Excerpt of presentation given by Adrian Gonzalez, President of Adelante, at the TMW Systems Transforum User Conference 2012.

1. 
The
Path
to
Becoming
a
Successful
3PL
TMW Systems Transforum 2012 User Conference
September 24, 2012
(Excerpt)
Adrian Gonzalez
President
Adelante SCM

2. So,
you
want
to
be
a
3PL?

3. A
Great
Opportunity
Exists!
Most shippers are still using Most small & midsize companies are
spreadsheets & fax machines to still managing their transportation
manage their transportation ops and logistics ops in-house
Smaller
Companies
Fortune 500
Companies
Only about 1/3 of the companies that could About 70% of 3PL revenues come from
benefit from using a TMS have deployed one. Fortune 500 companies.
Source: ARC Advisory Group Source: Armstrong & Associates

4. The
Question
is
How
Do
You
Get
There?
What do shippers look for in a 3PL?
What capabilities do you need in terms of people,
technology, and go-to-market approach?

5. People:
Your
Most
Valuable
Asset
 Experience
and
exper,se
in
the
Position your talent as one of
your most valuable assets.
ver,cal
industries
you
serve
Sell the knowledge, experience,
 Consul,ng
experience
and expertise of your team as
much as your services.
 Analy,cs
skills
Invest in hiring, training, and
 Value
Selling
retaining the best talent
available.
 Lean/Six
Sigma
“Look for people who have
 Interpersonal
skills
superior talent in managing
relationships.”

6. Technology:
Your
customers
are
users
too!
Important
TMS
AAributes
 Supports
mul,ple
transporta,on
Give your customers a voice in
modes
developing your IT roadmap.
 Supports
different
contract
terms
Solutions must be quick and
easy to configure and upgrade.
 Visibility
and
op,miza,on
Mobile access and capabilities
 Business
Intelligence
becoming more important.
 Re-­‐usability
of
customer
setups
Users want simple user
interfaces, and the ability to
 Connec,vity
to
carriers
view data/info in graphical
formats – “A picture is worth a
 Customer
self-­‐service
features
thousand words.”

7. Go-­‐to-­‐Market:
Crawl,
Walk,
Run
 Focus
on
your
most
strategic
clients
 A
history
of
proven
success
 Strong
personal
rela,onships
 Trust
already
established
 Use
consul,ng
services
as
a
stepping
stone
 Network
Design
 Procurement
 “Tell
them
what
they
don’t
already
know”
 Invest
in
building
your
brand
 Have
sa,sfied
customers
tell
their
story
 Leverage
social
media
to
get
word
out

8. Summary
&
Recommendations
 Big
Opportunity:
Serving
small
and
midsize
shippers
who
don’t
use
a
TMS
and
s,ll
manage
opera,ons
in-­‐house.
 A
successful
3PL
is
an
opera,ons
manager,
a
consultant,
and
a
technology
provider
all
rolled
into
one.
 Don’t
just
sell
your
services,
but
also
the
knowledge,
skills,
and
experience
of
your
people.
 Con,nuously
invest
in
customer-­‐facing
technologies.
 Avoid
the
ailments
of
typical
3PL-­‐customer
contracts.
 Harness
the
value
of
your
customer
and
employee
community.

9. Thank
You!
Adrian Gonzalez
President
Adelante SCM
adrian@adelantescm.com