Extensiv – delivering omnichannel software solutions for warehouse, inventory, and order management – today announced an innovative solution that solves one of the largest distribution challenges brands face today: finding the best fulfillment partner for the unique needs of a business. Today’s launch of the free-to-use Extensiv Fulfillment Marketplace makes it easier for brands to find high-quality third-party logistics (3PL) partners and expertly connects 3PLs with expanding brands. The Extensiv Fulfillment Marketplace is unique in that it can link brands with 3PLs to help with pick, pack, and ship fulfillment services for ecommerce, even in cases where there are specialized requirements such as retail compliance, seller-fulfilled Prime, cold storage, bulk goods, hazardous materials and more.
The Challenge: It’s Costly and Inefficient to Find New Partners
Traditionally, as brands grow, they need to make a decision: do they manage their own warehouse, outsource to a 3PL warehouse, or create a hybrid fulfillment model that enables them to scale and reduce costs?
Currently, the process of finding a 3PL is time-intensive, unreliable, and inefficient. Previously, when a brand would work with a single 3PL for all their fulfillment needs, this was manageable. Today brands are looking to build dynamic fulfillment networks that utilize multiple geographically dispersed 3PLs, making the process of finding a partner increasingly important. Brands looking to scale through a 3PL require detailed information to ensure the quality of service, including the 3PL’s level of technological sophistication, its geographic reach, available fulfillment services, and the products it can handle.
Similarly, 3PLs face multiple challenges acquiring new customers. While the rest of the world has streamlined the process of evaluating and buying services by offering robust digital discovery and buying resources, most 3PLs still sell their services the same way they did in the 90s, with phone calls, in-person visits and lengthy contract negotiations. With the rise of highly funded, large scale 3PLs and 4PLs, independent 3PLs are looking for a better way to compete, without having to spend a fortune bidding against these competitors on paid search.
Further, given the challenges facing today’s supply chain, 3PLs must find the time and resources to engage with potential brands in modern, efficient ways. Brands and merchants require more transparency into the services 3PLs offer, straight-forward pricing, and easier startup.
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Introducing Extensiv Fulfillment Marketplace
The Extensiv Fulfillment Marketplace offers brands an intuitive discovery experience using search and filtering of a curated list of trusted, high-performing 3PLs across all service verticals in the United States, Canada, and strategic international locations.
- For brands: The Extensiv Fulfillment Marketplace simplifies the process of finding and evaluating the specialized capabilities of a trusted 3PL that meets the brand’s specific requirements. In a one-to-many system, brands can enter information once and receive bids from multiple prequalified 3PLs.
- For 3PLs: The Extensiv Fulfillment Marketplace is a free service that provides 3PLs with more business. 3PLs can review pre-vetted brand opportunities that align with their capabilities. Extensiv Fulfillment Marketplace also helps 3PLs find additional warehouse partners to help service mutual customers, extend their service offerings, and offer geographic diversity for reduced transit times and costs.
“The Extensiv Fulfillment Marketplace is a gamechanger for scalable fulfillment services. It addresses the inefficiencies that have hampered the supply chain and enables brands to rapidly scale,” said David Miller, Vice President of Strategy at Extensiv. “Through our validation and automation, brands are quickly connected with 3PLs that can meet their needs while 3PLs can improve their acquisition effectiveness through free, qualified lead generation.”
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Extensiv Brings Together Brands and 3PLs
Extensiv, previously 3PL Central, has a network of more than 1,500 3PLs operating on Extensiv 3PL Warehouse Manager, a SaaS WMS and Extensiv Integration Manager. Through multiple acquisitions in 2021 (including Skubana, Scout Software and CartRover), Extensiv now has more than 3,000 brands as customers, many of which are growing rapidly and looking for vetted, high-quality 3PL partners. Serving both 3PLs and brands provides Extensiv with unique insights into the operational needs, custom requirements, and granular performance data that can accelerate due diligence and boost value for both parties.
The initial launch of the Extensiv Fulfillment Marketplace includes a carefully curated list of leading third-party logistics companies with a track record of delivering quality service. In the months ahead, Extensiv will be opening participation to a broader array of its Extensiv 3PL Warehouse Manager customers. In 2023, Extensiv will further expand the marketplace to a broader array of its customers, including 3PLs using Extensiv Integration Manager.
Extensiv Fulfillment Marketplace expands Extensiv’s commitment to offering the most comprehensive and collaborative solution for the supply chain. In addition to the Extensiv Fulfillment Marketplace, Extensiv also recently released Extensiv Market Insights, a new website that provides previously unavailable order volume trends for leading vendors such as Amazon and Shopify. The data is updated weekly and highlights industry fulfillment trends.
