Because of the changes to the retail and CPG industries, forward-thinking sporting goods shippers are looking to logistics as a differentiation strategy.
As industries evolved to meet the needs of modern consumers, the supply chain has become a reliable source of competitive advantage.
Sporting goods shippers that have optimized their operations to meet the needs of their retail and end-customers stand to make a lasting impact, building consumer loyalty and effective partnerships in the process.
Those that can exercise control and uncover visibility into key supply chain processes are shown to fare better than competitors. Some of the largest sporting goods brands are now viewing logistics as not just a cost of doing business but instead as an investment that can help them scale their businesses.
As a result, enterprises have changed their perspective on third-party logistics providers. They are now working with them on a more strategic level to unlock mutual partnership benefits.
Many across different sectors have realized that long-term logistics partnerships can offer more visibility, uncover synergies in the supply chain, reduce costs, and increase profitability.
Benefits of Logistics Partnerships Add Up for Sporting Goods Shippers
Successful consumer goods organizations of all varieties now have a common attribute—a retail optimized supply chain. Leveraging an efficient logistics operation can both reduce costs and improve performance.
For most brands in the space, the most dependable way to construct a supply chain built to withstand the challenges of retail, like OTIF and MABDs, is to work with a specialized logistics partner.
According to a report from Gartner about 3PL relationships, “Customer attitudes toward their third-party logistics outsource providers are changing for the better; however, that pace of change needs to accelerate.”
It continues, “Some companies must address their inherent mistrust of 3PLs. Otherwise, they will never unlock all of the added value that a more strategic, rather than transactional, 3PL relationship can bring to their logistics operation.”
For enterprises without extensive logistics infrastructure and personnel, which can be cost-prohibitive, third-party providers can fill a much-needed gap, augmenting sporting goods shippers’ delivery performance. They do this through specialization, technology stems, understanding of complex logistics functions, and value-added service.
What Strategic Logistics Partnerships Can Bring to Sporting Goods Shippers
The benefits of the right logistics partnership are numerous. They can deliver several advantages to sporting goods shippers. All consumer brands need increased supply chain visibility, track-and-trace applications, and KPI monitoring. These competencies can help shippers focus on supply chain performance, which is an essential part of succeeding in retail relationships. A performance-focused strategy has become even more of a necessity for brands as the course of the pandemic has left a lasting impact on domestic commerce.
According to a report from the Food Marketing Institute, the largest consumer goods brands in North America reported an 8% decline in on-time in-full (OTIF) delivery performance at retail customers throughout 2020.
The performance decrease also came as shippers paid substantially more in transportation costs across the board despite a cost-sensitive and rate-focused strategy.
However, these diminishing on-time metrics did not plague shippers that worked with logistics partners on a strategic level. Zipline Logistics’ managed transportation customers throughout the consumer goods space maintained an above 95% on-time rate at retailers, avoiding chargebacks and cementing long-term opportunities.
Along with improved standing with retail customers, sporting goods shippers that partner with the right logistics service provider can also find personnel benefits of outsourcing.
A true logistics partner can also provide your organization with time-saving benefits that can free up personnel to focus on other more core business issues. Value-added logistics providers can take responsibilities off your plate, add efficiencies, solve problems, and save you money.
Investing in Logistics Performance Adds Long-Term Advantages for Sporting Goods Shippers
As modern commerce has evolved, logistics has followed suit. This development has transformed logistics from a cost of doing business to a proven way to differentiate your business from your competitors.
Sporting goods shippers stand to benefit from approaching logistics differently. Instead of a simple budgetary expense, quality supply chain performance should be viewed as an investment, paying dividends in the form of lower overall costs, improved customer relationships, and added profitability.
As specialists in the industry, logistics providers can offer much more than transactional transportation.
With extensive industry knowledge and expertise, a logistics provider can act as an extension of your organization, making network recommendations that can cut costs and improve performance.
Through specialized services, a logistics provider can provide a consultative approach that can be a catalyst to furthering your organization’s growth. Because of their understanding of complex supply chain functions and specialized industry knowledge, value-added logistics providers can help enterprises better understand how their operation needs to perform to meet customer demand.
Work with CPG Logistics Specialists
Zipline Logistics is built to help organizations like yours get their sporting goods on the shelf. Our teams are specifically constructed to meet the needs of consumer goods enterprise organizations, assisting them in delivering to their most important customers as intended.
We work with established sporting goods brands to meet receivers’ growing demands through a specialized approach to moving time-sensitive and high service-level products.
Zipline can help you find supply chain improvement opportunities through our consultative approach to logistics.
We provide value-added logistics services by delivering on promises, reducing supply chain costs, modernizing best practices, increasing logistics flexibility, and providing needed visibility into operations.
