Third Party Logistics

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Third Party Logistics The growth of 3PL companies began back in the 1980’s when businesses began to look for new ways in which they could outsource logistics functions and concentrate on their own business. 3PL, the concept of a single professional logistics service provider managing the entire logistics functions of a company, had originated in the developed economies of Europe and America, to relieve industries from huge logistics costs a part from the hassles of dealing with multiple in-coherent logistics service providers. It proved to be immensely successful in improving logistics efficiency of majority of industries and quickly gained popularity, spreading across the globe. What is 3PL? A third-party logistics company is a private firm that provides logistics services under a contract to a primary manufacturer, vendor, or user of a product or service. It is called third-party because the logistics provider does not own the product but participates in the supply chain at points between the manufacturer and the user of a given product. The third-party logistics company can perform any or all logistics functions that exist between the manufacturer and the user, including— * Warehouse management. * Inventory control. * Inventory forecasting. * Distribution management. * Inventory scheduling. * Order fulfilment. * Supply-chain management. * Client invoicing. * Processing of loss and damage claims. 3PL providers typically specialize in integrated warehousing and transportation services that can be scaled and customized to customer’s needs based on market conditions and the demands and delivery service requirements for their products and materials. Third party logistics commands premium price but still competitive. It understands clients on higher level. It combines people, technology systems and logistics methodology for

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