Challenges in Maintaining Service Level Agreement within Crowdsourced Logistics Environment
Service Level Agreement in Crowdsourced Logistics is still the holy grail of many 4PL companies. In most cases, Service Providers over promise and under deliver at the execution level which brings the big question whether or not crowdsourcing is a valid engagement strategy.
Transactional-Based Services instead of Relationship
“Hit-And-Run” Service Providers’ mentality comes to the picture whenever somebody utters Crowdsourced Logistics. SLA is something remotely doable and 4PL is at the mercy of its own Service Providers.
Uneven Standards Among Service Provider
4PL companies will only be doing business with Service Providers who have been in the business for some time due to their own SLA mechanism. No newbies allowed hence the leverage of Crowdsourced Logistics is unattainable.
Insufficient Service Fees to Deliver According to SLA
Big Service Providers will always be the preferred partner to 4PL companies as they can leverage their own business volume. It is restrictive to new players due to insufficient service fees and the SLA that is required.
Lack of Technology to Improve SLA
Investment in logistics assets is considerably large for most small businesses, let alone technology. In today’s digital world, technology is key enabler to achieve efficiencies and deliver the mandated SLA by 4PL companies.
We Develop, Equip and Value Our Service Providers More Than Anyone
Our state-of-the-art technology and processes does not diminished the need for a true-blue relationship with the Service Providers. SLA is merely a set of metrics as the consequence of a long lasting relationship with our partners.
Relationship Goes Beyond Transactions and SLA
We do not wish to be a transaction-based company and by having this mindset, we hope that the feeling is mutual with our Service Providers. We value them as if they are our own shareholders.
We Equip and Educate Our Service Providers
We equip and educate our Service Providers with our technology and processes for them to use, not only for our own advantage but also for their own bookkeeping needs.
Reasonable Service Fees along with Mandated SLA
Our technology allows us to be efficient in delivering our services. We do not take the efficiencies for our own benefits, instead we share this with our Service Providers for them to improve their SLA.
Technology is The Enabler For Service Providers. Not vice versa.
We do not expect perfect Service Providers to deliver our customers’ needs. What we do is to build the right technology for our service providers to be more successful. That is why we provide the required technology for our Service Providers at no cost.