“Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.”

While the idea put forth in that famous saying is clear; that if you eclipse your competition with a better product you will get lots of sales, it’s really not true.

Let’s say you did build the better mousetrap, then what? How will anyone “beat a path to your door” if no one knows about what you have created. And are you ready for everyone to show up at your front door? Will you have enough product, properly packaged and ready to ship?

The problem is that if you are good at creating products, it doesn’t mean you are good at, or have the resources to do everything else it takes to sell them, including:

• Promotion – You need to get the word out that you have a better product. That means marketing and advertising. So you’ll need creative services, print materials, web development, a trade show program – whatever will work best for your product and marketplace.

• Transaction Services – What happens when the customer is ready to buy? You need multi-channel sales support to answer their questions, ecommerce capabilities, credit card processing and EDI capabilities if yours is a B2B product.

• Warehousing – You can’t wait for the orders to come in before building and assembling the product to fulfill them. You must have them in stock and ready to go, which means a secure warehouse to store them, in a geographically convenient location and a management system so you can get to your goods fast.

• Order Fulfillment – When an order comes in, someone needs to get the product, pack it, label it and make sure it gets out the door. And you’ll need an inventory management system to keep your supply chain well-greased.

• Shipping & Distribution – You’ll need a network of distribution points, like wholesalers or bricks and mortar retailers; and a reliable way to get your products to them.

So the idea that if you build a better mousetrap you will be successful is not true. But if you build a better mouse trap, promote it, handle transactions, warehouse it, fill orders and deliver them, you’re far more likely to enjoy success.

But how many entrepreneurs and/or small businesses can do all those things? And do them well?

Not many. But that’s where third party logistics companies (3PLs) come in. 3PLs can handle all, some or any one of the roles listed above. And, because they do so for a number of different companies, they can usually provide the services for a lower cost than if you set-up the capability in-house.