Preparing
Preparing for the Challenge
Your clients expect a high degree of professionalism, in the way that you manage their stock, in the promptly fulfilling their orders, and in accounting for your activity. Having the right system in place is crucial. The system setup is not a one off exercise. Each time you take on a new client, system setup will need to be performed. Even the configuration for your existing clients will need to change periodically to reflect new requirements. Throughout the whole period, you will continually be looking to operate more efficiently, and to add to your capacity to service your customers.
Each one of these situations will require changes to the OrderFlow environment, which will in turn have cost implication. You should be aware of these, but over time look to minimise these costs by working more cost effectively.
Our interaction with 3PL customers is designed around a long term process to improve your understanding of the system so that you can make changes cost effectively. Whether this involves running your day to day operations, or taking on new customers, our goal is to help you realise the full potential of OrderFlow, while at the same time keeping costs under control.
In the early days, our initial focus is to get you up and running smoothly with your first client. As you introduce more of your client base onto OrderFlow, we aim to help you to become more self-reliant in bringing on new customers, and increasingly, take advantage of some of the more advanced features that OrderFlow has to offer.
Involvement of Realtime Despatch
The initial launch of the first client will be led by Realtime Despatch. The process for this is covered in detail in the Customer Implementation Project Guide. If OrderFlow is not yet live in your 3PL warehouse, we would encourage you to read this document to help you become more familiar with the implementation process.
Once you are live and up and running with your first client, you will then want to start bring other clients onto OrderFlow. Typically, we will still be very involved in taking on your second client. However, emphasis during the second implementation will be on building your capability, so that you can start doing more of the onboarding. This document aims to facilitate this process.
Once you have implemented two or three clients, our further involvement will depend on your capabilities. We may only do some of the work, for example, just the more complex configuration. How far you go down this route will of course depend on your in-house technical capability, your willingness or desire to be more self-sufficient, and the extent to which you are trained to take on more of the technical tasks.
Positioning Your Offering
Every 3PL wants to provide the best service they can offer, and we know only too well how difficult it is to say 'No' to client requests. However, there is an obvious cost implication that goes with the level of service that is offered.
Of course, all 3PL clients are different. Some will want the best quality service possible, and will have the volumes and funding available to support this. Others are more cost conscious, and their primary concern is to get the job done at the best possible price.
It is important to consider what kind of service it is realistic to provide, and how the service can be tailored to match the service level.
Most 3PLs will bill their customers based on a variety of metrics, relating closely to warehouse activity, for example to order volumes, receipts and space utilisation. In that sense, there is a close association between their revenues and their activity. However, the cost of taking on a new customer tends to be an up front cost. The 3PL may choose to absorb a portion of this cost initially, or may choose to pass this cost on directly to the client.
In the latter case, it is particularly helpful to do some up front requirements gathering prior to committing to a new client take on, to limit the extent to which unanticipated costs need to be passed on to the client.
These aspects are covered in more detail in the Onboarding Planning section of this document.
The exact volume thresholds at which it becomes economic to provide different levels of service will vary according your familiarity with the system, your in-house technical capability, and the margin you are receiving per order shipped. Some examples are shown below as a guideline for a representative B2C operation.
Note also that API-based integrations are suitable for high volumes and involve lower effort to run on a day to day basis, but do involve a lot more setup effort. These are also covered in the table below.
Example Service Volume Thresholds
| Daily Orders | Example Integrations | Example Service |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20 | None | manual data entry |
| 20 to 50 | Manual entry | or standard CSV file upload |
| 50 to 100 | Custom CSV file upload | standard API integration |
| 100 to 200 | Custom CSV file upload | standard API integration with only limited customisations |
| Over 200 | More advanced or customsed API integration | More advanced customisations, bespoke workflows or development work may be justified at these volumes. |
As the above table shows, there may be times where it will not make commercial sense to bring a customer onto OrderFlow, as the revenue that is likely to be generated will not justify the cost of taking that customer onto the system. Of course, the order thresholds above are only a guide and may vary from client to client, but illustrate the need to match the offering provided to the prospective client with the revenue they are likely to generate.
Thoughts on an Ideal Organisation Setup
The 3PL project manager responsible for onboarding a new client needs to progress two conversations simultaneously, one with the client whose orders you are fulfilling, and the other with Realtime Despatch, who are helping you to get the job done.
It is both a people-oriented and technical role. A people-oriented task in managing the expectations of your clients, and a technical role, at least in the sense that getting the job done often involves technical tasks.
Another crucial role for a 3PL organisation is the IT Manager. Having an IT Manager or Executive who has the technical skill and interest in getting the most out of OrderFlow can be a tremendous cost saver for the 3PL business.
An effective IT Manager will ideally be able to:
- perform the key project management role in new client implementations
- coordinate with Realtime Despatch Customer Delivery as well as the 3PL clients to deliver changes to the OrderFlow environment
- understand and articulate requirements for new features and complex configurations
- troubleshoot IT issues local to the warehouse, concerning printing, networking, etc.
- be one of the main 'power users' of the OrderFlow software, serving as a point of contact and information for operational staff
- take responsibility for the user acceptance testing (UAT) of new software releases
It is important to note that while Realtime Despatch may play a role in actively project managing the first client implementation, responsibility for this task should rapidly move to the 3PL with each successive implementation. This is because the 3PL is the only party that actively maintains relationships with all parties involved, including the client and Realtime Despatch.
An IT manager (or staff within the 3PL's IT department) can be even more effective in an OrderFlow environment if they are able to take their knowledge a step further, taking on technical tasks such as:
- performing basic setup for new client implementations
- setting up and testing e-Commerce and courier integrations for new clients
- setting up custom import data mapping, courier selection and shipment batching rules
- creating custom reporting and even dashboards
- creating bespoke paperwork
With capabilities in these areas, the 3PL customer will be less reliant on Realtime Despatch's Customer Delivery team for some of the most common day-to-day system implementation tasks. This is a clear cost saving opportunity.
All of these activities are covered by either customer accessible published documentation and Step by Step HowTos, or a combination of both.
Realtime Despatch is able to provide advanced technical training to 3PL customers looking to build their capabilities in this area.