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3PL Central Announces the 3PL Intelligence Initiative for Improved Warehouse Operations
Extensive Research into 3PL Operations Drives Creation of New Products and Services, Based Upon Industry Best Practices, in Time for Peak Season
3PL Central, the leader in cloud-based warehouse management system (WMS) solutions built to meet the unique needs of the 3PL warehousing community, today announced the "3PL Intelligence Initiative". This comprehensive program is based upon extensive customer research to help 3PLs move from a traditional paper-based warehouse to a modern, paperless warehouse that delivers complete visibility into warehouse operations for management and customers. In addition to product enhancements focused on efficient warehouse operations, the company announced a set of new service offerings, based upon decades of experience in the 3PL industry and built around best practices. Improvements include a streamlined implementation methodology designed to reduce time to value for new customers, a comprehensive suite of services to better support existing customers, and a broad range of user experience advancements across the product. Several customers have already taken advantage of these offerings, going live 41 percent faster and seeing time to value in 30 days or less.
These new offerings are the culmination of almost a year of research and collaboration between 3PL Central and more than thirty prospects and customers, encompassing more than 250 hours of in-depth interviews, group discussions, and on-site process audits. The research, focused primarily on the core warehouse operations role, found that while first-generation warehouse management solutions were helpful in streamlining operations, most third-party warehouses concentrating on offering ecommerce fulfillment, struggled to gain insights into labor efficiency, track real-time order status, measure SLA attainment, and provide their customers visibility into key operating metrics.
Findings from the company's extensive research resulted in product enhancements specifically designed for 3PLs looking to offer or grow omnichannel fulfillment. Whereas B2B offerings are still an important source of revenue for most third-party warehouses' offerings, ecommerce fulfillment is quickly becoming more prevalent - though it can often be more challenging. Warehouses hoping to succeed in this rapidly growing segment must rely on modern technology to help support higher order volumes while simultaneously improving order accuracy and delivering visibility to their customers.
"We were gratified to learn that 3PL Central customers were able to gain better visibility into order status, specific cost drivers, and general warehouse operations than those on other systems," said Brian Sevy, head of product management. "We further identified an array of enhancements to allow our customers to operate more efficiently; saving literally hundreds of hours of work in the average warehouse."
Product enhancements made as a part of the 3PL Intelligence Initiative have significantly enhanced performance, reducing page load times by up to 50 percent and improving usability and efficiency. Key enhancements include:
Streamlined order and fulfillment management
Improved inventory management efficiency
New user and system analytics to enable continuous improvement
New platform architecture increasing innovation agility and performance
Beyond product improvements, our collaborative research has informed a best-practices approach to delivering value to our customers more quickly, and better supporting their ongoing needs.
"We are extremely happy with our 3PL Central implementation experience," said Jennifer Lyles, owner of Brite Fulfillment Solutions, who were on-boarded in 29 days. "We were impressed by our dedicated Implementation Manager, they were very knowledgeable and helped us configure 3PL Warehouse Manager specifically to meet the needs of our business. My experience with the team has been nothing but exceptional, and we are already seeing the benefits of our investment."
For 3PL Central customers without in-house technical expertise, they can now benefit from a comprehensive set of professional services offerings, including custom integrations, extensive report customization services, and remote or on-site system audits to ensure they are maximizing the value of their investment.
"In conversations with customers and prospects, we found they were looking for a partner in modernizing their operations and gaining visibility into warehouse operations. They wanted to understand what our most successful customers were doing and how our software could help. By documenting these best practices for ecommerce fulfillment, carton-in-carton-out, and pallet-in-pallet-out workflows, and then building them into our service offerings, we have delivered better results for our customers faster," said Vince Hornung, director of professional services.
For more information about how your company can become a Paperless Warehouse in time for the peak season or request a demo, contact us at 888-375-2368 or visit 3PLcentral.com.
About 3PL Central
3PL Central is the leader in cloud-based warehouse management system (WMS) solutions built to meet the unique needs of the 3PL warehousing community. Serving as the backbone of our customer's operations, our platform quickly transforms paper-based, error-prone businesses into service leaders who can focus on customer satisfaction, operate more efficiently, and grow faster. Offering a comprehensive warehouse management platform, we make it easy for 3PLs to manage inventory, automate routine tasks, and deliver complete visibility to their customers. As the proven industry leader for over a decade, 3PL Central accurately manages billions of dollars in inventory and processes more than 1 million orders a week from any of our customer's and their customers' systems.
Des Plaines, Illinois – Loren Swakow, Managing Director of NOBLELIFT North America, has announced his retirement effective January 31st, 2025, leaving behind a legacy of unprecedented growth, innovation, and strong relationships built over nearly a decade at the helm of the company.
Swakow joined NOBLELIFT in October 2016, tasked with the challenge of bringing an unknown brand into the highly competitive American market. At the time, NOBLELIFT had no dealer network and minimal brand recognition. Over the course of eight years, Swakow's strategic leadership and expertise have led to remarkable success, driving average annual growth of 43%. Today, NOBLELIFT is supported by a professional dealer network spanning the entire country, with sales growth consistently outpacing the industry, a true testament to Swakow’s vision and determination.
Swakow’s leadership also played a key role in expanding NOBLELIFT's footprint into Canada by helping to establish NOBLELIFT Canada. His unwavering belief in the brand and dedication to fostering partnerships were critical to this growth.
Reflecting on his tenure, Swakow remarked, “It takes a great team to do what we did in eight years, and that’s what we have—A Great Team! I have always believed in fostering open communication, creating a culture of trust, empowering individuals, leveraging diverse perspectives, and prioritizing collaboration. We have all worked very hard, and I am proud of them all.”
Swakow’s career in the material handling industry began long before his time at NOBLELIFT. He co-founded a lift truck dealership with his brother, representing brands like Komatsu, Mitsubishi, Tailift, and TCM. After decades of success, they sold the dealership and related businesses in 2012. Swakow also played a key role in the wider industry, serving as a founding member and Presidentof the Chicago Industrial Truck Dealers Association and as President of MHEDA (Material Handling Equipment Distributors Association) in 2004. His strong belief in the power of networking was critical to the formation of NOBLELIFT North America.
"MHEDA has always been the optimal association for networking," Swakow stated. "The connections and insights I gained through MHEDA were invaluable as we built NOBLELIFT North America from the ground up."
The succession plan for Swakow's role has been set, with the announcement of his successor scheduled for January 7th, 2025. Through January, Swakow will collaborate closely with his successor to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities and to share his insights and guidance.
“We are grateful for Loren’s remarkable contributions to NOBLELIFT North America,” stated Wendy Mao, CEO at Noblelift Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. “His vision and passion have been instrumental in shaping our success. We are committed to building on the strong foundation he has established.”
Swakow’s dedication to excellence, his ability to inspire trust, and his relentless pursuit of success will leave a lasting impact on the material handling industry. While the company expresses enormous gratitude for his leadership, it is clear that his legacy will continue to guide NOBLELIFT on its upward trajectory.
About NOBLELIFT North America
NOBLELIFT® North America (www.nobleliftna.com) is a global leader in Lithium-iron technology. We manufacture a comprehensive range of high-performance, low-maintenance manual, electric, and internal combustion equipment with more than 200 categories and around 30 series of each product. Our products are designed to meet different application demands and are well accepted by our customers in more than 100 countries and regions in Europe, America, Asia, Africa and more. Products include: sit-down forklifts, rough terrain forklifts, narrow aisle forklifts, walkie-stackers, order pickers, electric pallet trucks, scissor lifts, tuggers/tow tractors, scrubbers, sweepers, automated guided vehicles (AGV’s), lift tables, manual pallet jacks and more. Noblelift® North America builds tough, durable products that deliver high productivity, low total cost of ownership, easy serviceability, and advanced ergonomic features; accompanied by outstanding parts, service, and training support.
For more information about our company and our products, visit www.nobleliftna.com or follow us on social media.
Grocery shoppers in Australia will soon be able to zip in and out of the store in record time, bypassing the lines for cashiers or self-checkout kiosks altogether. They can just walk in, make their selections, and walk out with their bags in hand.
The secret to this express shopping experience is the “Caper Cart,” an AI (artificial intelligence)-powered smart trolley from San Francisco-based Instacart. In its first deployment in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, the system is being tested by Coles Supermarkets, a food and beverage retailer with more than 1,800 grocery and liquor stores throughout the country.
To get started, customers simply grab a grocery cart-sized smart trolley at the store’s entrance and begin shopping, depositing the items directly into shopping bags as they go. The Caper Carts use onboard AI, cameras, and a built-in scale to automatically recognize items as they’re added to the trolley. Customers can watch their running total display on a screen—just as if they were shopping online—then swipe their credit card on the trolley’s payment terminal to complete the purchase.
“As the first retailer in Australia to introduce AI-powered trolleys, we’re excited to offer our customers a convenient and engaging way to shop in-store, helping them save time, manage their budget, and check out faster—or at their own pace,” Coles’ chief digital officer, Ben Hassing, said in a release. “The Coles smart trolley illustrates our omnichannel approach, leveraging digital capabilities to enrich the in-store experience.”
If you’re looking to make the packaging process more eco-friendly, the obvious place to start is with the box itself. And that’s exactly what Salt Lake City-based Packsize did when it made its initial foray into sustainable packaging back in 2002. That year, the company launched its first product, an innovative on-demand packaging system designed to reduce cardboard waste (and the need for filler material) by creating a right-sized box for each shipment.
Now the company is ready for the next step: greening up the glue.
According to Packsize, 300 billion boxes around the globe are sealed using 500,000 tons of hot-melt adhesive every year, contributing significantly to global emissions generated by the paper-based packaging industry. In a bid to cut those emissions, Packsize recently teamed up with Henkel Adhesive Technologies, a unit of the German chemical and consumer goods company Henkel, to launch Eco-Pax, a bio-based hot-melt adhesive designed to lower carbon footprints without sacrificing performance.
Eco-Pax is made from bio-based raw materials, forgoing traditional fossil-based ingredients. The adhesive will soon be used on more than 340 million boxes produced annually using Packsize’s right-sized packaging machines. That single change is expected to reduce Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)-relevant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions up to 32%, which is equivalent to the burning of 1.75 million pounds of coal, the partners said.
“Partnering with an innovative leader like Packsize to launch a bio-based adhesive solution is a big step toward building a more sustainable packaging value chain,” Kevin Heffernan, head of business development, North America, consumer goods adhesives, Henkel Adhesives Technologies, said in a release. “Together, we’re setting a new standard for sustainability in packaging while delivering the high-performance brands and consumers trust.”
MOORESTOWN, NJ (December 18, 2024) OPEX® Corporation, a global leader in Next Generation Automation providing solutions for document, mail, and warehouse automation, has been selected as a finalist in the 2024 NED (New Equipment Digest) Innovation Awards, which celebrates innovations in industrial technology, tools, and equipment that empower businesses to work faster, better, and more cost-effectively.
Introduced in March 2024, Sure Sort X with Xtract is a fully adaptable, turnkey offering designed to automate multiple manual tasks with a simple, one-touch solution.
The technology handles nearly 100% of customer-sortable items weighing up to 20 pounds and sorts items into a configurable array of mixed bin sizes and types, all while maintaining a consistent throughput of up to 2,100 items per hour.
“We are excited to once again receive this recognition, which honors our warehouse automation solutions that clients around the globe count on, as well as our culture of innovation,” said Alex Stevens, President, OPEX Warehouse Automation. “Sure Sort has long been a preferred warehouse automation solution for distribution centers and third-party logistics companies. Sure Sort X paired with Xtract has been developed to meet the evolving demands of the marketplace to deliver one integrated solution that automates the sort and order takeaway process.”
When Sure Sort X is paired with Xtract, totes are retrieved and their contents are transferred into shipping containers automatically, eliminating the need to manually sort and transfer boxes downstream. Xtract iBOTs can handle up to 200 extracted totes per hour.
The system can accommodate multiple market vertical workflows and greatly reduce the need for human interface. Installation can occur in as little as one week and return on investment can be realized within just two years.
For nearly five decades, OPEX has served as a trusted partner, collaborating closely with clients to develop customized, scalable solutions that transform how they conduct business.
About OPEX
OPEX Corporation is a global leader in Next Generation Automation, providing innovative, unique solutions for warehouse, document and mail automation. With headquarters in Moorestown, NJ, USA—and facilities in Pennsauken, NJ; Plano, TX; France; Germany; Switzerland; the United Kingdom; and Australia—OPEX has nearly 1,600 employees who are continuously reimagining and delivering customized, scalable technology solutions that solve the business challenges of today and in the future.
Columbus, OH – December 18, 2024 – Hy-Tek Intralogistics, a premier provider of software, systems and services for supply chain automation technology, has released an episode of its popular podcast Automation Insider that looks at warehousing trends for 2025.
Automation Insider is a podcast created for people interested in what is new and what is successful in logistics and automation technology across a wide range of industries.
“Warehousing is evolving faster than ever,” said Hy-Tek Intralogistics Solutions Design Lead and Automation Insider Host Joe McGrath. “Technology is no longer just a support tool—it’s becoming the driving force behind how we handle inventory, meet customer demands and tackle challenges like sustainability. As we move toward 2025, staying ahead means embracing the trends shaping the future of logistics.”
From smarter warehouses powered by AI to green logistics initiatives, Hy-Tek takes a look at the top trends transforming warehousing and why they matter for your business.
Fans of the podcast can contact show producer Amanda Powers at AutomationInsider@hy-tek.com to provide feedback and ideas for the podcast, or to become a guest on the show. You can also listen on Spotify, YouTube or Apple.
About Hy-Tek Intralogistics
Bringing unique solutions to material handling challenges, Hy-Tek is a leading end-to-end resource and automation technology integrator across a wide range of industries including manufacturing, distribution, retail, construction, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, electronics and automotive that keep their supply chain moving seamlessly and efficiently.
Hy-Tek works with supply chain strategy and planning before integration and then leverages emerging technologies like the IntraOne® full stack software platform, robotics and traditional material handling automation to solve complex product and information flow inefficiencies. Through many hours of research, development and testing, Hy-Tek has created its Innovation Lab to present the future in motion and to show the new age of picking, transporting and storing of goods and equipment in real-time. With more than 425 employees, Hy-Tek serves customers in the United States, Canada and Mexico from offices in Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. For more information, visit www.hy-tek.com