3PLs and the Lean Warehouse

When companies decide that their own internal warehousing capabilities are lacking, they can decide to select a third-party logistics (3PL) provider to run their warehousing operation for them. Often, a shipper will demand more from a 3PL than it would from itself. This is particularly true when it comes to continuous improvement. However, while lean manufacturing and Six Sigma practices have been widely adopted to improve production activities, this is far less common in the warehouse.

Companies seeking continuous improvements in the warehouse by out-sourcing to a 3PL should apply diligence to determine whether that 3PL has a robust continuous improvement culture in place. While many 3PLs will claim that this is the case, it's likely that at least some of these only dabble in lean and kaizan; mastering the terminology, but not necessarily the true cultural requirements. So, how can a company that wants to out-source its warehousing operations pick a 3PL that really does have strong capabilities here?

Site Visits Imperative
You cannot learn about a 3PL's lean culture by sitting in a conference room. You have to go to a site, look at the warehouse, and talk to workers on the warehouse floor.

Just looking at the site will tell you something. Is it clean and bright? Does the 3PL use visual management techniques?

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Keywords: Continuous Improvement, Warehouse, 3PL, Lean, Kaizan, ARC Advisory Group.