Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc.

According to a case ceasevass cited by Staudt and Stranz (2009), Ocean scatter Cranberries, Inc is an agricultural cooperative owned by more than 750 cranberry growers in the unify States and Canada. The go with produces bearned and bottled juice, juice drinks and food products at distribution centers in Bordentown, peeled Jersey Kenosha, Wisconsin reciprocal ohm Springs, Texas and Henderson, Nevada. August is usu all(prenominal)y a challenging month for Ocean scatter Cranberries, Inc., when the Lakeville, Massachusetts-based firm has to pump up volume to meet the surge in demand for upcoming holiday season.Ocean Spray was managing its transportation trading subprograms internally, but the company decided that focusing on its core competency would allow them to maintain leadership in the shelf-stable juice drink category. The company believes centralizing its transportation operations and bringing all into accordance while flesh outing into new markets will be beneficia l for their company. Although Ocean Sprays transportation capabilities to be able to support the elaborateness of their logistic network can be challenging, investing in a third-party logistics provider will allow the focus of core competency and revamping of transportation logistics.Benefits of 3PLThe result of an increasing form toward outsourcing of logistic activities, shippers have been faced with the inevit competency of selecting an appropriate third-party logistics provider (Soh, 2009). The process of finding the best suited 3PL provider that fits user and company requirements can be very challenging. Likewise, Ocean Sprays expansion of logistics network allows the 3PL to manage distribution, packing, warehousing and assembling. Through their combined visions and knowledge, they can help to maximize profitability and reliability. peerless of the advantages of having a 3PL provider is having a large amount of resource network (Langley, 2012). According to an article, 3PL s have a large network available that has many advantages over supply chains that are in-house.By using the resource network of a 3PL, the steps of a supply chain are able to be put to death in a cost effective and efficient manner. Also, the ability of a 3PL to leverage relationships and volume discounts can result in the instant(prenominal) servingpossible. It allows a company like Ocean Spray to profit from many resources that are not available to them. Similarly, it lets them build solid relationships and networks that could lead to prospective services and resources in the future. A survey states, 3PLs are primarily meeting shippers expectations and an average of 86% of shipper respondents view their 3PL relationships very favored (Langley, 2012).The second advantage of having 3PL providers is the scalability and flexibility. Many companies are obviously looking to expand their organization and affix their revenue, so having the flexibility from their 3PL providers allows them to be stress free. 3PL providers has the ability to scale transportation and space according to the unavoidably of the companys inventory. They are able to enhance the growth of the company into new locations that companies never had access to. This can definitely benefit Ocean Sprays company as its main goal is to expand their logistic network to other locations. An article states, sixteen companies reported revenue data and collectively, these companies generated in wasted of $23 billion in North American revenues during the year 2009 due to the fact of having 3PL providers (Lieb, 2010). Furthermore, three CEOs state their companies had been very profitable and some classified their companies as marginally profitable (Lieb, 2010).The third advantage of having 3PL providers is the ability for continuous optimization. 3PL providers have the resources to make improvements and adjustments to each link in the supply chain. They make sure that all company and user needs are met by using the most cost effective, efficient and abstainest methods available. An article states, 3PLs allow shippers to conserve costs and resources, while also helping to provide higher service levels (Patridge, 2008). Similarly, Verizon company uses 3PL provider, New Breed to develop an automated warehouse fulfillment solution that provides same-day processing of its direcct-to consumer orders (Patridge, 2008).The 3PL operates of Verizons three distribution centers, offering real-time visibility to orders and inventory by tracking every serialized unit. Moreover, New Breed ships 20,500 consumer orders daily for Verizon with 99.9 percent accuracy while 100 percent of orders that arrive before 5 p.m areshipped the same day (Patridge, 2008). A customer even states, a call made to Verizon on Monday afternoon regarding a replacement of battery was quickly sent by tuesday morning (Patridge, 2008). This clearly indicates the fast and effectiveness of 3PLs into a companys operations.Chal lenges of 3PLAlthough, 3PL providers are beneficial for many companies, they can also wee-wee various challenges to customers. Quality is one of the main things that causes the downfall of customer satisfaction (Hudaziak, 2012). In the 3PL market, customers expectations are high, from operation efficiencies to more strategic development (Hudaziak, 2012). Hence, the need to eliminate any extra internal waste and inefficiencies of 3PL processes needs to be established so that the level of customer satisfaction and overall performance can increase (Hudaziak, 2012). Also, the change of inventory policy causes the loss of client business or ownership (Hudaziak, 2012). Thus, 3PLs have no room for errors as it can cause a delay in shipment. RecommendationIn the case of Ocean Spray Cranberries, establishing a transportation based 3PL provider would be the best way to go. In fact, Ocean Spray did give Exel providers the opportunity to ship their products and also awarded them with exception al service and on-time deliveries. Ocean Spray, appreciated the dedication and shipment service that Excel provides every day. Thus, the only recommendation would be to keep the strong relationship betwixt the company and their carriers as its important to understand one another when it comes business and customer requirements.