This article may contain references to 3PL Central, now Extensiv Order Manager
New “4PL Plus” feature allows remote facilities to manage inventory in real-time
includes special privacy controls & full warehousing functionalities
Manhattan Beach, CA, October 22, 2009 – 3PL Central (www.3plcentral.com), the industry’s leading provider of WMS for small- and mid-sized 3PLs, today announced the release of 4PL Plus for their flagship 3PL Warehouse Manager™ solution. 4PL Plus allows remote, partner and 4PL warehouses to manage multiple customers’ inventory in a real-time environment. As a web-based module, 4PL Plus supports all basic warehousing functions including Shipping, Receiving and Reporting – even Billing Management.
Without any need for additional hardware or software, 3PLs are able to activate and configure the new 4PL module within one day and allow their 4PL partners to ship and receive product immediately. The new function permits 3PLs and their 4PL partners to manage inventories for one or many customers, and is available on-demand as a 100% web-based application. This newly-supported feature enables 3PL’s partner warehouses to support their customer base without sacrificing the visibility, inventory control, billing management, or privacy necessary to run a successful 3PL operation.
Select core functions include:
- Allowing real-time access to a 3PL’s system by 4PL warehousing partners
- Enabling 4PL warehouses to ship, receive and run reports for select customer(s)
- Access to optional advanced functionality including EDI integration, small parcel shipping, and web-based UCC-128 label printing
- Providing enhanced security that only allows visibility of the 4PL’s own warehouse(s) and customers – and hides confidential 3PL billing information
- Real-time customer (supplier) visibility across the full warehouse network – whether the warehouse is owned by the 3PL or a partner
- 100% web-based – no software or hardware to buy or deploy
The on-demand software is designed to address the challenges facing third-party logistics providers today, such as working with multiple customers, billing management, and satisfying demands for real-time inventory information. Now these functions are supported whether the 3PL owns their own warehouse or works with warehouse partners (4PLs).
“The new 4PL Plus feature is very useful indeed. It has eliminated the majority of all communication delays from our partner warehouses. Now, customer updates which previously took 24-48 hours to complete are communicated immediately,” shared Jacob Bech-Hansen, vice president of Universal Shipping Inc. (www.usiship.com). “With this new feature, we’re able to use partner warehouses in cities where we do not have our own facilities… while still allowing our customers to see real-time inventory levels and shipment details via their customer portal.”
As a SaaS provider (software-as-a-service), 3PL Central’s on-demand warehouse management system (WMS), 3PL Warehouse Manager, provides third party warehouse operators a full-featured, “pay for what you use” 3PL WMS solution for less than $500 a month. This allows small- to mid-sized warehouse operators to attract new business without being restricted by the technological limitations or prohibitive financial barriers they encounter with packaged software products.
“As a SaaS-based 3PL WMS solution, 3PL Central has a significant advantage by being able to manage 4PL and remote warehouses more cost effectively.” said John Watkins, founder of 3PL Central. “Any partner or 4PL warehouse can be up and running within one day without purchasing or installing any software or hardware.”
For more information on the new 4PL feature or request a live demo, visit: www.3plcentral.com/4pl
About 3PL Central
3PL Central (www.3plcentral.com) is a new breed of 3PL software provider, offering on-demand supply chain software focused on the needs of 3PLs, public and third-party warehouses. 3PL Central’s 3PL Warehouse Manager, the first on-demand Warehouse Management System (WMS) built to provide public warehouse operations enterprise-class WMS functionality. Offered via an on-demand, or Software as a Service (SaaS) model, enabling 3PLs and public warehouses access to cutting-edge software at a low monthly fee and significantly reducing the total cost of ownership of supply chain execution software from the traditional “buy, upgrade and maintain” software cycle.
3PL Central – For 3PLs on the Grow™
“3PL Central”, “3PL Warehouse Manager”, “Billing Wizard” and “For 3PLs on the Grow” are trademarks of 3PL Central, Inc.