Connect your 3PL or overseas warehouse to every channel
A 3PL or an overseas warehouse ships for you, and orders, stock and tracking still travel by spreadsheet or through the 3PL’s own app. Once the 3PL is connected, orders go out from every channel, and stock and tracking come back on their own.
A 3PL connection, from order to restock
Here is one order going through a 3PL, and the stock behind it.
- Automatic
Walmart order #W2210 for one floor lamp goes to the 3PL’s system with the SKU and ship-to address.
- Automatic
The 3PL ships it; the tracking number goes back to Walmart and the order is marked shipped.
- Automatic
The 3PL’s stock for the lamp drops from 48 to 47, and every channel follows.
- Person
A container of 300 lamps is on its way: your team sends an inbound notice (ASN), so the 3PL receives it against the right SKU.
- Person
A return arrives at the 3PL; a person decides whether it goes back on sale.
- Automatic
- The system does it
- Person
- A person checks or acts
The 3PL’s own connector and where it falls short
Most 3PLs offer a connector. The usual problems:
- Wrong available stock: damaged or reserved units counted as available, so you oversell.
- No way to cancel an order that is already queued.
- Your SKUs and the 3PL’s item codes drift apart, so orders fail or the wrong item ships.
- Orders and tracking move in batches a few times a day.
Two warehouses, or a new one
With two warehouses, every order follows a rule for where it ships from: by stock, by region or by channel. An order one warehouse cannot fill alone is split.
A move to a new warehouse runs on a cutover plan: stock counted on both sides, and both warehouses shipping for a short time.
Item codes, connection, tests: how we set it up
- 01
Match item codes
Your SKUs are matched to the 3PL’s item codes.
- 02
Connect
Orders, cancellations and inbound notices go out; stock, tracking and returns come back.
- 03
Test on real orders
Your own orders run through before go-live.
- 04
Go live
We go live with you; ongoing care can look after it from there.
Questions about 3PLs and overseas warehouses
If a customer cancels at midnight, can the warehouse stop the parcel?
The cancellation goes to the 3PL automatically, and an order not yet picked can be stopped. If it has been picked, your team gets an alert.
Can you connect the ERP we run from China, such as Lingxing, to a US warehouse?
Yes. Orders go from the ERP to the warehouse, and tracking and stock come back to the ERP.
Next step
Contact us about your 3PL
Tell us which warehouse ships for you and where orders or counts go wrong.