FIGURE 1 Industries 3PLs Serve
This year, Inbound Logistics col- lected more than 500 surveys from a wellspring of logistics service pro- viders, ranging from large, global players serving Fortune 500s to small intermediaries serving niche verticals – and all types in between. We also heard from a remark- able 4,626 readers, who discussed their logistics services needs and demands, supplying feedback on nearly 400 specific 3PLs. Together with our annual Reader’s Choice Top 10 3PLs (page 91) and Top 100 3PL Providers (page 112), the 3PL Market Insight Survey presents a broad perspective into how the outsourc- ing industry is evolving, how logistics service providers are taking opera- tional capabilities to a new stratum of sophistication, and most importantly, how they perceive customers’ needs and challenges.
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Forward-thinking
companies leverage
SOURCE: IL 3PL Market Insight Survey, 2007
3PL penetration
penetration in foreign markets to augment and rationalize their sourc- ing and manufacturing networks, but also to strategically map these logistics hotspots to emerging con- sumer markets. 3PLs are slowly investing in IT capabilities that can address these strategic goals, with 18.4 percent offering global expan- sion services specific to sourcing and selling needs, and 40 percent provid- ing global trade services. Global 3PLs are approaching their own growth initiatives in two ways: seeking alliance partners that offer complementary service capabili- ties and operational capacity, and investing in proprietary offices and facilities worldwide.
in foreign markets
to augment their
sourcing networks
Global Services
The efficacy of supply chain exper- tise is flooding myriad industry verticals from traditional visionaries – notably sectors such as manufacturing (served by 97 percent of 3PLs sur- veyed), distribution (92 percent), retail (88 percent), and wholesale (66 per- cent) – to slower adopters such as the service and government niches ( see Figure 1, Industries 3PLs Serve ). Regardless of industry, globaliza- tion continues to shape the arc of outsourcing trends as businesses large and small leverage 3PL exper- tise and best-of-breed IT capabilities to penetrate and grow their inter- ests in established and new offshore locations. Nearly half (48.4 percent) of all 3PL respondents offer global ser- vices, reflecting a slight increase over last year’s data ( see Figure 2, Regions 3PLs Serve ). Forward-thinking com- panies are not only leveraging 3PL
and strategically
map global logistics
hotspots to emerging
consumer markets.
FIGURE 2 Regions 3PLs Serve
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SOURCE: IL 3PL Market Insight Survey, 2007
100 Inbound Logistics • July 2007
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