Not all providers are the same

Wagner understands that change is difficult and it can be nerve racking if you don’t know what the outcome will be. Your company could be looking to outsource for the first time or looking to change providers to find a better fit. Wagner is here to help!

At Wagner we want to be your supply chain partner not just another provider. We will walk you through our quoting process, the timeline to start, each step in the implementation and we schedule quarterly reviews with our customers to ensure their expectations are being met. We provide you with our expertise in each of these areas.

10. Your customer. Do they have expectations or service level requirements such as a delivery window, product tracking while in transit or up-to-date visibility? Are those service levels being meet? Your 3PL must have the same goal.

How Wagner helps:

Every evening during the week Wagner works with a customer that consolidates orders into several truckloads. Our trucks are loaded in the evening, and we drive throughout the night to make our deliveries on time at multiple stops. This allows our customer’s customer to order in smaller amounts and our customer can fill orders for several of their customers at once.

9. Not all 3PLs are the same. Before asking for a quote, make a list of what you want a 3PL to provide, how long have they been in business, have they evolved, are they financially stable, are they innovative, etc.

How Wagner helps:

Wagner is a family owned 3PL with over 70+ years of experience. We started as a transportation provider and evolved into other service areas based on our customers needs. As of 2019, we have 22 warehouse locations and deliver over 35,000+ truckloads a year. We have ranked in the Top 100 3PLs nineteen years in a row by Inbound Logistics.

8. Scalability. The 3PL you choose should understand the U.S. markets to help you consolidate, enter new markets or move into larger spaces.

How Wagner helps:

Within the last year we have helped two of our customers locate a new warehouse (doubling their footprint in that market) and successfully moved all product into the new location without any disruption on their customers end.

How Wagner helps:

We offer dedicated warehousing, transportation (dedicated asset and nation-wide availability) and fulfillment. A high value-added service is our IT team, their drive to continue innovation has won awards as they lead the pack cutting the startup time in a new warehouse from months to weeks.

6. Relationships that go above and beyond. Find a 3PL that wants to earn your business and grow with you.

How Wagner helps:

Our national transportation team has built core carrier relationships across the country over the years and with an experienced real estate team, we can find the right size building in the right location. Wagner’s foundation is built on putting the customer first, we believe that every customer is a big deal.

How Wagner helps:

We have a few customers that severely ramp up production during the holiday shopping season. They share expected sales for the coming season with us, work with their manufacturers to ensure inventory is in our building, and they communicate when the peak times should be. In return we increase staff for the days/weeks prior to the holiday, according to their projects, we also adjust shifts if needed all to ensure our customer’s orders are shipped out.

4. Ask about the 3PLs technology capabilities. When looking for a 3PL to partner with you will need to think about whose systems will be utilized. The more systems that can be connected, the better the communication and collaboration can be between departments.

How Wagner helps:

We have leading edge WMS and TMS systems along with key planning tools and a growing IT division. Our systems have the capabilities to run customize reports for our customer and allow them to view their inventory on hand. Our IT teams works continuously on improving efficiencies in the warehouse while providing better ways to communication and document information.

3. Be a place drivers want to stop at. A 3PL needs to understand your inbound and outbound shipments, this allows them to setup and plan for deliveries and to ensure drivers are loaded/unloaded in a timely manner.

How Wagner helps:

As a transportation provider and warehouse provider we understand both sides. Drivers follow strict hours of service regulations, it is important to us that both sides are meeting the level of service needed to fill orders and delivery on time, all while lowering wait times for drivers.

2. It’s a partnership not a one-time deal. Look for a 3PL that will provide a solution that fits your needs, not how you can fit into what the 3PL already has.

How Wagner helps:

We have customers that have utilized Wagner services for over 15 years, we also have customers who have partnered with us when they are expanding into new markets. We have proven to be a primer 3PL provider for their network and we are awarded the opportunity to grow with them.

1. Fresh, new ideas. Change is hard and can be scary. This shouldn’t deter you from listening to new ideas from your 3PL provider. 

How Wagner helps:

Wagner helped move a parts fulfillment operation into the same building as finish goods and raw materials for a customer. This allowed our customer to have all goods under one roof, close to their manufacturing operations. This was a big change for our customer, with detailed planning and coordination from the parts warehouse, Wagner was able to make it a smooth transition. Technology is always evolving, we are working hard on ways to increase communication and documentation from the warehouse to the offices.

Tell us how we can help you in 2020 by filling out the form on this page.