What are some crucial shipping aspects you would expect from your 3PL?

[3PLzen]

I run a Third Party Logistics company for e-commerce fulfillment called 3plzen and I am looking for some tips to make sure my shipping services are on point. When you look for a third party logistics provider, what sort of shipping aspects are important to you? I am working on providing freight consolidation and new customer discounts on shipping.  

[nmalinow]

Hey there! I run a growing 3PL as well, OTW Shipping, that emphasizes customer service and great rates. Our customers main focus for shipping is keeping shipping within 5 days (most ground consolidated methods run 3-8 days which may be a little slow). Luckily we have discounted 2-5 day and 2-3 day methods that give them discounts without compromising speed. Our same day shipping helps decrease delivery speeds as well.

[kingstore]

Here's something I found helpful on the topic as we are in the process of selecting our WMS for use with our Shopify store and these guys have a lot of good information. 

https://www.skusavvy.com/blog/how-to-efficiently-handle-eCommerce-shipping

Probably at the least, I would expect (coming from ShipMonk) is that the 3PL has a portal for me to track inbound shipments, inventory levels, and shipment status on all my order channels. I would want my customers to experience no more than 3 days shipping timeframe in most cases (our products are higher value and small). I need to keep control on the packaging as well since we have special packaging. In addition, you should provide at least a 99% order accuracy, I've have 96% order accuracy from a 3pl and it was a nightmare. 

[ShipAntdotcom]

Mostly people expect the 3PL faster order fulfillment efficiency and faster delivery time with cost effective price.