Outsourcing yard management to a Third Party Logistics (3PL) service provider can greatly improve the efficiency of your distribution center. The 3PL is in charge of moving freight in the campus between the yard and docks and adhering to the receiving and shipping crews’ schedules and deadlines. Here are a few other ways that hiring a 3PL can help reduce costs and streamline operations: Licensing If you hire your own yard manager and drivers, they will be required to acquire and update various licenses such as CDLs. These can become expensive and keeping up with all the paperwork can be a headache. With outsourced drivers from a 3PL service provider, you won’t have to worry about licensing. Regulatory Compliance Maintaining compliance is a formidable task in itself and violations can be quite costly. Whether you employ one or many drivers, you’re still required to be compliant with all applicable regulations. The 3PL service provider is adept at dealing with compliance. Insurance Insuring a full-time yard operation is expensive. Using a 3PL service provider experienced in running dedicated spotting operations can eliminate this fixed cost. A good transportation provider can their premiums low through safe operations and economy of scale. Maintenance and Equipment Equipment ownership/leasing and repairs are costly and time consuming. When you hire a 3PL to manage yard operations, they ensure that your site always has the equipment needed to keep things running smoothly. Great 3PLs will also add value to their service by employing an advanced Yard Management System (YMS) to give you complete visibility and updates in real time. Dashboard metric reporting and KPIs demonstrate the efficiency they bring to your site and help to further streamline operations.