Since we started operation as a 3PL nearly a quarter of a century ago, IL2000 has invested considerable time and energy into fixing supply chain issues before they become problems.
When we begin working with a new client, one of the first changes they’ll typically notice is that their supply chain “quietens down.” Less seems to be going on — even though they know that their supply chain activity is happening at the same pace, or even accelerating.
Why? Because through decades of practical experience, we’ve figured out how to be extremely proactive.
All those reactive course corrections our client was implementing to keep products arriving on time? We’re fixing them. In fact, the great majority of the time our team will resolve these complications before anyone in their company even registers it as a concern. For an example of proactiveness in action, consider this case study describing how we future-proofed a manufacturer’s freight operation.
Supply chain proactiveness and continual improvement are two critical IL2000 upgrades that can transform how you do business.
If you’re only just beginning to research 3PL solutions, we recommend you take a closer look at how this forward-looking brand of thought partnership permeates our approach. You won’t find it elsewhere.
Switching gears to rapid response
Despite the best possible planning, sometimes something unexpected happens.
Maybe the truck carrying your crucial overnight shipment breaks down on the side of the highway. Or it could be that a carrier inexplicably fails to show leaving you high and dry and in need of a fast alternative. And of course, the ongoing fallout of COVID-19 makes all of these sudden and unexpected supply chain developments not only more common but often more disruptive.
And it’s right here — where the reality of freight takes a hard left turn from the planned route — that you’ll run into another profound differentiator IL2000 brings to the table.
We’re talking about our rapid response capability.
Imagine this scenario…
It’s 2 am and it’s raining
An alert pops up on your phone that a crucial delivery scheduled to hit your client tomorrow, first thing, isn’t going to arrive. What happens next?
If you’re handling your supply chain in-house:
- There’s a good chance the first thing you’ll do is try (probably without much success) to go back to sleep.
- Arriving at your office first thing, you drop the delightful news to your customer service team that they have a tough day ahead of them doing damage control. They get to work.
- Meanwhile, you ring the carrier, anxious for a solution. Then you listen to a synthesizer rendition of Green Sleeves for 20 minutes while you wait on the line to reach pole position in the customer service queue. (Add a repeat performance every time you need to follow up with your carrier with more questions as you scramble for a solution.)
- The workaround you eventually find comes at a steep markup. Your company’s reputation has taken a hit with your customer. And someone, somewhere in the management team adds carrier unreliability to the agenda as a critical strategic operational problem in need of a sustainable solution.
If you’re working with a typical 3PL:
- Step one, if you’re working with a run-of-the-mill 3PL, is pretty much identical to the scenario where you’re handling it alone. Your 3PL contact will be available to take your call during business hours.
- At 9 am sharp you call your 3PL. You may get through to your contact person immediately, or you might not. It’ll depend on the day.
- Your contact person gives you a list of things you can try to damage control the situation and assures you this supply chain breakdown will be taken into consideration in carrier selection moving forward.
- Your solution will almost certainly be your responsibility, slow in coming, and expensive to make happen.
It all boils down to time.
Whether you manage your supply chain in-house or work through a regular 3PL, the one constraint your company will always be dealing with is time. There’ll be a wait time as your problem rises to the top of a queue. There’ll be the internal resolution time your staff invests in as they implement the solution. And when a delivery is time-sensitive, that sluggishness of supply chain response can send shockwaves of disruption across your whole company.
We fix that.
IL2000 and rapid response
We’ve built a 24/7 response infrastructure. If you do need to alert us to a problem, you get:
- 15-minute response times: An experienced supply chain specialist will be actively working on a solution to your supply chain problem in under 15 minutes during business hours.
24-hour availability: It’s 2 am again on that rainy hypothetical morning, but this time you can log into your IL2000 portal and hit the alert button. An alarm will ring and someone in IL2000 will get a call. We might grab a coffee first, but rest assured a skilled operator will be working on a fix well before your team arrives at the office later that day.- Decades of experience in solving tough supply chain problems: Ultimately, being experienced at something makes you faster at it. We have decades of experience in responding efficiently to the unexpected. Also, we have contacts and shortcuts in place from one end of your supply chain to the other. We help accelerate your freight operation because we specialize in supply chain efficiency.
To see a real-life example of what this level of responsiveness can do, take a look at this case study, describing how IL2000 bolstered a heavy equipment manufacturer’s supply chain with rapid response capability.
Proactive insight, fast response: The IL2000 difference
Making a potential problem disappear before it becomes an issue is always going to be the gold standard in supply chain management. And proactive supply chain management is always going to be one of the most important differentiators IL2000 offers over other 3PLs out there.
But IL2000’s rapid response time is the fast and frenetic flip side of that coin. When the unexpected happens, IL2000’s rapid response system equips you to rise to that challenge.
Get rid of the costly fallout of freight delays.
Talk to IL2000 for a no-obligation consultation about how we can be troubleshooting your unexpected supply chain challenges in under 15 minutes.