3PL Central’s new 3PL benchmark report shows nearly 80% of 3PL warehouses grew in 2020

The warehouse operations of third-party logistics (3PL) providers are having a growth year, according to a new benchmark report from 3PL Central, a provider of cloud-based warehouse management systems (WMS) built to meet the unique needs of 3PL warehouses. 3PL Central’s Third-Party Logistics Warehouse Benchmark Report aggregates survey responses from more than 250 3PL warehouse industry professionals and covers 30-plus strategic topics to help warehouses understand market growth opportunities and challenges facing the industry.

Key takeaways from the report include:

—79% of 3PL warehouses experienced growth in 2020 and expressed continued optimism into 2021.
—50% of respondents report running above recommended warehouse capacity, leaving limited room for expansion.
—47% of participating warehouses cited difficulty finding qualified workers, while also experiencing increasing labor costs (58%).
—87% of responding 3PL warehouses indicated using a warehouse management system (WMS) as the central hub of technology for their business.
—8% of 3PL warehouses use big data analytics and only 14% use predictive analytics, but 36% say they plan to expand reporting and analytics functionality in the coming year.

The report elaborates on trends surrounding growth opportunities, warehouse capacity, labor demands, technology adoption, and measurement and metrics. While the data indicates tremendous growth opportunities driven by increased demand for eCommerce fulfillment, 3PL warehouses may face challenges from limited warehouse space and capacity, as well as the ability to find skilled workers. To accommodate additional growth, the fastest-growing 3PLs plan to invest in more technology and automation to improve inventory management and warehouse efficiency.

“As a partner for growth in the third-party logistics industry, 3PL Central designed this survey and the subsequent report to highlight the best practices of the fastest-growing companies in the industry,” said Rachel Trindade, chief marketing officer at 3PL Central. “We want to advocate for the industry and provide insight and expertise to those 3PLs planning to accelerate their growth and to meet the demands of a rapidly changing landscape. For example, providing data that omnichannel fulfillment warehouses were 271% more likely to fall into the fastest-growing 3PL warehouses category (25%+ growth) can help warehouses develop strategies for diversification in 2021.”

The report also explores the current 3PL warehouse landscape, cost drivers, and planned technology implementations for the future. Leveraging compiled data, the report outlines best practices to consider for the coming year.