Benefits of Using the Right Logistics Provider

April 28, 2023

When it comes to operating any size business that is selling products – every level of the supply chain is integral to the success and flow of the business. The downside to this system is that business owners must put their trust in the operators at every level, from conception, product development, and of course logistics. That is why more companies are deciding to outsource logistics to more reliable providers.

“Outsourcing parts of the supply chain to a logistics provider has become commonplace for organizations further along in their growth cycle. According to a report from Armstrong & Associates, over 90% of Fortune 500 companies stated that they use a third-party logistics provider in some capacity, and that trend is only increasing” (Source: Zipline Logistics).

Logistics and small businesses

When it comes to logistics and courier services, there are so many moving parts in the system. Additionally, there are also outliers like weather and traffic that can cause disruptions in the chain of operations on a daily basis. Check out our previous blog here to learn more about logistics and why it is important for your company.

For small business owners specifically, it is difficult to predict these disruptions and even gain support or reparations when something goes wrong. Most of these small business owners are left to “put out fires” with their customers all on their own with little to no answers or communication about shipment delays, loss packages, etc.

The struggles with the wrong courier service:

We asked a small business owner in Ontario to provide us insight working with numerous large courier services. The main issue she came across was poor customer service, “Most issues are customer service questions that your account manager doesn’t deal with, so it’s important to have easy access to the customer service line.”

Some examples of issues she came across are:

A provider shutting down their call center when their volume increased towards the holidays
A provider’s system would take hours to days to update requests meaning pickups weren’t scheduled and this delayed sending orders
Another provider shut down their pickup service when it got too busy and this impacted businesses

For this business owner, she was looking for a provider that would be transparent, adaptable and reliable when it comes to supply chain management. “For the most part, there’s going to be hiccups with every company because of human error so it really comes down to communication and how quickly that company can resolve any issues.“

Ultimately, this business owner decided to choose a courier provider that alleviated all her issues and continues to communicate and provide solutions to ensure her business runs smoothly.