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Why would a company choose to use a 4PL?

By ian | Feb 2, 2023 | Blog

8 Reasons Your Business Should Consider Using a 4PL

Why would a company choose to use a 4PL? Here are our 8 reasons why you should choose to use a 4PL transport provider.

 

As businesses face ever-growing pressure to produce efficient supply chains, 4PL logistics solutions are the best way to ensure smooth operations. 

 

Subsequently, the impact of having a 4PL in operation means you feel the pinch of external interferences on your supply chain less.  

 

Finding the right-fit solution for your company is where you’ll see the value from the offset. There isn’t a single solution that can fix every problem, but with X2, there are multiple solutions to fix an array of common stressors. 

Why should businesses consider 4PL?

 

Here are our eight top reasons why you should be learning more about 4PL solutions.

 

Saves you time

 

Imagine if you currently use multiple transport companies to get your goods to your customers, or delivered on your customer’s behalf. 

 

Planning, communicating, negotiating, allocating, progress chasing, and dealing with multiple contact points for PODs, queries and invoicing, never mind your finance department dealing with multiple hauliers and multiple invoices. Feel complicated, right?

 

Think how much time and resource you can save by having one point of contact for all these functions.  That’s where 4PL comes in. 

 

 

Saves you money

 

You’ve probably experienced the high cost of transport. It can be staggering. With 4PL you’ll get transport at competitive pricing. Seamlessly, you’ll have the ability to tie different transport movements together making the process more cost-efficient and adding value to your supply chain.

 

This results in no overhanging asset obligations and allows ultimate flexibility in the provision of resources.

 

Having a single point of contact reducing your workload will inevitably save you money on your transport. With time and money saved, you’ll be able to mitigate against some of the increases incurred over the last couple of years.

 

Responsiveness  

 

A 4PL transport business manages the vehicles and drivers from multiple transport companies from right across the UK.

 

With access to literally thousands of vehicles 4PL makes responding quickly to a customers’ needs much easier than a traditional single asset-owning business.

 

 

Scalability 

 

Typically we’ve seen businesses need to scale up and down over the last few years and quickly. 

 

Managing these huge changes in production and logistics is a massive undertaking often with implications on profit. 

 

With partners in every corner of the country and multiple partners in every region, scaling up to meet customers’ specific requirements is a relatively simple task for a good 4PL.

 

Every vehicle type available

 

We all know putting all your eggs in one basket is not a risk worth making. With a variety of asset pools with multiple partners, a 4PL’s service offering is not restricted by a single company’s vehicle and trailer profile. 

 

A successful 4PL can offer services from a sprinter van all the way through to 44-ton artics including more specialist trailers and equipment types like tail lifts, refrigerated vehicles, flatbeds and Double Decks.

 

Start with a 4PL solution now 

 

Why not explore X2’s list of services to see how your business could benefit from a 4PL logistics solution today. Get in contact with us and tell us more about your business. 

 

 

Partners in every postcode in the UK

 

Yes – being in every part of the country is key. Having strong national links comes with the ability to utilise both primary and return transport flows. Ultimately, this gives your 4PL provider immense reach with local knowledge. 

 

And with knowledge comes ‘networks’. We match with some of the biggest logistics companies in the UK and with a network of independent businesses managed through a single central control tower. 

 

Safety net from the driver and haulier shortage

 

It’s not just our industry struggling but you’re probably feeling it. Almost every business is struggling with and will continue to struggle with the driver shortage. 

 

However, this varies in its severity between different parts of the country and varies from company to company, even in the same area. 

 

The 4PL model allows the allocation of resources from the companies who can supply, and protects you from a single relationship where that might not be possible consistently.

 

Single point of contact no single point of failure.

 

With multiple partners in multiple geographical locations around the UK, a 4PL can provide a single management solution for all your transport needs. 

 

Sleepless nights are irradicated as there is no single point of failure. If one partner is unable to resource a particular movement, a 4PL will always have an alternative.  

 

What are the advantages of 4PL in supply chain management?

 

Ironing out logistical management issues has never been simpler as you can see from these eight points above. So is now the right time for you to explore your 4PL options?  

 

All you need to do is understand the breakdown of services available to your business now. We’ll be able to guide you through that process and make sure we deliver a solution that fits you. 

 

We want to understand the fine detail of your supply chain to see the full picture. Then we can provide you with a solution which will allows your KPIs to sing for themselves. 

 

What are the best 4PL solutions in UK?

 

Get in touch with us at X2 today and explore our range of logistical solutions. Discover how 4PL could be all the answers you need to level up your business this year.