logistics warehouses and their customers manage this growing demand, 3PL Central is excited to announce the enhanced unified small parcel shipping suite. Comprised of SmartScan, SmartPack™ and SmartParcel™, the unified small parcel shipping suite offers a seamless fulfillment workflow that helps 3PLs ensure both speed and accuracy – especially for peak seasons and high volume shipping. Developed with top-performing 3PLs in mind through the 3PL Intelligence Initiative, this suite of products creates an integrated, paperless shipping workflow that reduces manual labor while increasing accuracy for warehouse staff.

While enhancing our core small parcel shipping features and workflows, 3PL Central took the opportunity to  partner with other industry leaders that help 3PLs manage operations and bring value to their bottom line. One such partner is ShipEngine, the leading multi-carrier shipping provider that powers Stamps.com (STMP) and ShipStation. We are excited to announce that ShipEngine is now fully integrated with SmartParcel. Combining our platforms continues to drive best practices and enhancements to 3PL Warehouse Manager and offers our customers the ability to easily support high volume shipping, integrate with more carriers, and reduce shipping account set-up time to mere minutes.

Unified Small Parcel Shipping Suite | Best Practice Pick, Pack, Ship Workflows

3PL Warehouse Manager WMS, combined with the unified small parcel shipping suite, provides an end-to-end solution for ecommerce and high-volume fulfillment in four simple steps. These best practices were built upon extensive consultation with high-performing ecommerce 3PLs to deliver repeatable and scalable workflows to enhance warehouse performance and accuracy.

1. Sync to shopping carts with 3PL Warehouse Manager. Orders flow from shopping carts directly into 3PL Warehouse Manager for warehouse fulfillment.
2. Pick with SmartScan. Warehouse staff can easily follow onscreen picking instructions directly from their mobile scanning device. As orders are picked, data is instantly synced with the WMS.
3. Pack with SmartPack. Accurately scan, pack, and verify each item into the correct box. Any errors will be flagged by the WMS to remove any inaccuracies in the order.
4. Ship with SmartParcel. Once orders are easily picked and packed, connect to carriers and select the best shipping rate from within 3PL Warehouse Manager and print a shipping label within seconds.

This best practice workflow has been critical in helping customers manage exponential growth in the warehouse.

“The unified shipping suite has helped our business scale and maintain operational efficiency especially as our order volume grows,” said Michael Bryant, Chief Technology Officer of Brilliant Fulfillment. Since implementing 3PL Warehouse Manager and the unified small parcel shipping suite, Brilliant Fulfillment has grown order volume over 100% year over year “Using these modern tools has helped us with maintaining inventory accuracy, become more competitive, and allowed us to gain credibility with our customers.”

3PL Central’s unified small parcel suite is available today. Third-party logistics warehouses looking to optimize their shipping process in time for peak season should call 888-375-2368 or request a demo today.