Inbound Logistics | July 2024

SHOULD SHIPPERS PARTNER WITH ONE OR MORE 3PLS? It depends 39 % 38 Materials handling equipment, solutions 35 % Fleet operations, dedicated contract carriers 30 % Transportation equipment 16 %

Ocean

53 %

Small package

53 %

White glove

51 %

3PL SERVICES & CAPABILITIES Fleet acquisition 26 %

3PL SERVICES & CAPABILITIES Transportation Truckload

Logistics

Transportation

Logistics Inbound logistics

82 %

Just one

94 %

91 %

33 %

Lead logistics provider/4th-party logistics

LTL

More than one

MOST IMPACTFUL TECHNOLO Artificial intelligence

71 %

91 %

Inventory management Warehousing Crossdocking

28 %

Intermodal

82 %

70 %

78 %

Driverless vehicles The vast majority of 3PL respondents, 91%, manage inbound logistics for shippers. Seventy- Internet of Things Embedded sensors 24 % Wearable technology 24 % Blockchain 20 % Drones 18 % RFID 18 % 3D printing 4 % Virtual reality 3 % one percent can serve as lead logistics or fourth- party logistics providers, and 70% handle inventory management. Other logistics services oered by more than half of respondents include just-in-time delivery, omnichannel logistics, vendor management, and logistics process engineering.

Just in time Transloading

Dedicated contract carriage

44 %

74 %

66 %

71 %

Omnichannel logistics Pick/pack, subassembly

Rail

70 %

32 %

62 %

67 %

Vendor management Fulfillment

Final mile

67 %

57 %

62 %

DC management

Logistics process reengineering

65 %

Bulk

55 %

57 %

Vendor management inventory

Shared services

64 %

Equipment/drivers

45 %

Ecommerce

57 %

60 %

Supply chain finance

Air cargo

43 %

Site selection

55 %

55 %

Global trade services

Ocean

None

38 %

53 %

12 %

Small package

Technology

53 %

Technology Transportation management system

White glove

51 %

92 %

Electronic data interchange

Fleet acquisition 26 %

91 %

Visibility

83 %

Logistics Inbound logistics When you want to transport goods by truck, most 3PLs can help. Ninety-four percent oer truckload services, and 91% provide less-than-truckload (LTL) transportation. Many 3PLs—78%— arrange intermodal moves, while 67% oer general rail services. 91 %

Optimization

77 %

ERP integration

Lead logistics provider/4th-party logistics

67 %

71 %

Customer/supplier relationship management

Inventory management

65 %

70 % Warehousing

Warehouse management system

MOST IMPACTFUL TECHNOLOGIES Artificial intelligence

65 %

Just in time Warehousing Crossdocking

66 %

Supply chain design (modeling, simulation)

87 %

58 %

82 %

Omnichannel logistics

Predictive analytics

62 %

Driverless vehicles

Transloading

57 %

44 %

74 %

Vendor management Pick/pack, subassembly

Internet of Things 3PLs in our survey oer a range of warehousing services. The most common of these services are crossdocking (82%), transloading (74%), and pick/pack, subassembly (70%). In addition, more than half of 3PL respondents provide fulfillment, distribution center management, vendor managed inventory, ecommerce, or site selection.

RFID

57 %

40 %

70 %

32 %

Logistics process reengineering

IoT/IIoT enablement

55 %

Fulfillment

Embedded sensors 24 % Wearable technology 24 % Blockchain 20 % Drones 18 % RFID 18 % 3D printing 4 % Virtual reality 3 %

32 % Global trade management 23 %

67 %

Shared services DC management

45 %

65 %

Supply chain finance

Of the technologies that 3PLs deploy on behalf of customers, or help customers implement themselves, the most common are two old standbys, transportation management systems (TMS – 92%) and electronic data interchange (EDI – 91%). Many 3PLs also use or oer digital tools for visibility (83%) or optimization (77%), both of which are often TMS functions. Other popular capabilities include ERP integration, customer or supplier relationship management, warehouse management, supply chain design, and predictive analytics.

43 %

Vendor management inventory

64 %

Global trade services

38 %

Ecommerce

60 %

Site selection

55 %

None

12 %

86 Inbound Logistics • July 2024 Technology Transportation management system

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