There is an excellent article regarding some of the thought processes logistics decision makers go through when selecting and maintaining a relationship with its third party logistics provider in this months issue of Material Handling and Logistics entitled “The Pros and Cons of 3PLs” by Helen Richardson.
I think the best take away from the article is that the third party logistics industry is continuing to progress and evolve and that 3PLs are continuingto expand their offerings and excel at optimizing their customer’s supply chain’s as a result.
In the article a handful of Logistics professionals point out some of the usual tips when entering a relationship with a logistics company such as having clear expectations, open communication both internally and with your 3PL, and measure performance in order to ensure continual improvement. Overall I think it is definitely worth a read for anyone in the beginning stages of oursourcing their logistics function to a third party provider.