The Importance of 3PL Technology

Technology plays a crucial role in the 3PL process and should be considered when you’re choosing a third party logistics (3PL) company. At Hopkins Distribution we pride ourselves on being ahead of the curve. We’ve been around long enough to remember the legacy systems 3PL’s used decades ago and have an appreciation for the efficiency and improvement of today’s 3PL Technology. Today, technology couldn’t be more important.

Your business will most likely need to transfer order information to your chosen 3PL company. In all cases, this is done by FTP, email, phone and fax. But what happens if the order gets entered into the 3PL company’s system inaccurately? With Hopkins’ sophisticated methods for address verification and tracking inventory, order and inventory accuracy increases significantly.

We have created our own FTP Server applications for our clients to upload/download data utilizing our proprietary technology.  This eliminates the need for your IT department to get involved with the complexities of communicating with the warehouse.  Clients simply drop a file in the to_hopkins directory and our programs handle the rest. To support our custom applications, we have designed our own online support system that provides real-time information for Open Orders, Archived Orders, Inbound Receipts and Stock Status information.  With this information at your fingertips you’ll be able to react quickly to changes in your business.

Hopkins Distribution remains at the forefront of the 3PL industry in systems development and service capabilities. When you evaluate 3PL providers for your business, keep the kind of technologies they employ in mind. You should be confident that your 3PL provider can operate at the highest level for your business. Contact Hopkins today to discuss your specific third party logistics needs!