Innovative warehousing and corporate-social-responsibility partnerships that Stop Hunger Now is piloting with third-party-logistics (3PL) providers is the focus of an article in the Summer 2015 edition of 3PL Americas, the quarterly magazine of the International Warehouse Logistics Association.
3PL providers in Indianapolis and Pittsburgh have taken on warehouse functions that Stop Hunger Now previously handled, giving our local staff in those cities more time to develop partnerships with local organizations and volunteers that will get more food to hungry people throughout the world.
Stop Hunger Now is piloting the third-party model with Merchandise Warehouse in Indianapolis and Catch-Up Logistics in Pittsburgh. The model is expected to reduce warehousing duties for our local staff, trimming by 25  to 35 percent the time they spend on warehousing functions and giving them more time to develop new partnerships that will package more meals for people in need throughout the world.
Based on a logistical network analysis of the third-party warehouse model we are developing with consultants, we will decide whether to shift to that model in other U.S. communities in which we operate when our warehouse leases in those communities expire. We will also consider the third-party model when we expand to new communities, such as our upcoming expansion to the New York metro area.  
“This new model enables our staff to focus on what we do best – facilitating great meal-packaging events for volunteers and distributing meals effectively to end world hunger, while other experts handle the logistics, which are not our core competency,” says Rod Brooks, president and CEO of Stop Hunger Now.
To read the article in 3PL Americas, click here and scroll to page 31.