About Larry Willett Expertise Specialist in 3rd Party Warehousing and eCommerce Fulfillment, Generalist in handling, storage and distribution of most products and commodities including Retail Goods, Food Products, and HazMat
Experience 25 years in retail distribution, both private and 3rd party. President of 3rd party logistics provider in Los Angeles for 10 years
Organizations Warehouse Education Research Council, Council of Logistics Management, International Warehouse Logistics Assn.
Expert: Larry Willett Date: 3/8/2004 Subject: Marketing Warehousing & Distribution Services
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Followup To
Question - I do understand the importance of having a good information system at the warehouse. We can definitely provide online services, real time inventory reports etc. etc. The biggest challenge is finding customers and I was hoping to get some advice you on that. I have tried looking for clients on the internet but have had no success so far. Any guidance in this direction would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Pankaj
My company has a huge over capacity as far as warehousing is concerned. We are hoping to sell our warehousing and distribution services to companies that might be looking to expand their distribution or might be looking for additional warehouse space. I am not sure how to start my client search and how to win their business. Any advice from you would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Pankaj
Answer -
If you are not already in the business of being a 3PL provider, you need to determine what is required in order to provide services and then handle the billing so you get paid. Most 3PLs have a sophisticated WMS that allosw them to track their client's inventory and bill for services related to their contractual agreement. For finding clients, that is just hard work and prospecting to find people who are interested in your space and services.
Answer Marketing your services is generally a long term proposition involving advertising, websites, networking, direct mail and phone calls. Since your need seems to be short term, I suggest you start by seeking companies that have immediate short term needs. This can be companies with seasonal peaks or those that are experiencing rapid growth. I don't know where you are located so I have no idea of how competitive your market place may be. Generally, most large cities have many providers so there is a lot of competition.
You also did not state what kind of facility you have. Is it food grade or temperature controlled? Can you handle retail type goods? What kind of equipment do you have? Can you handle slip sheet or clamp loads? Do you have ground level docks to accommodate loading flat bed trailers?
Basically you need to pick some targets and start making phone calls to develop some leads to quote on. Maybe you can offer some incentive for referrals to trucking and real estate sales persons in your area. They often run across companies that need storage space.
