3PL Defined

It’s Not 3 Partying Llamas.

When you receive a package via UPS (and here at the cusp of Christmas, we hope you and yours receive many), you’re seeing an example of Third-Party Logistics (3PL) services in action.

For example: someone (the Customer) orders a gift (the Merchandise) on Amazon (the Store) from, say, the ABC Widget Company (the Manufacturer), and it’s sent via UPS (the Delivery Method).

In this online scenario, Amazon’s website acts as the 3PL by interfacing with the Manufacturer, the Customer, and UPS—along with a payment processing system like PayPal—toward a successful completion and delivery of the order.

Both the Manufacturer and the Customer typically experience a smooth transaction. And it’s become quite streamlined and simple. You select your item, you enter billing and shipping addresses, you choose how to pay, you click Send, and the package arrives.

Behind that is series of very complex systems. Amazon shoulders the burden of this. Good companies succeed in part by making the experience as simple as possible for all the other parties involved.

And so it is in our transportation-based 3PL world. With nearly a quarter of a century in business, NATCO coordinates our customers’ movements of freight, and to great success.

In this regard, Team NATCO measures success in key ways that have nothing to do with spreadsheets or revenue or KPIs. The benefits include:

• Managing any given, or recurring, freight movement from on-loading to off-loading.
• Orchestrating all necessary permits, lead cars, and insurance.
• Securing carriers with the right vehicle/equipment for the load.

The results? Our customers depend on us for the literal and virtual heavy lifting. By the very nature of what we do, NATCO frees up valuable resources so that our customers can focus on what they do best (as in: production and sales). This also means less overhead for those companies, which can save valuable resources (as in: not needing employees in an in-house department).

That’s what we do, and proudly so.

Team NATCO wishes you a most excellent, safe, and healthy holiday season.