It seems like every month you hear about another major 3PL merger or acquisition; strengthening or creating yet another massive 300 pound Gorilla, supply chain management conglomerate. But according to Michael Stolarczyk, a business development director at Exel Logistics, small to mid-market regional logistics providers are still viable and very much in demand.

Some clients outsourcing logistics services to 3PL providers feel that they can get better results by using one or even a number of different niche logistics companies. With smaller logistics providers some customers feel that they get more specialized attention and have access to top management figures that aren’t always as accessible when working with the big guys.

There are also other great advantages to working with a “lean, mean” third party logistics provider that focuses on a few regions for it’s public warehousing and transportation offerings. These include working with companies that specialize in servicing your particular industry, product or lane segment.

It is important to assess your company’s needs before making a decision what type of 3PL to outsource your services to. While a smaller or medium sized provider might be perfect for one company a large global provider may be the right fit for another. Be sure to use due dilligence when evaluating your needs.

3PLwire also has a good write up on the use of small/medium sized 3PLs : part 1, part 2

source: Niche Logistics Companies Play Important Role

According to a recent report in Logistics Today the year 2005 marked the largest increase in logistics costs in the history of the State of Logistics Report.

The reports claims that logistics costs increased by a whopping $156 billion. The majority of this increase came on the transportation side.

Representative Rosalyn Wilson noted that:

Greater efficiency must be extracted from logistics networks to counter many of the effects of the rising costs which means the U.S. must do more to improve its transportation infrastructure. Ports must be modernized, private investment in rail infrastructure must be encouraged, and additional lane miles must be added to highways as well as establishing truck-only lanes to improve efficiency.

Explosive Growth for Logistics Costs

This is a quote from a recent article by Hiawatha Bray a Reporter for The Boston Globe

“Don’t bother me with a pitch for a story that would never, ever appear in the Boston Globe. This is a newspaper, not a technical trade rag. Your hot new breakthrough in supply chain management may wow them at the next convention of the International Warehouse Logistics Association, but the readers of the Boston Globe won’t give a rip. So keep it to yourself, okay?”

Looking at this statement I wonder why supply chain management and warehousing are not given more mainstream business news coverage. Third Party Logistics services are those which can be and are utilized by just about any company producing products or raw materials.

Maybe news releases on innovations in the storing and trucking of goods is not as exciting as the latest PR blitz by Google offering some new service that only a small percentage of the population will actually use, but if it is not already, logistics should be considered of vital importance to the business community.

Logistics and Supply chain management are not some fad. They are necessary business processes. But maybe the reason I’m writing this is because this site is an “online technical trade rag.”

Today I’ve decided to compile a few 3pl whitepapers for people that are just starting to research the possibility of outsourcing their company’s logistics to a third party provider.

All three whitepapers are direct links to the PDFs and do not require you to provide any contact information. Personally that is the thing I have always hated about white papers. If you are just beginning to look into 3PL outsourcing, you typically just want to get ahold of some quality information on logistics outsourcing before you actually start talking to sales reps.

Whitepapers such as these are an excellent way to “do your homework” so that you can go into the discovery process with a better understanding of third party logistics companies and their business processes.

3PL Selection and Implementation
This is a great overview on both selecting and implementing a 3PL provider provided by Capacity LLC.

“Outsourcing logistics functions to 3PLs has been a source of competitive advantage for most companies. Most companies cite greater flexibility, operational efficiency, improved customer service levels, and a better focus on their core businesses as part of the advantages of engaging the services of 3PLs.”
Read 3PL selection and Implementation

Selection Factors in Logistics Outsourcing – A View from Third-Party Logistics Customers
This is a great report provided by the past president of the International Warehousing Logistics Association.

“Logistics and supply chain management have often
been among the first functions to be outsourced.
This has moved beyond the warehousing and
trucking functions and spread to ancillary services
such as light assembly. However, once a
manufacturer or retailer makes the business decision
to outsource its logistics function, what are the
primary factors that influence its choice of thirdparty
logistics (3PL) provider? Is it price, service,
location or technology?”
Read Selection Factors in Logistics Outsourcing

The Business Virtues of 3PLs
How Third Party Logistics Providers Pass Value Down the Supply Chain
A helpful 3PL Whitepaper provided by Maritz

“Third Party Logistics Providers (3PLs) are focused on
fulfillment and nothing else. They manage inventory, ship
it, and attend to all service functions accompanying both.
Any 3PL worth its salt will be equipped with an arsenal of
cutting edge fulfillment technologies. It will also employ
proven methodologies and demonstrate a broad range of
skills acquired as a result of spending years on the job.
Great 3PLs are managed by fulfillment experts and staffed
by professionals well trained in the art and practice of
getting product out the door. To customers, the service
assets possessed by 3PLs translate to far greater efficiency
and cost savings. For the people at the opposite end of the
supply chain, clients, consumers, and end-users, the song
remains the same.”
Read The Business Virtues of 3PLs

Atlanta is the capital and the most populated city in Georgia with more than 4 million people in the Atlanta metropolitan area. This has made it a very attractive location for companies to maintain inventory and to distribute products and materials so in turn it has become a popular area for third party logistics providers (3PL) to maintain logistics centers.

It is an economic hotbed in the Southeast region of the United States and is a major part of the more than 110,000 miles of public roads and 18,000 miles on the Georgia state highway system. Truck transit times from the metro Atlanta area typically range from 1-2 days to reach the Northeast and Midwest regions and around 3-5 days out West. Class 1 rail carriers serving the Atlanta area include CSX and the Norfolk Southern.

Regarding industry, Atlanta is the seventh largest industrial market in the U.S. and is home to both the distribution centers and manufacturing hubs for many of the countries largest companies. It is also home to an increasing number of respected third party logistics companies offering outsourced warehousing, transportation, and logistics services.

For maintaining and distributing inventory in the Southeast, the Atlanta metropolitan area is one of the more sought after locations. The majority of Atlanta logistics providers operate warehouses in the outlying suburbs of Atlanta located within close proximity to major highways (I-85, I-20, and I-75)

Sources:
Atlanta Logistics Innovation Council
Atlanta, GA (Wikipedia)
Atlanta Warehousing and Logistics

Logistics professionals are in high demand these days to take on increasingly complex supply chains. According to Logistic’s Today’s recent salary survey the average salary for a logistics professional is $78,834. Alot of anonymous comments pulled from the survey tended to skew towards negative regarding their careers in logistics, but I think it needs to be taken with a grain of salt. There is no question that working in logistics is a difficult job. But it is also very rewarding. It is an action packed field where things are constantly changing and evolving and no day will be the same as the next.

Here is a list of currently open logistics jobs from the Logistics List Job Board

Supply Chain Manager

Logistics Manager

Materials Manager

Procurement Manager

Logistics Analyst

Warehouse Manager

Receiving Manager

Logistics Coordinator

Logistics Engineer

Here is a list of sentences starting with Logistics is pulled from millions websites all over the internet, courtesy of Googlism. Its kind of an interesting experiment. Enjoy!

logistics is too high a percentage of sales

logistics is hot in the southwest

logistics is committed

logistics is the cube of communications

logistics is an equal opportunity employer

logistics is where tomorrow’s strategic advantage will be created

logistics is not a chain

logistics is sexy

logistics is a strategic factor of success

logistics is a part of the supply chain process

logistics is our future

logistics is globally recognized as a primary business strategy with significant value

logistics is the process of planning

logistics is visible

logistics is committed to providing dependable and comprehensive solutions

logistics is the answer to moving freight to and across the north

logistics is defined as a business planning framework for the management of material

logistics is dedicated to providing the best transportation services at the lowest possible rates

logistics is supply

logistics is the process of moving goods from their typical final destination to another point

logistics is committed to creating for their clients complete solutions

logistics is to provide the support required to ensure that operations succeed

logistics is simple to understand yet somewhat complex to manage

logistics is working to a number of different agendas and metrics

logistics is the area of the company concerned with managing the positioning of materials in time and space

logistics is a great win

logistics is offered as a specialty within the existing industrial engineering graduate degree program

logistics is a process that crosses many functional responsibilities

logistics is a worldwide endeavor

logistics is an art

logistics is a reality

logistics is essentially getting something from a to z as quickly as possible with the lowest amount of costs and disruption

logistics is able to offer better shipping solutions

logistics is not just another buzz

logistics is a science

logistics is the evolution of supply chain outsourcing

logistics is core

logistics is the hottest career out there

logistics is paramount to meeting the challenges of providing system readiness and sustainability to operational forces

logistics is comprised of two primary components

logistics is the management of the storage and movement of goods and information

logistics is like putting together a world

logistics is mostly the function through which you try to make the process of moving and storing all of this stuff efficient

logistics is the management of the flow of goods from the place they are manufactured to the place they are sold

In an article today in Forbes on Supply Chain Management and Third Party Logistics, Rick Blasgen the new CEO of CSCMP(Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals) was quoted saying the following regarding 3PLs:

“The days of hiring a third-party provider just to drive down costs or another hundredweight are gone. This is now about the need to manage a relationship with a provider who has a core competency in a portion of the supply chain and who can do it more efficiently. The management is first and foremost of the relationship, as against some aspect of the cost function.“

In the last year I have seen a number of websites start up, this one included that are about the third party logistics and supply chain management industry. The great majority of these would be classified as “blogs,” but in reality they are just websites. These are informational websites expertly crafted by logistics professionals.

Here is a list of logistics blogs that I read and what I see to be some of the better third party logistics information sites out there currently. (Not counting Logistics Trade Publications)

Logistics Articles and Research
This is a great site for finding logistics articles and information. Features good coverage of third party logistics, warehousing, RFID, supply chain management and transportation.

Supplychainer
A supply chain and logistics blog written by Ehsan Ehsani and managed by the Creative Weblogging network.

SCM Wire
This was once the shining star of logistics and supply chain blogs managed by AOL owned Weblogs incorporated and written by logistics professional Richard Weissman. In what appears to be a farewell post at the end of January, Weissman notes that there will be new authors of the blog in the future. We can only hope that they will be as good.

BlogonLog
Described as insight, foresight for the dawning conceptual age in the global logistics, transportation, and supply chain markets, this is a very good logistics blog written by Michael Stolarczyk of Exel Logistics.

3PL Wire
A great logistics news site offering regularly updated information on the third party logistics, supply chain, warehousing, and air freight industries.