Modern eCommerce Fulfilment:  Why Efficient Business Administration is Key to 3PL Success

In an industry where customer requirements are ever becoming more complex and demanding to meet consumers’ expectations – and domestic and cross-border regulations are increasing – third-party logistics (3PL) businesses need to look forward – beyond the traditional, manual-based logistics processes – to solutions that can successfully meet their complex business needs now and into the future.  

Customers want the ability to flex and scale rapidly, expect accurate processing, and demand reliable delivery. Postal operators, customs authorities, and regulators demand ever-more extensive compliance information, and temporary workers are required to support the core teams in periods of peak volumes – with all employees requiring ever-increasing administration surrounding induction, training, and support.

To ensure the ability to grow, flex and remain a successful and reliable partner with ever present and changing complexities, it is vital for a 3PL to embrace system-driven processes as these drive every stage of fulfilment. Strong business administration is also key to operational success in a fast-evolving landscape.

For Pro FS, strong and efficient business administration isn’t just an operational necessity; it’s a strategic advantage. In this article, we examine:

• Why effective business administration is so critical.

• The typical challenges faced today in the administration of fulfilment operations.

• How Pro FS is incorporating efficient, system-based solutions, such as Process Street, to streamline its business administration and secure its stability & ability to grow successfully.

Why Efficient business administration is critical to a 3PL’s Success

In today’s e-commerce-driven world, consumer service expectations are higher than ever. 

Whether it’s faster delivery requirements, unpredictable order volumes, complexities of promotions and events or seamless returns processing, the demands on 3PL companies continue to grow.  Administration of the business and processes that enable these demands to be met reliably, is a critical differentiator. 

Operational processes streamline workflows and improve order accuracy, but strong business administration around operations, enhances quality, efficiency, compliance, and overall operational resilience.

At Pro FS, our process management extends far beyond basic order management; it encompasses all our business processes. We maintain comprehensive systemised process documentation – from employee induction and training and client onboarding to operational security protocols and regulatory compliance. 

It enables real-time decision-making, based on a reliable foundation of information. We can manage complexity, minimise errors, and consistently deliver valued customer services because we have visibility and assurance from our process management. 

The challenges in business administration within today’s fulfilment operations

Business management is challenging for 3PL businesses, because of the complexities in managing a varied and dynamic business environment. 

Varied customer service demands and complexities, combined with the level of workforce flexibility required and an ever-changing regulatory environment can make life challenging in terms of business administration! These are some of the areas that create issues: 

1. Process Documentation
   Accurate, simple, up-to-date process documentation is essential for consistency, efficiency and resilience of all business processes. 

However, maintaining standardised processes and documentation which is transparent, central, and current, is difficult when faced with the need for diversity of process to meet different customers’ requirements, continuously changing requirements for both clients and to meet regulations, and staff turnover.

1. Recruitment and Training

The operational teams in a fulfilment business require both physical and technical skills training, particularly as automation increases. 

High staff turnover and the need for flexible and temporary staffing to meet peaks, mean that staff induction and ongoing training have a significant impact on efficiency, and also present a significant administrative burden. The process is necessarily repetitive and requires accurate and standardised documenting. 

1. Compliance
   UK Fulfilment businesses face ever more complex regulatory and documentary requirements, whether it’s HMRC’s FHDDS, Data Protection, Customs authorities, Health & Safety standards, Employee laws, client SLAs or industry-specific protocols, such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals or dangerous goods.
2. Systems Security and Data Integrity

Managing business administration processes for data security and integrity is clearly critical. There is a requirement to hold sensitive personal and other commercial data securely and to ensure its accuracy and integrity so it can be relied upon. Volumes of data can be extensive, given the transactional nature of the business. 

Manually held data requires physical security/protection and space. Systems must be robust, secure and reliable – with built-in resilience for business continuity. 

How Pro FS is incorporating systems-based process solutions to strengthen its business administration

At Pro FS, these challenges were front of mind when re-evaluating internal business administration processes to enable us to scale with growth and remain efficient. 

For seamless scaling, we needed solutions that would simplify business administration, improve central transparency and governance, and ensure consistency, standardisation and accuracy of information across the business. 

We evaluated the products available on the market to see what best fit our requirements and addressed the challenges we faced. 

Based on this, we identified Process Street https://www.process.st) as our solution partner to take this project forward. 

1. Process Documentation:

Historic processes were complex, manual and paper-based, therefore prone to error and omission. There were inconsistencies in training, compliance, and day-to-day operations.

Adopting workflow-based software allowed us to digitise these processes into system-based workflows, making it easy to monitor, update, and standardise processes and their status, in real-time and across the business. 

Data capture capabilities are now in place, allowing Pro FS to visualise critical metrics, from workforce performance to operational bottlenecks, empowering data-informed decisions that drive efficiency.

1. Recruitment and training:

The transition to digital workflows halved the time spent inducting and onboarding new employees and temporary workers – providing significantly improved flexibility and operational productivity. 

1. Compliance: 

Compliance has become a proactive process. We now have real-time monitoring of mandatory protocols, exception reporting for flagging regulatory risk, and clear & reliable, transparent documentation for any employee-related issues. We also have created a seamless process for client onboarding, to improve the customer experience from the outset.  

1. Systems Security and Data Integrity

Data storage has been digitised and better protected – and space utilisation and access to documentation have become significantly more efficient. Governance is stronger with workflows to prevent omissions. The robustness and security of data have been improved. 

Looking Ahead: 

As we look to the future, the landscape of 3PL fulfilment is set to continue to undergo significant change, driven by advancements in automation, artificial intelligence, and workforce dynamics. Pro FS is already preparing for these trends, which will shape the next phase of its 3PL operations and services. As part of this, its business administration must also continue to develop and change. We expect that this may look something like this:

1. Increased Task Automation
   Automation will continue to expand, especially for repetitive tasks such as order processing and non- complex customer enquiries. With Robotic Process Automation (RPA), 3PL providers like Pro FS will be able to further enhance efficiency, reduce overhead, and focus on strategic improvements.
2. Intelligent Assistance Powered by AI
   AI-driven tools will increasingly aid in decision-making processes, from demand forecasting to carrier optimisation. By incorporating these intelligent systems, Pro FS may, in the future, be able to provide even greater accuracy and efficiency in order processing and resource allocation.
3. Evolving Talent Acquisition and Development
   As 3PLs become more technologically sophisticated, attracting tech-savvy talent will be crucial. Pro FS’s commitment to cross-functional training and career development ensures that our workforce will be equipped to handle current and future demands, creating a resilient talent pool that supports future growth.
4. Enhanced Cybersecurity and Data Integrity
   As digital operations proliferate, data protection and data reliance/integrity become increasingly critical to business success. Robust, system-driven business administration processes that flag anomalies, together with AI-powered fraud detection and cybersecurity measures will continue to evolve, safeguarding data and ensuring the integrity of our operations.

Conclusion: 

At Pro FS, we recognise that efficiency, adaptability, and foresight are essential to sustaining growth and competitive advantage in an ever-changing, and more complex fulfilment industry.

With the introduction of system-driven workflow processes, we have achieved efficiencies and improvements that empower us to meet the diverse needs of our clients and the evolving expectations of the market and – as a result – continued growth.

As we continue to build on this solid foundation, Pro FS is prepared for a future where intelligent, data-driven business administration is central to success. By embracing innovation and setting high standards for efficiency, compliance and customer satisfaction, Pro FS remains dedicated to delivering excellence for today’s, and tomorrow’s, e-commerce retailers. 

See below a link to our chosen partner in this project, Process Street, and further information on their case study and interview with Carinda Hindry, Head of Administration at Pro FS.

https://www.process.st/?sq=pro+fs