FNS and The Disadvantages of 3PLs

The costs and risks of contracting with 3PLs are commonly known and accepted. Chief among them are loss of logistics control, inventory visibility and data sharing issues, and significantly eroded operating profit margins.

If a single efficiency solution is sought however, and margin diminishment is tolerable, then a 3PL is a rational, likely positive solution. The various CapExs and OpExs of distributions centres and fleet will be replaced by a single OpEx, i.e. 3PL charges. Perhaps most importantly, the brand is liberated from logistical management tasks and able to channel freed-up resources into its core capabilities/USP, which in the case of FNS is the buying, merchandising, and online retailing of market-pertinent ultra-fast fashion.