A 3PL needs best-in-class 3PL warehouse management software to efficiently manage inventory, streamline operations, and deliver accurate, real-time visibility for improved customer service and cost control. However, it’s crucial to understand that a warehouse management system (WMS) does not operate in isolation. To fully unlock its potential and ensure the success of your operations, 3PL integration is key for smooth systems interfaces and real time data. There are a host of other critical business systems that your WMS must sync with to serve your clients. This post outlines eight key 3PL integrations to prioritize.
What is 3PL Integration?
A 3PL’s WMS must integrate with other systems like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems, Order Management Systems (OMS), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Systems, Warehouse Hardware and Automation Solutions, Transportation Management Systems (TMS), and time and attendance platforms to ensure seamless data flow and coordination across various operations. This integration enables real-time visibility into inventory, transportation, workforce data, and more, allowing the 3PL to optimize processes, improve accuracy, and provide better service to clients. It also ensures that information is consistent across all systems, reducing errors and enabling more efficient decision-making.
What Are the Benefits of 3PL System Integrations?
Integrating a 3PL’s WMS with other systems offers several key benefits:
- Enhanced Visibility: Integration provides real-time insights into inventory levels, order status, and shipment tracking, allowing for better decision-making and improved customer service.
- Increased Efficiency: Streamlined processes reduce manual data entry and minimize errors, speeding up operations and freeing up staff to focus on higher-value tasks.
- Cost Reduction: By optimizing inventory management and transportation planning, integrated systems help lower operational costs and reduce waste.
- Improved Accuracy: Automated data exchange between systems ensures consistency and accuracy, reducing discrepancies and improving overall operational performance.
- Better Customer Service: With access to real-time information, 3PLs can provide clients with accurate updates on order status, delivery times, and inventory levels, enhancing customer satisfaction.
- Scalability: Integrated systems enable 3PLs to adapt quickly to changing business needs, facilitating growth and the ability to handle increased volumes or complexity.
- Data-Driven Insights: Integration allows for comprehensive data analysis across different functions, helping 3PLs identify trends, optimize processes, and make informed strategic decisions.
Eight Best 3PL Integration Examples
3PL customers have increasingly complex and unique demands. As such, there are a variety of foundational and advanced integrations that are integral for 3PLs to succeed and grow. In today’s rapidly changing market, there are eight 3PL integrations we believe are critical.
3PL Integration #1: ERP Systems, for example, Microsoft Dynamics
An ERP system offers a centralized platform that gathers, stores, and manages data from multiple business functions, such as finance, human resources, supply chain, manufacturing, procurement, and beyond. It automates the flow of billing and financial data from warehouse operations to accounting systems and reduces manual data entry and errors. This ensures real-time inventory visibility, streamlines order processing, and enhances operational efficiency. This integration also provides real-time updates for customers, which is key in competitive, high-volume operations. It simplifies compliance and reporting, ensuring that regulatory requirements are met without the need for manual intervention.
3PL Integration #2: Sales Channels, for example, Shopify
In this booming age of e-commerce, sales channels are of critical importance. Online marketplaces like Amazon, e-commerce platforms like Shopify, company websites, social media, and other platforms market and sell products to customers. Integrating these platforms with a WMS optimizes the supply chain from start to finish. The integration empowers businesses to offer a seamless shopping experience with superior inventory management and enhanced order accuracy, leading to improved customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
3PL Integration #3: Order Management System (OMS)
An order management system (OMS) is a digital platform that helps businesses track and process customer orders from placement to fulfillment. It centralizes order information, inventory management, and shipping details, allowing companies to efficiently handle orders across multiple sales channels. Traditionally, an OMS and a WMS will share the following data:
- Order Details
- Inventory Levels
- Picking and Packing Information
- Shipping Information
- Returns Information
- Performance Metrics
- Capacity and Workload Information
An OMS is crucial for managing inventory and orders, and integration with your WMS enhances operational efficiency, accuracy, and customer satisfaction.
3PL Integration #4: Warehouse Hardware and Automation
Warehouses can be fitted with a variety of hardware and automation solutions to improve the overall functioning of the warehouse. These include:
- Barcode Scanners
- Conveyor Systems
- RFID Systems
- Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS)
- Pallet Racks
- Forklifts
- Pick-to-Light and Put-to-Light Systems
- Wearable Technology
- Mobile Computers
- Weighing Scales
- Collaborative Robots (Cobots)
- Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs)
- Automated Picking Systems
- Voice-Directed Warehousing (VDW)
- Automated Packaging Machines
- Sortation Systems
- Environmental Monitoring Systems
- Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs)
A WMS integrates with various hardware like scanners, conveyors, and forklifts through real-time data exchange and automated task management. Scanners capture and validate data directly with the WMS, while control systems link conveyors and forklifts for optimized material handling. It also connects with automation such as AGVs, AMRs, and Automated Picking Systems, using communication protocols for real-time task coordination and routing. These automated systems provide status updates back to the WMS, ensuring smooth coordination and efficient operations. This integration reduces human intervention, improves accuracy, and aligns warehouse operations with broader business objectives.
3PL Integration #5: EDI Systems
EDI capabilities allow businesses to send and receive electronic documents with partners in a standardized format. This can be used for Advanced Shipping Notices (ASNs), order placement, shipment confirmations, purchase orders, invoicing, and much more. The integration ensures real-time communication between the 3PL, its clients, suppliers, and carriers, reducing the need for manual intervention.
Enhanced EDI supports a wider range of EDI transaction types. Beyond getting orders into the system, enhanced EDI enables more robust file-based integrations for shipment notices, receipt notices, return receipts, inventory adjustments, nightly inventory reconciliations, etc. The integration can be extended to provide transaction confirmations, including information on whether an order was successfully imported, along with specific details if it failed. In industries with strict regulatory requirements, the EDI ensures all necessary documentation is accurate and compliant.
3PL Integration #6: Shipping Carriers
Small parcel shipping integration, such as connecting a WMS to carriers like FedEx and UPS for e-commerce fulfillment, automates key tasks such as label creation, rate shopping, and tracking. In a high-volume environment, small parcel shipping integration helps maintain speed, accuracy, and cost-efficiency, ensuring that businesses can meet customer expectations without logistical hiccups.
3PL Integration #7: Transportation Management System (TMS)
A 3PL uses a TMS to optimize and streamline transportation operations for their clients. The TMS aids in route planning, carrier management, and load optimization, ensuring efficient and cost-effective transportation. It also provides real-time tracking for shipment visibility, enabling 3PLs to communicate accurate delivery updates and address any delays quickly. Additionally, the TMS automates billing, documentation, and compliance, reducing administrative workload and errors. Through data analytics and reporting, 3PLs can continuously improve their service and make informed decisions, ultimately offering enhanced value to their clients.
3PL Integration #8: Time and Attendance Systems
A 3PL uses time and attendance systems to effectively track employee work hours, manage shifts, and ensure compliance with labor regulations. These systems automate the recording of clock-ins and clock-outs, break times, and overtime, providing accurate data for payroll processing and reducing errors associated with manual timekeeping. This helps 3PLs monitor labor costs, manage workforce productivity, and ensure the right staffing levels to meet fluctuating demand. Additionally, time and attendance systems enable better scheduling and resource allocation, helping 3PLs maintain smooth operations, improve labor efficiency, and enhance overall service delivery to their clients.
Best Practices: Mastering 3PL Integration Implementation
In a recent webinar with the International Warehouse Logistics Association (IWLA), Mastering Integrations: Keys to 3PL Success with Modern WMS Solutions, Made4net discussed WMS integration essentials and how they impact customer acquisition, retention, and profitability. The session outlined the major steps needed for a successful 3PL integration.
- Focus on the details: Take time to truly define what your business requirements are to ensure the integration selected will address that need. No detail is too small.
- Integrate where it counts: Audit your business processes to ensure the integration is worth the effort. Some integrations may seem useful, but they may not apply to your needs.
- Consider time: While some integrations may be implemented at any time, others may require the shut down of equipment for a set amount of time. Determine when it is appropriate to disrupt operations and have a plan in place for that period.
- Prioritize logging: Establish parameters of how to log issues and communicate efficiently between team members as they support the integration process. Foster open communication so that issues can be addressed proactively, in real time.
- Plan for failure: Develop a fool-proof contingency plan to support your business if the integration fails. For instance, if you implement robotics, ensure the previous picking method remains accessible as a backup in case the integration experiences any issues. Having a redundancy in place will ensure the operation never really goes down.
- Don’t forget security: Make sure you’re compliant with data privacy laws, especially concerning personally identifiable information (PII). Develop plans for purging data, and be proactive about protecting against ransomware.
3PL integration is essential for success in today’s fast-paced, competitive 3PL environment. By focusing on the right integrations—whether it’s an ERP, sales channels, or advanced automation—3PLs can enhance their efficiency, improve customer satisfaction, and maintain an edge. Reach out to schedule a demo today.
