Learn about Warehouse Service Provider Companies

When a business decides outsourcing storage of its products or raw materials for manufacturing makes more sense than trying to deal with it internally, it will seek out a company to manage the warehousing services it needs. In its simplest form, a warehouse service provider company provides a logistics solution consisting of managed storage facilities (warehouses) for businesses who don’t want to run their own storage facilities.

You Probably Need More than a Warehouse Service Provider Company

These days, companies providing only a public warehousing service are rare. After all, this warehousing function is just one aspect of many that fall under the wider umbrella of third-party logistics (3PL) services a business may need to optimize the functioning of its supply chain. Ranger3PL offers an array of third-party logistics services beyond a mere warehouse service to maximize the efficiency of your supply chain. Call us at 812-522-6000 to start a conversation about how we can provide the 3PL solutions you need.

The Evolution of Warehousing to Third-Party Logistics

No one knows the exact history behind warehousing expanding into other third-party logistics services, but it’s easy to imagine how it happened. A business was running out of room to store its products and began working with a warehouse to meet their storage needs. But when it was time to move those products out of the warehouse to send them off to different places, it was still up to the business to make all the transportation arrangements. The warehouse company realized there was an opportunity to offer freight brokerage as a service and the business was more than happy to turn that over to the warehouse company.

At the moment the warehouse added that additional service, it was evolving into a third-party logistics provider. Soon they realized they could offer to handle the inventory management and tracking needs of the business, as well as order fulfillment directly from the warehouse for distribution to retail outlets selling the products. In fact, the warehouse company decided to buy several trucks so they could provide final mile logistics to areas within reasonable driving distance. What started out as just a warehouse service provider company soon found it had become a third-party logistics provider with a whole range of value-added services to supplement their warehousing operation. This scenario is fictional, but it’s not far off the mark from how many warehouse service providers evolved into 3PL companies.

Ranger 3PL: An Ideal Location for Warehousing and More

Like many 3PL companies, we started out back in 1995 as just another warehouse service provider company. But we had something going for us that turned out to be a huge competitive advantage: Our location in Seymour, Indiana. Sure, there are hundreds of warehouse options in and around Indianapolis, but it’s also true that being located in a big city carries a big price tag. Being located an hour south of Indianapolis where real estate wasn’t nearly as expensive allowed us to develop a strong collection of top-notch warehouse facilities while still keeping us within easy driving distance of six key midwestern population centers, including the following:

Indianapolis IN: 1 hour
Louisville KY: 1 hour
Cincinnati OH: 2 hours
Springfield IL: 4 hours
Chicago IL: 4 hours
St. Louis MO: 5 hours

This location advantage can’t be underestimated. It puts us in the perfect position to offer a distribution, fulfillment, and final mile logistics solution to companies that need to reach these significant population centers in the midwestern US.

Warehouse Facilities and Services with Ranger3PL

Since we started as a warehouse service provider company, let us introduce you to our warehouse facilities to give you a sense of our capacity in this core part of our business:

Building 1: 10,300 square feet, 16-foot eave heights.
Building 2: 40,000 square feet, 22-foot eave heights.
Building 3: 107,500 square feet, 16-foot eave heights.
Building 4: 32,000 square feet, 16-foot eave heights.
Building 5: 32,000 square feet, 16-foot eave heights.
Building 6: 23,000 square feet, 16-foot eave heights.
Building 7: 32,000 square feet, 20-foot eave heights.
Building 8: 32,000 square feet, 20-foot eave heights.
Building 9: 32,500 square feet, 20-foot eave heights.
Building 10: 42,000 square feet, 18-foot eave heights.
Building 11: 100,000 square feet, 24-foot eave heights.
Building 12: 40,000 square feet, 22-foot eave heights.
Building 13: 38,250 square feet, 25-foot eave heights.
Building 15: 100,000 square feet, 24-foot eave heights.
Building 16: 41,000 square feet, 14,000 square feet of office space.

Collectively, these buildings offer more than 700,000 square feet of warehouse capacity. Several of them offer food grade storage with careful controlling of warehouse temperatures as needed to meet all regulatory requirements for maintaining food safety. Learn more about various aspects of warehousing on the following pages of our website:

Strategic Supply Chain Management for all Industries

We’ve worked with businesses and companies in a wide range of industries, including consumer goods, energy, food and beverage, government, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, industrial goods, infrastructure, nonprofit organizations, paper and packaging, retail, technology and electronics, transportation, and more. In each case, we know any chain is only as strong as its weakest link, which is especially true when it comes to the supply chains of businesses. We offer the following value-added services to help optimize your supply chain:

Customized Order Fulfillment (B2B & B2C): We’ll work with you to customize order fulfillment in whatever way you need. Give us a list of your requirements and we’ll show you a plan for meeting every one of them.
Materials Management: If you need to store key materials and only ship them to a particular site when called for, we’ll develop a flexible, customized plan to meet your needs.
Inventory Management: With Ranger 3PL on the job, you’ll always know exactly what you have in inventory and when it needs to be replenished in the warehouse. We’ve implemented very effective technologies for tracking and managing inventory.
Cross-Docking: This best practice is just one of many ways we reduce the cost of warehousing and save you money. Learn how cross-docking works.
eCommerce Distribution: You can configure your online ordering system to automatically copy orders with particular zip codes to Ranger 3PL for distribution in our geographic service area. Scaling your online sales in the Midwest is a snap with our fleet of trucks waiting to move your products and materials to where they need to go, whether that retail outlets or direct to consumers.
Quality Control: Our warehouse facilities are all maintained to the highest standards. We’ve become a leading 3PL provider in the Midwest thanks to our commitment to excellence and quality in customer service.
Transportation Services: We offer asset-based local cartage to key midwestern population centers, expedited services when needed, and less than truckload (LTL) to save you money.
Pallets: Different types of products need different kinds of pallets. As our warehousing operations grew, we launched our own pallet division to make sure we could make all the different pallet we need to meet customer needs. Our high warehousing standards include using the right pallet for the right product because we make them ourselves.

Whether it’s for eCommerce, manufacturing, retail, B2B or B2C, nearly three decades of skilled warehouse and logistics expertise is available to handle key functions to strengthen your supply chain so more of its moving parts are executed efficiently by just one service provider: Ranger3PL.

Integrated Logistics for Supply Chain Success: Ranger3PL

When your supply becomes increasingly complex and includes multiple service providers each handling a different link in the chain, there are more chances for something to go wrong, causing bottlenecks and delays. By working with a third-party logistics partner like Ranger3PL that integrates multiple services under one roof, your supply chain is streamlined and integrated while also giving you greater visibility into what’s happening every step of the way. We utilize state-of-the-art software applications that include robust reporting capabilities that keep you informed so you can concentrate on running your business instead of worrying about logistics. When you work with Ranger3PL, you have the peace of mind that your supply chain is in good hands. Give us a call at 812-522-6000 to learn more about what we can do for your business, discuss your specific needs, and get a quote for a customized plan of services to meet those needs.

What is a Warehouse Service Provider Company?