Outsourcing Logistics
As most large businesses move towards lean operating methods, outsourcing logistics requirements can help to reduce your company’s costs, improve your customer service quality, and increase the synchronization of activities throughout your supply chain. It can also help to identify opportunities to generate savings in your transportation, warehousing, and private truck fleet operations.
Sometimes a mix can be a better deal. By determining where your strengths lie, a Third Party Logistics company, – acting as consultants – can help you choose which part of the supply chain to outsource. Therefore you need only outsource parts for which your current solution is deficient. Thereby improving your competitiveness with much larger companies with seemingly boundless resources.
These third party logistics services can be as simple as brokering out and managing freight flows for the customer to more complex and difficult set-up and operation of major warehouse or distribution center operations.
Some 3PLs are internet based, and they offer load brokerage and freight matching services, or act as a hub to present to users a whole host of companies and services need by logistics and supply chain professionals as well as the information they need to do their jobs.
June 5, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Hi, Francis, I’m so interested in your contribution to this subject which is relatively a new or untapped field in the Nigerian society. I’m a masters student in purchasing and supply chain currently working on my research project in the area of third party logistics and supply chain.