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www.foodlogistics.com FOOD LOGISTICS • MARCH 2015 33 large product movement." Flexibility is also critical to Raybern Foods. "We need a vendor who can handle a return, or a late addition to a P.O. without it generating excessive work or cost. Does the carrier have relationships with frozen warehouses or donations centers close to your major customers? You don't want to incur the cost of transporting a few cases all the way back to your DC. Is their process nimble enough to service that late P.O. or P.O. addition? How much other business is the carrier pulling out of your facility? You want to have your inventory at a facility the carrier is already using as a consolidation center rather than having the longer lead times associated with the product being picked up and then reconsolidated." For all the progress 3PLs have made in ensur- ing product safety, some shippers will take more convincing. Why some shippers will need convincing George's, a Springdale, Ark.-based frozen and refrigerated poultry processor, is look- ing to grow, says Darrel Keck, vice president of sales and marketing, but he is skeptical his company will outsource dispatch for any refrigerated deliveries on account of customer service and product quality concerns. "We could potentially out- source the frozen business and not miss a beat, but for the fresh business, somebody would have to be able to show they can handle our requirements. For now, we will continue to internally manage our total spend. You just can't miss a beat when you're handling fresh poultry." While f&b; companies often cite intangible concepts like communication and flexibility when asked to list elements of a good 3PL relationship, consultant Tony Vercillo, Ph.D., says measurable metrics can do a lot to improve these relationships. Dr. Vercillo has a scorecard for food shippers that includes metrics such as cost as a percent of sales, cost per unit or case, cost per load, and on-time delivery. Dr. Vercillo works with f&b; clients on select- ing 3PLs and says clients nowadays can be more selective than they were a few years ago since the competition among 3PLs has increased over the years. Dr. Vercillo, who operates Yorba Linda, Calif.-based IFMC Inc., says most f&b; companies fail to establish the ground rules when contracting with a 3PL. The two biggest areas of neglect Dr. Vercillo sees in these agreements are: 1) not having the right cultural fit and 2) not delivering a clear statement of expectations. "The client company didn't lay the groundwork for an agreement between the two parties," he says. The client must state if they expect the 3PL to do things like pay lumper fees and provide pallets. The two parties should also have a written resolution process in the event of a disagreement. All of these areas can be covered in the request for proposal (RFP). Dr. Vercillo says the two sides should do a conference call before the 3PL submits an RFP. "That Q&A; session is critical to making sure the 3PL responds correctly to the RFP," he says. Once the service begins, Dr. Vercillo says the client should complete a weekly scorecard on the 3PLs performance that includes four or five quantifiable metrics. ◆ For more information: 4CLARITY, 479-531-8900 CASESTACK, 866-828-7120, ww2.casestack.com C.H. ROBINSON, 800-323-7585, chrobinson.com IFMC Inc., 310-498-7991, tonyvercillo.com KANE IS ABLE, 815-886-7800, kaneisable.com R&R; SOLUTIONS, 479-787-7005, rr-solutions.com TRANSPORTATION INSIGHT, 828-485-5000, transportationinsight.com Learn more at www.iarw.org/convention Core Partners of the Global Cold Chain Alliance D E L I V E R I N G VA L U E EDUCATION | EXPO | NETWORKING TEMPERATURE-CONTROLLED SUPPLY CHAIN LEADERS... R E G I S T E R T O D AY !