Logistics Software Development & Third Party Logistics

If you're searching for new shipping solutions, you may have encountered the debate that asks: which is more beneficial to the shipping process: implementing a logistics software solution or outsourcing logistics to a third-party logistics provider?

To answer this question, it helps to consider the three things that every company wants out of the shipping process: cost-effectiveness, excellent delivery time, and safe delivery of freight. With these things in mind, we take a look at whether a logistics software development service or a 3PL solution offers the greatest value.

Cost-Effectiveness

In terms of cost, you'll always pay more to receive a comprehensive, innovative approach to the shipping process from a 3PL than you will to implement a logistics software solution, and the reason why is simple: when you hire a full-scale 3PL provider, you pay a company to do what logistics software does without employing anyone. In other words, the software allows you to become your own logistics provider.

Types of 3PL Providers

Although other types of 3PL providers can be hired for less than the cost of customer developers, they don't provide the same level of service, with standard 3PL providers and service developers only offering specific services, and customer developers handling the full shipping process without proposing new solutions.

Excellent Delivery Time

Excellent delivery time depends on route analysis and optimization, as well as the availability of integrated shipping solutions. In simple shipping situations, route analysis could consist of analyzing route time in relation to distance, road surface quality, traffic patterns, etc.

Complex Shipping Situations

While in complex shipping situations, such as global shipping or moving unfinished products from location to location during the manufacturing process, route analysis could consist of the strategies mentioned above along with developing integrated shipping arrangements that could combine road, air, sea, and rail shipping, or any combination thereof. Improved delivery time can be achieved with both logistics software and 3PL.

Safe Delivery of Freight

The safe delivery of freight is achieved through the freight optimization, particularly in terms of using the right stacking strategies and ensuring that like products are shipped together. The cost of broken freight is perhaps the least mentioned aspect of shipping costs, and preventing it from happening can be achieved with either 3PL or logistics software. However, unless a shopper is looking for freight optimization alone, using logistics software would be the better choice financially.