Food Logistics serves the entire food supply chain industry with targeted content for manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.
Issue link: https://foodlogistics.epubxp.com/i/490456
28 MARCH 2015 • FOOD LOGISTICS www.foodlogistics.com It may sound like nothing has changed a lot in what's important in a shipper/3PL partner- ship. But the food and beverage supply chain is in a constant state of flux. New storage facil- ities keep emerging, new tracking and tracing technologies are evolving, carrier capabilities fluctuate, and consignee requirements change. Food and beverage (f&b;) shippers often decide what's important in a 3PL partnership through trial and error. As a company grows, it gains a better understanding of the factors that help to decide which 3PL to partner with. For many f&b; shippers, 3PLs play a big role in allowing them to add more customers and expand to new markets. For small companies, a 3PL's carrier reliabil- ity ranks high. Newbies embark on a learning curve Oh Baby Foods Inc., an organic baby food company in Fayetteville, Ark., faced a fairly basic challenge when it had to find a way to deliver product from its manufacturer in central California to the United Natural Foods Inc. distribution center in Lancaster, Texas. Finding a cold storage facility near the UNFI distribution center was an early challenge. The other chal- lenge was finding a 3PL to move the product from the production plant to the cold storage warehouse. Company owner Fran Free managed to find a cold storage warehouse and a 3PL, but the two companies had trouble coordinating shipments. The 3PL required a delivery window of two or more hours while the warehouse would not provide a delivery appointment window of less than two hours. In addition, the two companies required different sets of information on their bills of lading. They eventually worked this out, but it took several shipments before an agreed- upon format was reached. Free eventually signed with a 3PL that was able to coordinate deliveries from the cold stor- age warehouse to the distribution center. The 3PL also was able to reduce deliveries through W hen it comes to selecting a 3PL, user priorities run a wide gamut. What's important to a multi-national food and beverage producer differs markedly from a startup company looking to gain a foothold in the market. But all users agree they need a logistics provider who understands their needs, provides reliable service, keeps abreast of new technologies and alerts them when problems arise. CHOOSING A 3PL: Shippers' Scorecards Expand Needs vary, but all shippers place a premium on competence, flexibility and communication. BY ELLIOT MARAS 3 P L s