Part 4: The supplier's view of logistics outsourcing

There is sometimes a temptation to think of logistics outsourcing suppliers as black boxes - just entities to which cartons, goods, pallets and containers can be handed off for delivery at the other end of the logistics chain. If this stage of the supply chain is executed within the necessary bounds of quality and cost, some client enterprises consider this to be enough. Yet there may be good reasons for them to take a closer interest in the internal workings of their logistics supplier. If logistics are to procure strategic advantage for them, for instance, the opportunities and limitations contributed by their 3PL will determine how much. This is not to contradict the outsourcing goal of transferring a burdensome non-core activity to a third party: indeed, knowledge of how the supplier sees the outsourcing market should instead complement and enhance this objective.