If you’re leading a 3PL operation right now, you’re caught in a whirlwind of challenges.
Your warehouses may have more empty space than you’d like, coupled with rising rents that bite into margins. As clients scrutinize costs, every contract feels like it’s teetering on the edge. Add softening freight rates to the mix, and it feels like the ground beneath your business is shifting.
Feeling the pressure? You’re not alone.
But here’s the opportunity
Today’s 3PL directors and VPs who capitalize on this window—not by chasing rock-bottom rates or slashing prices, but by repositioning their assets and strategy—will lead the pack. The right moves today could make you the type of partner brands refuse to leave.
Turning warehouse vacancy from dead space into pure margin.
The data paints a sobering picture: U.S. warehouse vacancy rates reached approximately 9.1% in August 2025, while rental costs increased by another 6.1% year over year (Yardi Matrix). These are big numbers, and to some, they equal losses or stagnation. But to you, a strategic thinker, vacancy isn’t a pitfall—it’s flexibility. It’s breathing room.
Think about it:
- You’ve got the agility to onboard clients quickly—no waiting for costly expansions.
- The vacancy rate is leverage: rents may rise, but landlords can’t ignore cooling demand.
- It’s your chance to move away from stagnant billing and monetize your space differently—how about basing profits on throughput or operational efficiencies instead of static storage?
The math doesn’t have to be intimidating. Your aim isn’t just to fill empty racks; it’s to ensure every square foot delivers value. It’s about ensuring rising rents don’t erode your margins, but instead fuel smarter revenue streams.
Making freight volatility your strategic strength.
Freight rate fluctuations may feel like a gamble, but this ecosystem is precisely where 3PLs shine. Recent stats show spot rates across dry van, flatbed, and reefer markets stabilizing or dipping since July 2025 (ACT Research). For shippers, that means ambiguity. For an innovative operator like you, it screams opportunity.
Here’s where the advantage lies:
- Offer immediate savings: With strategic rate shopping, you pass transport cost benefits directly to your clients—positioning yourself as their proactive ‘margin defender’.
- Retain an edge internally: Capture those same savings to fortify your own margins without alienating your base price competitiveness.
Aligned motivations and benefits with your customer is what creates – and sustains — long-term business partnerships.
The savvy 3PL captures value in both directions.
You’re sitting on one of the most underutilized profit levers in logistics—strategic rate shopping. However, here’s why you shouldn’t treat it like a set-and-forget thermostat.
The secret weapon? Visibility that cultivates loyalty.
Think about this: your clients are no longer only outsourcing logistics efficiency—they desperately want to see their ROI too. That means not just offloading supply chain execution; they need to see that you are doing it better than they can. If you don’t show ROI to them, someone else will.
Here’s the magic formula: transparency sells
Deposco’s third-party logistics fulfillment software makes that mission easy. With the powerful interplay of Bright Warehouse (WMS), Bright Order (DOM/OMS), and Supply Chain Intelligence offerings, you can:
- Deliver real-time, data-driven visibility into inventory positions, enabling clients to understand how and why their inventory is optimized for their unique demand patterns and operational goals.
- Leverage advanced analytics for transportation strategies that minimize costs, reduce inefficiencies, and enhance brand performance—providing actionable insights clients can’t achieve without innovative solutions.
- Turn every touchpoint into strategic collaboration with reporting and transparency that elevates your relationship from “provider” to “business-growth partner”—directly tied to measurable ROI improvements for their bottom line.
Discover the power of integrated WMS, OMS, Planning, and Intelligence – your fastest path to strategic growth.
Is this transparency just nice-to-have tech? Not at all.
When clients see what’s happening behind the curtain, when their spreadsheets validate your leadership, they stick with you. They grow because of you.
Become an irreplaceable 3PL partner.
So, yes. The challenges are real. Empty pallet positions. Shrinking freight budgets. Competitors nipping at your heels. And yet, here’s your choice: lean into the hurdles now with purpose and strategy, or risk becoming another piece of their “logistics shakeup” agenda.
At Deposco, we’ve built the tools ideal for this transformation moment. We’re not just about tech deployment; we’re about making you indispensable. Through our platform and optimization insights, you can become the best version of an irreplaceable 3PL partner. Act Now.