INDUSTRIES WE SERVE
3PL & Logistics
Running a third-party logistics operation means managing other people’s supply chains under contractual pressure, with your own cost structure, and on technology that has to serve multiple clients simultaneously. We’ve run these operations. We know how the math works — and where it breaks.
What We See in 3PL Operations
The economics of 3PL are unforgiving. Client contracts are typically structured around rate-per-unit metrics that were negotiated based on volume projections and operational assumptions that may no longer reflect reality. When labor costs rise, when a client’s product mix shifts, or when throughput volumes change without a corresponding rate adjustment, the profitability of an account can deteriorate quietly until it’s too late to renegotiate without a service event forcing the conversation.
The WMS complexity that multi-client operations create is real and often underestimated. Configuring a single system to serve clients with different labeling requirements, different receiving workflows, different billing logic, and different reporting expectations requires a level of operational rigor that most WMS implementations don’t build in from the start. The result is a patchwork of workarounds, manual steps, and client-specific procedures that increase labor cost and create fragility every time something changes.
Client onboarding is where most 3PLs lose money they don’t realize they’ve lost. The setup costs, the IT integration work, the operational learning curve during the first 90 days — these are rarely fully recovered in the contract rate. When the onboarding process isn’t disciplined and well-documented, those costs compound across every new client and never fully stabilize.
Where We Focus in 3PL Operations
Client profitability analysis
Understanding the true cost-to-serve for each client account — beyond the billing rate — is the foundation of 3PL financial management. We build the activity-based cost models that tell you which accounts are profitable, which are marginal, and why. That analysis is also the basis for contract renewal conversations that are grounded in data rather than relationship dynamics.
WMS optimization and multi-client configuration
Cleaning up the technical debt that accumulates in multi-client WMS environments: standardizing workflows where standardization is possible, documenting where it isn’t, and building the system configuration discipline that makes new client onboarding repeatable. We also work on WMS selection and replacement for operations that have outgrown their current platform.
Operational efficiency and labor management
In 3PL, labor is typically 60–70% of controllable cost. Velocity-based slotting, pick path optimization, and engineered labor standards are the highest-ROI interventions available. We’ve seen well-executed slotting projects produce 15–20% pick labor reductions in 3PL environments — on the same workforce, in the same facility, with no capital investment.
Carrier and freight management
TMS selection and implementation, freight contract negotiation, carrier network design, and the mode optimization analysis that identifies where you’re paying for speed you don’t need. For 3PLs that manage transportation on behalf of clients, we also support the contract structure and performance measurement frameworks that protect margin.
Capacity planning and growth support
When a 3PL wins new business, the operational scaling question is often as important as the commercial one. We support capacity planning, facility network analysis, and the operational readiness work that determines whether the new volume can be absorbed profitably — before the contract is signed.
Related Frameworks
→ LEAN Supply Chain — slotting, standard work, and daily management applied to multi-client 3PL environments
→ People + Process + Partners — vendor-agnostic WMS selection and implementation
→ Crawl-Walk-Run — phased operational improvement that doesn’t disrupt live client operations
Questions We Hear From 3PL Operations
What makes supply chain work in a 3PL environment different from other sectors?
3PLs operate someone else’s supply chain under service level agreements — which means efficiency decisions that would normally be internal get negotiated and contractual. The work has to account for that dynamic. Our focus in 3PL engagements is on client profitability at the account level, WMS configuration that handles multi-client complexity without breaking down, and operational structure that scales without headcount growing at the same rate as volume.
How do you approach WMS optimization in a multi-client environment?
Multi-client WMS configurations require different logic than single-client operations — client-specific billing rules, labeling requirements, performance thresholds, and reporting all run through the same system. Most of the problems we see aren’t technology failures; they’re configuration gaps that developed over time as client requirements changed and the system wasn’t updated to match. We work at the configuration and process level to close those gaps before recommending any system change.
Can you help with preparing for a client renewal or new business pitch?
Yes. Clean operational data and a defensible cost model make the commercial conversation significantly easier. We work with 3PLs on service level design, capacity planning, and the operational documentation that demonstrates performance — the kind of material that changes the dynamic from defending your rates to justifying them with evidence.
Let’s look at the numbers together.
Whether you’re trying to improve the profitability of an existing account, prepare for a technology transition, or get ready for new client volume, we can help you figure out where to start.
