Outsourcing Does Not Guarantee Superior Warehouse Performance

Third-party logistics providers (3PLs) and fourth-party logistics providers (4PLs) offer an increasingly wide range of services that are often customized to the needs of shippers. What remains unclear is the extent to which individual organizations use 3PL/4PL services and how satisfied they are with the services they receive.

To gain insight into these issues, APQC conducted a survey of supply chain professionals. The survey results reveal a surprising gap between the satisfaction of shippers and the logistics performance these organizations achieve. 3PLs and 4PLs clearly have room to improve service delivery, but shippers should develop closer relationships with providers to facilitate performance improvement.

This article first appeared on IndustryWeek.com.