It takes a lot to become the best shipping & logistics company. But what does it even mean to be the best? Is it to have the most customers? Partnered with the most carriers? To have the best operations? Or, to have the best culture for employees?
It’s actually all of this, and more, being the best shipping and logistics company requires that each employee is being THEIR best. Everyone from the top management all the way to the new hires still in training. Every single person in the company must be working toward the same goal.
The real question is, how does a logistics company work to become the best? How can a company go from ordinary to extraordinary? Well, it requires commitment from the management, proper training, building and maintaining relations, and using the best tools.
Commitment from Management
You cannot be the best shipping and logistics company if the management team is full of duds. This is true for all companies, the success starts from the top and works downwards. There are countless resources out there already on how to become a better manager, but how do you become a better 3PL and shipping manager? Some methods that have worked great at Becker Logistics are:
- Have regular one on one meetings
- Be present on the operations floor
- Set aside time to plan out a strategy
- Have updated and relevant data
By employing the methods above the management team should be able to act effectively and will be one step closer to being their best. However, even the best managers cannot do much with untrained employees, which brings us to our next point.
It All starts with Training
Having the right team is everything and it all starts with training. As a 3PL shipping company, you want to make sure you have an effective training course with continued education offered. Even if a new employee has experience they will have to learn the operations, tools, and culture. By getting new employees off on the right start you are one step closer to becoming the best shipping and logistics company. However, the initial training is never enough, there should be consistent continued education to ensure your team is always growing.
Continued education is so important because it allows your team to continue to grow. Even if you ARE the best logistics company you won’t be for long without continued education. It is up to management to decide what topics need to be further explained. Additionally, it is up to management to ensure that there is time available for training. You can’t just send out an email telling your team to train on a subject, set aside time, and engage. One topic, in particular, that always needs to be covered is when a new tool or technology is adapted, which brings us to point number three.
Using the best tools
It is essential to be using the best tools available to you. In the world of 3PL shipping, there is a lot of different tools that can help you to become the best. You should be using all of them. Some of the more important ones for ensuring success are:
- Transportation Management System (TMS)
- Track and Trace
- Load Matching
- Electronic Data Interchanges (EDI)
- Reporting Tools
Also, it is important that you are making sure your team is actually using these tools, which is why continued education is so important. With proper use, your service will become much better and maybe the best. Additionally, these tools help make it so your team can focus on another important aspect of becoming the best shipping and logistics company, building relations.
Building and Maintaining Relations
Relations are everything for a 3PL company. If you want to be the best then relations have to be built and maintained with customers and carriers. This means being reliable, communicative, trustworthy, knowledgeable, and having a quality service. You cannot be the best shipping and logistics company if customers and carriers keep leaving, that just doesn’t work.
In addition to customer and carrier relations, employee relations must be retained. It can be a delicate balance trying to motivate your team to give 100% while also making sure they are happy. The best way is to make sure you have a strong sense of culture.
Becoming the Best Shipping and Logistics Company
Once these 4 methods are put into place you can start to offer the best service, have the best operations and team. In other words, you can be the best that you can be. As a shipper or carrier, these are things you should be looking for in a 3PL partner. A good team, good operations, and strong relations. Because a better shipping partner means better shipping for you.
At Becker Logistics we focus on all four of these aspects every day. We are always looking to improve our services and become the best shipping and logistics company that we can be. If you would like to see if Becker Logistics would make for a good partner then feel free to reach out to us or request a quote.
