Why Hire a Freight Broker/3PL?

Posted On 13th March 2017

You are a hard-driving, self-made, roll-up-the-sleeves entrepreneur who can handle truckers and logistics. Really, there aren’t many people who can do things as well as you can. Managing this cost center is a key part of your business. You like the saying “If you want a job done right, do it yourself.”

However, as an entrepreneur CEO, the choice to delegate logistics to a super-competent 3PL, 4PL, or Freight Broker will usually yield you several HUGE benefits.

Who is a Freight Broker?

A freight broker is a professional who matches businesses that need to transport goods with carriers that have available capacity. Freight brokers play an important role in the supply chain industry, helping to keep goods moving efficiently and keeping costs down.

As a business owner, you may need to ship products to customers or move raw materials and finished goods between manufacturing facilities. A freight broker can help you find the right carrier for your needs, negotiate rates, and schedule pickups and deliveries.

Freight brokers typically work with a network of freight carriers, so they can quickly find a truck or other type of transportation that meets your needs. They also have experience negotiating rates, so they can get you the best possible price for shipping.

What is a 3PL?

A third-party logistics provider (3PL) is a freighting company that provides outsourced logistics services to companies for parts of or all of their supply chain management functions. 3PLs specialize in integrated operation, warehousing, and transportation services that can be scaled and customized to customer's needs based on market conditions and the specific characteristics of their business.

Third-party logistics providers typically have more experience and expertise than companies who try to manage their own logistics operations, which can give them a significant competitive advantage. They also usually have access to a larger network of resources, including transportation options, storage facilities, and technology systems. This allows them to provide a complete solution that meets all of the customer's needs, rather than just part of the supply chain.

3PLs can provide a number of different services, depending on the needs of the customer. These can include transportation management, warehousing and distribution, order fulfillment, inventory management, and other value-added services.

Third-party logistics providers are an important part of the supply chain for many companies. They can help to improve efficiency and reduce costs while ensuring that products or materials are delivered on time and in good condition. When choosing a 3PL, it is important to consider the company's experience, capabilities, and reputation in order to find one that will best meet your needs.

Benefits of Hiring a Freight Broker/3PL

  1. You won’t need to hire a logistics director, traffic manager, or “shipping guy.” If you export and import, you also avoid hiring documentation staff.
  2. You GAIN A FREE CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT – A BILINGUAL ONE AT THAT! Empowering the Freight Broker’s team to update your sales force and customers on manufacturing lead times, and to coordinate shipping and packaging requirements is just smart business.  It can eliminate 90% of your expedited shipping costs because the Broker is in the best position to communicate and manage customer expectations most effectively. Having the Broker handle these “quotidian” communications also means that you and your staff are free to focus on value-added for your business. Our brokers at FreightRun.com are fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French – they can handle your clients no matter who they are! The result is a highly effective logistics chain, and therefore happy and loyal customers!
  3. Freight Brokers/3PLs/4PLs will ship using methods and procedures that are better thought out than your ad-hoc solutions, are much more legally rigorous and protective of you, and all-in cheaper in the end despite all the value add (their FTL and LTL final costs are lower). They save you a huge amount of management energy and focus, actual money, and reduce major business-killing liabilities for you. 

If you are not aware, if a truck with your merchandise in it is involved in a fatal accident, your company will be sued. It is likely that the suit will revert to the trucker’s insurance and, if you were smart enough to hire a 3PL, to the 3PL’s multi-million dollar liability policy.  This benefit is essentially free to your company.

Your company is unique with its own needs and goals. A good Freight Broker/3PL will do the research with you to determine, upfront, where it can add the most value as a strategic partner.

The right partner can make your company more effective for its clients, more profitable for its owners, and more nimble in your markets.