Have you ever had the “pleasure” of assembling a child’s bicycle? Did you stop to consider how the packaging is designed to make it easier for the consumer?
Parts and components are inspected and subjected to quality control. Small parts are bagged or carded. Detailed instructions are included. Even the box is designed to protect the bike’s frame and other components during shipping.
How Can a 3PL Provider Help?
If you’re the bicycle manufacturer, a third-party logistics(3PL) provider may be able to help improve your production and customer satisfaction. You don’t have to outsource everything. You can benefit by outsourcing portions of your production process.
3PL providers specialize in individualized assembly, quality control, packaging, and shipping for many different companies. They can provide specialized equipment, knowledge, experience, and the ability to handle high or varying production volumes.
Reasons to Consider Outsourcing
For the sake of this discussion, let’s say that you manage the bicycle manufacturing company. You could look to outsourcing for help with problems such as:
· Expansion — Perhaps you want to introduce a new model, but your assembly, inventory, and packaging capabilities are maxed out. Rather than investing in new floorspace and equipment, you could outsource those needs to a 3PL.
· Staffing — Good employees are hard to find, whether part-time or full-time. If you’re having staffing problems, outsourcing some production functions can free up personnel for other important tasks.
· Seasonality — You may have to deal with seasonal lulls and surges in orders. Outsourcing product packaging and fulfillment tasks can reduce or eliminate the related impact on personnel, inventory, and associated overhead expenses.
· Technology — Tech like imaging, lasers, and automation can make a big difference in product packaging speed and efficiency. But the cost of entry is high and hard to justify. You can get the benefits without the cost when you outsource.
Outsourced Services a 3PL Can Provide
Although you can outsource your entire product packaging and fulfillment, it’s often beneficial to outsource specific portions of the process. A good 3PL can help you find those tasks that give you the best cost benefit.
· Kitting and Carding — Your 3PL is an expert at packaging groups (kits) of small components needed for product assembly. Kits are usually provided as blister-packed cards or individual bags of required parts.
· Sorting and Repackaging — Related to kitting, 3PLs often receive small parts in bulk quantities and repackage them into smaller task-sized packs.
· Inventory — A 3PL receives, stocks, reorders, and maintains inventory control of all the items needed for the tasks you’ve outsourced.
· Component Assembly — Your 3PL partner can preassemble portions of your product for you, such as wheels, pedals, brakes, seats, and handlebars.
· Quality Control — Items can be inspected and tested when they are received. Kits and assemblies can also be subjected to QC before shipping.
Outsourcing part or all of your product assembly and fulfillment can free up time and resources to be used on more strategic functions. And the results will include faster delivery, better quality, and greater customer satisfaction.
Component Packaging: Your Trusted 3PL Provider
When it's time to consider outsourcing your product assembly tasks to a third-party logistics provider, give us a call.
At Component Packaging, we have highly trained staff, the latest technologies, and decades of experience. We are experts at product assembly, packaging, and order fulfillment. We’d love to be your trusted third-party logistics provider.
Let’s talk: https://www.componentpackaging.com/contact-us.
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