The Cost of Rolling Forward
April 18, 2025
3PLs: Above the Fog
Thomas, an industrial sourcing platform, has produced a small eBook they’ve titled “Selling Resilience: Attracting Manufacturing Buyers.” While the wording is relatively brief, with a couple of focus areas geared to draw in Thomas business (no harm, no foul), we’re especially impressed with a particular section.
“How to Showcase Your Resilience” is the first of the eBook’s two main areas. Resilience to what? Well, everything. The post-pandemic landscape, which has been influenced by supply chain disruption. The tenuous nature of actual and possible tariffs on pricing and availability. It’s always something, and American industries have had experience with such things for only some 249 years now.
Thomas describes three approaches to showcasing resilience:
Reliability. They write: “Start by showcasing a solid track record. When talking to potential customers, highlight your reputation for on-time delivery and explain how domestic sourcing can expedite shipping time and reduce lead time variability.” This also includes transparency. “Be honest,” they write, “and upfront about lead times, pricing, and potential challenges.” They results? Reinforcing partnerships and building “confidence in your ability to deliver.”
Team NATCO has embraced this approach since we began operations more than three decades ago. Here’s the foundation of The NATCO Way:
- Experienced Logistics Planning
- Prompt Communication
- Thorough Determination of Your Needs
- Quick Turnaround on Estimates
- Reliable, Competitive Pricing
- Professional…with a Human Touch
Flexibility. The Thomas take: “Providing clients with real-time visibility into the supply chain and utilizing advanced analytics and agile processes promotes operational and supply flexibility.”
Well, yes. Adaptability is essential to the transportation industry, especially as we’re facing ever-uncertain situations. If you take disruption as a given, it helps minimize the surprise. That disruption happens all the time, from the domino effect of a simple traffic jam on I-95 to a bridge closure that requires alternate routes to get the disaster recovery shipment to its destination.
Value. Thomas writes: “What’s the No. 1 thing buyers want in a supplier? A long-term partnership.”
You might be surprised that price doesn’t top that list of things. While we’re highly competitive on rates, we wholeheartedly agree that establishing and maintaining trust is the dominant factor when companies consider different 3PLs.
90% of our customers are repeat business. We know that exceptional customer service and proactive strategy bring you back to us, time & again.