IWLA Insider Webinar: CartonCloud x Techdinamics Capitalizing on Nearshoring

The logistics landscape is evolving, and 3PL warehouses in the US are well-positioned to capitalize on these changes. This blog explores how strategic warehouse technology and integrations can unlock new business opportunities, particularly with the growing trend of nearshoring.

We'll also showcase a successful project where we launched a fully operational warehouse in just 6 weeks. Watch the full webinar below! 

What is nearshoring in logistics? 

Nearshoring is the process of bringing manufacturing, product storage, and other steps of the supply chain closer to the last-mile target market. 

The trend has grown in recent years as a means of reducing risk and streamlining supply chains. Traditionally, companies might outsource manufacturing overseas for lower costs. Nearshoring, however, involves partnering with suppliers and manufacturers in geographically closer countries, often neighboring ones — to reduce the risk of global delays or supply chain disruptions. 

• Reshoring: This refers to the movement of production and manufacturing back to the US.
• Nearshoring: This involves bringing operations closer than traditional overseas options, aiming to reduce costs and lead times.
• Friendshoring: This emphasizes working with politically stable and reliable trade partners.

The Rise of Nearshoring and Friendshoring

“Nearshoring, on-shoring and friend-shoring trends are presenting some really exciting opportunities for logistics companies to expand on their B2B offerings,” CartonCloud CEO Shaun Hagen explains. 

The term "nearshoring" has seen a significant increase in usage recently, with Bloomberg citing a 216% rise in the use of nearshoring terminology from American firms since the beginning of 2022.

“This has been triggered by the fragility in our supply chains highlighted during the global pandemic, and other external shocks to supply chains from 2019-2023— which has driven a huge increase in investment,” Mr. Hagen said. 

“There has been a total of $516 billion invested in onshoring and nearshoring projects which has been announced by private companies in North America since the last presidential election.”

Watch the full nearshoring webinar here:

3PL Warehousing: Identifying Nearshoring Opportunities

Nearshoring presents a significant opportunity for 3PL warehouses in the USA. This trend, along with a focus on supply chain security and regionalization, isn't entirely new, but they're gaining momentum rapidly.

The structure of the North American logistics system is well-suited to capitalize on near-, friend-, and reshoring. 

• Deloitte's Future of Freight Report showcases the significant investments being made in Mexico, Canada (nearshoring), and the US (reshoring). It highlights the rising expectations of companies moving freight closer to home, with a staggering 62% already initiating the process. 
• Recently, Supply Chain Brain outlined nearshoring’s expected increase of Mexico’s manufacturing exports by an estimated one-third, or about $150 billion, in the next five years.

This rapid change creates a wave of exciting opportunities for both established and new logistics players.

• Reduced Risk: Experience fewer disruptions caused by geographical distance and political instability.
• Shorter Supply Chains: Offering 3PL services within nearshoring or friend-shoring countries to your customer’s last-mile market can open new business opportunities.
• Strong Trade Partnerships: With the right systems in place, the nearshoring trend allows some 3PLs to become strategic partners, assisting import/export companies in navigating import taxes and duties.

The Technical Side: Integrations and a Powerful WMS Are Key

Now, let's equip your warehouse with the right technology to seize these opportunities. Here's what you'll need:

• Robust WMS: The backbone of your 3PL operation is having a powerful Warehouse Management System to manage your operations.
• Clear Documentation for All: Frictionless data sharing and clear documentation.
• Automation for Efficiency: Streamline workflows and ensure data accuracy with barcode scanning, mobile scan-move, automated order and data input, and automated rate cards. 
• Global Partnerships and Seamless Integration: The beauty lies in seamless data flow between international partners, regardless of their systems or data formats.
• Training and Onboarding: Access expert, local support and onboarding. Get up and running faster with CartonCloud — with an average onboarding time of 5hours! 

Real-world 3PL warehouse case study

In this webinar, CartonCloud CEO Shaun Hagen and Techndiamics President Reg Adams unpack a recent 3PL case study success story, equipping a 3PL warehouse provider to go live with their new nearshoring 3PL warehouse with global integrations and unique workflows — in under 6 weeks. 

In this 3PL warehouse example, the business capitalized on a new opportunity, entering into a new service area, with a new warehouse set up and running and their team trained, with technical accuracy, strategic partnerships, and integrations. 

The brief: set up a new warehouse, with global integrations, fully operational warehouse management system, and specific workflows, in just 6 weeks. 

This 3PL warehouse was importing EV batteries from an overseas manufacturer, to the USA. 

They required a powerful 3PL Warehouse Management System with the ability to handle specific import documentation, item and serial level tracking, management of quality assurance testing workflows, as well as automated rates and charging. 

In this example of 3PL Warehouse Nearshoring Requirements, they needed: 

• Management of multiple references for single SKUs, production date, product type and status
• Custom label and document templates for inbound and outbound workflows.
• Mobile app allowed scan confirmation using existing references and trigger printing of new label templates.
• Implemented automation into inbound workflows to manage product through QC process including safeguards and alerts.
• Alerts, reporting, and status updates automatically triggered via the mobile app using scan-move and confirmation steps.
• End-to-end serial number tracking, including ability to reallocate serial numbers with matching attributes.
• Automatic capture and calculation of all charges. 

What’s more, they needed a system with secure and seamless integration capability, and fast, accurate onboarding and training — to be up and running within 6 weeks. 

In this real-world 3PL example, the 3PL warehouse required complex global partnership integrations for seamless data flow in and out of their 3PL WMS system. 

This included; 

• ERP integration, with tracking documentation
• Integration handling of political/ import tax and tarif documents
• Ability for all partners to work in their own formats, with seamless data flow
• EDI converted to API, and back to EDI
• 3PL warehousing nearshoring success with powerful integrated solutions
• Combining CartonCloud’s powerful 3PL WMS solution to provide specialized workflows, tracking, inventory, and rates management for all workflows and requirements inside the four walls of the warehouse. Plus, specialized integrations from their CartonCloud WMS to global partners— this 3PL was able to build the ideal system and solution for their nearshoring needs.

Watch the full webinar to explore the details of this powerful partnership, and see how this project was completed successfully in just 6 weeks. 
 

Find out more 

See CartonCloud’s powerful 3PL WMS and TMS software in action in a FREE software tour demo. Ask about our out-of-the-box integrations, in-house expert support, and fast onboarding, and see how you can grow your 3PL with CartonCloud’s top-user-rated logistics software.