Modern consumers have become accustomed to ordering a product online and receiving it within hours—flawlessly packed, tracked, and delivered. Any disruption or delay can lead to disappointment, eroding trust and loyalty. As businesses race to meet these growing demands, third-party logistics (3PL) management automation has emerged as a solution, ensuring that fulfillment is fast, accurate, and agile.

To achieve true end-to-end automation, you’ll need to integrate your core systems with your 3PL. However, not all integration solutions make this easy or meet the unique requirements of your business. 

To help you navigate this critical decision, Celigo hosted the webinar, “Master omnichannel success: How to automate 3PL management.” The session explored key factors to evaluate when selecting an integration solution, common integration methods, and how to leverage Celigo’s iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) to automate 3PL management. 

In case you missed it, here are a few takeaways.

Selecting the right 3PL integration solution

3PL providers play a crucial role in modern ecommerce and supply chain operations. They can handle inventory storage, order fulfillment, shipping, and returns, allowing businesses to scale without managing logistics in-house. However, adopting a 3PL can also introduce new inefficiencies. Manual processes can create bottlenecks, leading to errors, limited visibility, and delays.

Integration eliminates these inefficiencies by allowing you to automatically sync data across systems. This improves visibility, minimizes errors, and enhances customer satisfaction through faster, more accurate order processing.

To reap these benefits, you need an integration solution that supports the unique requirements of your 3PL. As you assess different options, keep these key factors in mind:

• Real-time updates: Ensure the solution you choose can support real-time synchronization of order statuses and inventory levels.
• Customization: Look for a system that handles both typical logistics processes and unique needs like gift messaging or custom packaging.
• Scalability: Choose a solution that will grow with your business, accommodating increased order volumes, new sales channels, and additional warehouses without disruption.

Celigo offers a flexible, scalable, and user-friendly integration platform that is prepared to meet the evolving demands of your supply chain operations.

Choosing your integration method

Finding your integration solution is just the first step. Next, you will need to determine the right integration method. Explore a few common 3PL integration methods that Celigo supports:

• FTP/SFTP/FTPS connections: This method is used by many 3PLs to transfer data from the 3PL into an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and vice versa. 
• Universal HTTP Connector: Celigo provides a universal HTTP connector that allows users to build custom API integrations. This allows you to control scopes, permissions, requests, and responses. 
• Webhooks: Webhooks are an instantaneous method for sending data. It can be used to send messages to Celigo’s platform when an event occurs in the 3PL application.
• EDI: Celigo supports a wide range of EDI formats that are commonly used in logistics and supply chain integrations.
• AS2 protocol: This allows for secure and reliable data exchange with trading partners using AS2 protocol.
• Prebuilt 3PL Connectors: Celigo offers prebuilt integrations that are specific for applications like Shipwire. 

Automating 3PL management with Celigo

After you’ve determined the right integration method for your 3PL, it’s time to start integrating. One of the most common places to begin is connecting a 3PL and an ERP system. 

This integration enables a wide range of automations. This is made possible by allowing you to automatically sync data, such as:

• Purchase orders and receipts
• Transfer orders and receipts
• Sales orders and shipment confirmations
• Return authorizations and return receipts
• Inventory adjustments and inventory snapshots
• Inbound shipments and receipts

See Celigo’s iPaaS in action in this demo.

By choosing Celigo for 3PL management automation, businesses can streamline operations, reduce costs, and enhance customer satisfaction. With Celigo’s iPaaS, you can seamlessly connect any 3PL and automate core business processes on a single, intuitive platform.

Want to see Celigo’s iPaaS in action? Watch “Master omnichannel success: How to automate 3PL management” today and take the next step toward a fully automated supply chain.