3PD today announced the launch of 3PDirect, a pay-per-use national network that offers first-to-last-mile delivery, assembly and installation of heavy goods throughout the continental United States. The company also announced the launch of a secure web portal (accessible via its web site at www.3pd.com), where businesses can obtain quotes, open an account and immediately begin shipping via the new service.
'Until now, many heavy goods shippers were caught between a rock and a hard place: They didn't have the volumes to justify using private or dedicated last-mile fleets in every market where their products were being sold. Yet they also couldn't provide a nationally consistent delivery experience, because their transactional delivery options were limited to networks of dissimilar cartage agents. Just as important, booking and tracking shipments was often more complicated than it was worth,' said 3PD CEO Karl Meyer. '3PDirect has been designed with those gaps in mind.'
The new service offers:
' Product pick-ups from any factory, supplier or distribution center in the lower 48 states
' Residential and commercial delivery, installation and assembly services in the lower 48 states, via uniformed, background-checked and credentialed 3PD delivery teams
' Fast and easy online account set-up
' Time-definite integrated long-haul transportation
' Full integration with e-commerce shopping carts so that companies' customers can select their preferred level of service and day of delivery during check-out
' No minimum shipping volumes, volume guarantees or long-term contractual obligations
In addition, it features EDI or web portal order entry, granular door-to-door shipment visibility, consumer and retail call center support, immediate post-delivery surveys and same-day exceptions management.
'We believe 3PDirect is an important 'last milestone' for our industry,' said Meyer. 'It provides a single national option for a segment of the shipping market that has traditionally been serviced only by a small number of players. And it allows companies with shipping volumes of any size to provide all of their customers with a consistently excellent delivery experience anywhere in the United States.'
