From Guest Blogger "Applied Environmentalist" — Go Green By Outsourcing Logistics

Businesses around the world are looking for ways to become more environmentally friendly. One of the best kept secrets for businesses small and large is third party logistics companies (3PL).  A 3PL company manages shipping, warehousing and order fulfillment for other companies that sell products. Serving as an “operational backbone, 3PL’s can make life much easier for businesses that are growing fast and want to focus on the business aspects instead of shipping. 3PL’s can make a business run smoother, but how does that affect the company’s ability to go green?

An organization that maintains its own warehouse facility, trucks for shipping and packaging plant can use a ton of energy. And if the business is less focuses on these logistics it can often create much more pollution and increase the carbon footprint of the company, and nobody wants that. A fulfillment center offers large facilities that often work with over 100 companies, saving the world from having 100 different warehouses all using energy. Since order fulfillment is the only task of a 3PL they are able to focus primarily on making the process lean and of course, green.

Recently, with solar power technology coming down in price, fulfillment centers have been able to take advantage of solar panels. Fulfillment warehouses are usually large building with flat roofs, making them an optimal location for solar panels. The solar energy becomes an instant source of revenue because of the lowered cost of energy and the customers benefit from this through lowered costs and associating with a fulfillment center that utilized green energy.

If you have any doubts that your business is not as efficient and lean as it could be, it may be time to enlist the help of a fulfillment center. It could possibly save you money and will definitely reduce your company’s carbon footprint.