How Does Drinks Fulfilment Work With a 3PL? Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions

Deciding to partner with a third-party logistics (3PL) provider for your drinks business is an important decision that comes with a lot of different questions.

What are the top 10 things you need to know about partnering with a drinks 3PL partner?

1. What is 3PL?

'3PL' stands for 'third-party logistics'.

Third-party logistics is a service that provides businesses with outsourced logistics for part of or all of their supply chain management functions. The 3PL provider takes on the responsibility of managing and executing logistics functions that were traditionally handled in-house by the business.

A drinks 3PL company handles the order and fulfilment of on-trade and sometimes ecommerce or DTC (direct-to-consumer) drinks orders. They are completely specialised in drinks logistics and will be able to offer bespoke services for breweries, wineries and distilleries.

To read more about what a 3PL is, check our our blog here.

2. How much does drinks 3PL cost?

How much a third-party logistics drinks company (3PL) costs will depend on a few factors:

1. Pricing model: different drinks 3PLs will use different pricing models, for example flate-rate or activity-based pricing. These pricing models will often be the basis of you monthly drinks logistics costs.

1. Quantity/Literage of drinks to deliver: a 3PL's prices may vary depending on how many litres or bottles/cans you need delivered monthly/annually.

1. Aditional drinks storage services: there may be additional costs applied for additional storage services, such as chilled storage.

Note: 3PLs may also charge additional fees, including:

1. Onboarding and set-up fees
2. Receiving of inventory fees
3. Additional storage fees

To read more about how much a 3PL costs, including the different kinds of fees, click here.

At Tap'in 3PL, we charge drinks producers using a simple, straightforward PDL (price per delivered litre) rate. This means that, instead of juggling multiple invoices for stock handling, storage, delivery and empty keg collection, you receive one, easy-to-understand invoice. Keeping your experience with us as smooth and as hassle-free as possible is what it's all about at Tap'in.

Want to find out how much outsourcing your logistics to Tap'in would cost compared to your in-house operations? Try out our free PDL calculator tool.

3. What types of drinks products can a 3PL store and ship?

Most 3PLs that offer a drinks logistics service can handle kegs, casks, cans and bottles for a wide variety of different drinks.

Drinks-only 3PLs like Tap'in offer a full drinks logistics service for breweries, wineries, distilleries and low-and-no alcohol producers and can handle 30 litre and 50 litre kegs, casks, cans and bottles of drink.

4. Can a 3PL handle both DTC (direct-to-consumer) and B2B drinks orders?

Some 3PLs offer an ecommerce or direct-to-consumer drinks order fulfilment and delivery, as well as a standard on-trade drinks logistics service.

Tap'in 3PL specialise in fulfilling next-day on-trade deliveries into London and South East UK while also offering ecommerce fulfilment for drinks producers dispatching 500+ orders a month.

5. How quickly can a 3PL process and deliver drinks orders?

3PLs often process and deliver drinks orders within 1-2 days, depending on the location of their warehouse and you drink's order's final destination.

Many 3PLs who have warehouses close to hotspots like London offer next-day deliveries.

Tap'in 3PL offers next-day deliveries into London 4 days a week, thanks to our warehouse just 13 miles outside of London and our sustainable use of consolidated deliveries.

6. What delivery options and distribution methods do 3PLs offer for drinks and alcohol?

3PLs usually utilise three main distribution methods for on-trade drinks venue deliveries:

1. Delivery fleet: a 3PL will have access to a chosen delivery fleet, which usually runs full-time (depending on the scale of the 3PL's business)

1. Pallet Network: a group of professional hauliers working together to provide cost-effective, nationwide and next day (dependent) freight delivery services. Read more about Pallet Network and its benefits here.

1. Courier service: a 3PL that offers ecommerce fulfilment will have pre-built connections with their chosen courier. For example, Tap'in 3PL typically use DHL for ecommerce DTC deliveries, but our expert logistics team can choose to allocate your on-trade deliveries to a courier if it's more time and cost-effective.

7. How do I choose the right 3PL for my alcohol or drinks brand?

It's important to choose a third-party logistics (3PL) provider that's right for your particular drinks business. There are many factors that you need to consider to ensure you're getting the most out of an outsourced logistics service. Ask yourself questions like:

1. Where does the drinks 3PL deliver?
2. What are the minimum order quantities for the drinks 3PL?
3. What would I benefit from when partnering with a drinks 3PL?
4. How do I partner with a drinks 3PL?
5. When should I partner with a drinks 3PL?
6. How much does a 3PL cost?

Check out our linked blogs to find out more.

Tap'in 3PL specialise in on-trade drinks delivery in London and South East UK for drinks producers looking to deliver 3,500 litres per month. Tap'in also offer a UK-wide ecommerce DTC drinks fulfilment service for drinks producers looking to deliver 500+ deliveries monthly.

We offer drinks producers (including brewerers, wineries, distilleries and low-and-no alcohol producers) a number of benefits:

Tap'in charge based on our Price per Delivered Litre (PDL) matrix which is scaleable and bespoke to your particular drinks delivery needs.

Try out our PDL calculator tool to see how much your in-house drinks logistics costs compared to how Tap'in 3PL's PDL charging matrix.

8. Are minimum volume or order quantities required to work with a drinks 3PL?

Most 3PLs, including drinks 3PLs, will have a minimum order or volume quantity that you must meet per month or per year. This will vary depending on:

1. The scale of the 3PL company
2. The location of the 3PL's warehouse
3. Where the 3PL will primarily deliver

Tap'in 3PL offers drinks producers a full outsourced drinks logistics service for the minimum quantities of:

1. On-trade: 3,500 litres per month (or 42,000 litres per year)
2. E-commerce/DTC: 500 orders a month

When you partner with Tap'in, you gain access to a drinks storage warehouse just outside of London, as well as our specialised Customer Service, Logistics and Warehouse teams, all under our easy to understand and calculate PDL (Price per Delivered Litre) rate.

Check out our PDL tool to understand more about our charging matrix, or contact our team:

EMAIL: sales@tapin3pl.com

CALL: 0203 436 0140

9. Do drinks 3PLs offer temperature-controlled or cold storage?

Drinks 3PLS will often offer cold drinks storage or temperature-controlled drinks storage for your products. This is especially useful during the warmer months of Summer to keep your drinks in top condition whilst being stored in the 3PL's warehouse.

Many different types of drinks can benefit from cold or chilled drinks storage. However, if you require both chilled and ambient storage, Tap'in are able to offer both in our drinks logistics warehouse just outside of London.

10. Is a 3PL better than in-house fulfillment for drinks brands?

Whether a 3PL service or in-house fulfilment is better for your drinks brand depends on a few factors:

1. The size of your drinks business: it may not be cost-effective to outsourcing your whole drinks logistics process if your drinks company produces and sells lower quantities.

1. The cost of renting a warehouse: as warehouse rent costs start to rise, it's important for drinks producers to weight up the pros and cons of renting their own warehouse. It may be more cost-effective long-term to partner with a 3PL that is closer to key drinking hubs such as London or Brighton.

1. How much control you want to have over your logistics: many smaller drinks producers prefer to keep complete control over their logisitcs. However, many outsourced drinks logistics providers offer a bespoke service to their clients and will work with you to provide a service that still feels true to your business.

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Drinks Logistics for Breweries, Wineries, Distilleries and Low-and-No Producers

At Tap'in, we specialise in drinks logistics only- this ensures our team stays laser-focused on providing a seamless service to breweries, wineries, distilleries and low-and-no drinks producers.

Tap'in 3PL could work for your drinks business if...:

1. You're a drinks producer: Tap'in works with breweries, wineries, distilleries and low-and-no alcohol drinks producers. We use a simple PDL charging matrix that is specifically built to optimise drinks' delivery charges.

1. You produce in the UK and are looking for London and South-East deliveries: our warehouse located just outside of London means that our team can deliver into London 4 times a week and even offer next-day deliveries (subject to our delivery timetable)

1. You deliver a minimum 3,500 litres of drink per month: for our drinks logistics service to be cost-effective and efficient, we work specifically with drinks producers operating on these minimum quantities

We use a simple and easy-to-understand charging matrix called the PDL (price per delivered litre) matrix. This handles receipt and handling of stock, storage (based on your individual volumes), delivery and empty keg collection. Check out our PDL tool to see how much you could save with Tap'in.

Get in touch with our expert team using the form below to find out more, or check out our social media to see what our team get up to in order to be the Operations Team of Your Dreams:

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Alternatively, check out these blogs to find out more about outsourcing your drinks logistics:

1. How Much Does It Cost to Rent a Warehouse in the UK for Drinks Storage?
2. How Can a Drinks 3PL Help You Deliver Across the UK?
3. 3PL vs. Wholesaler- Which is Right For Your Drinks Business?

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