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Still, nearly two-thirds ( 64 percent) of
shipper respondents reported an increase
in their use of outsourced logistics services.
Regionally, 58 percent of North American
shippers, 57 percent of European, 78 percent of Asia-Pacific, and 73 percent of Latin
American shippers reported increased use
of outsourced services.
“A logical conclusion from these figures
is that greater growth opportunities seem
to exist in Asia-Pacific and Latin America
(read: emerging markets) than in the more
well-developed economies in evidence in
North America and Europe,” Langley said.
Those emerging markets are important
to many of the respondents: 80 percent of
shippers and 77 percent of 3PLs participating in the survey said they conduct business
with or within rapidly growing economies
like China, India, Brazil, and Mexico.
Shippers were clear about the capabilities they want from 3PLs in emerging
markets: visibility, expertise in global
trade regulations, and management of
shipment routing based on a knowledge of
free trade agreements. Others on their list
included consulting services, local insight
and expertise, and integrated solutions.
PERCEPTION GAP
One significant finding was that 3PLs
appear to have some difficulty convincing
customers that they can be strategic partners and not simply providers of transactional and operational services. Only 71
percent of shipper respondents said that
3PLs provide them with new and innovative ways to improve logistics effectiveness—yet 91 percent of the 3PL respondents said that statement accurately characterizes the services they provide.
This gap was especially evident in the
electronics industry, said Shyamal Roy, a
managing consultant with CapGemini
Consulting, in an interview. “For example, 58 percent of electronics industry
respondents said supply chain complexity
was one of their top challenges, yet only a
small percentage thought 3PLs could help
them address that challenge.” However, 42
percent of the 3PLs that work with customers in that industry said they are
capable of providing such assistance.
The survey found similar disparities
relative to other electronics industry chal-
lenges, such as new product launches and
seasonal demand, high obsolescence
rates, and service parts logistics.
This gap suggests that 3PLs must do a
better job of selling their services, perhaps
by building relationships at more strategic rather than tactical levels, Roy said.
At the same time, shippers may not
always realize that a 3PL’s experience in
other industries could help solve common
problems in the electronics industry, Roy
said. For example, a provider with experience managing supply chain security in
the pharmaceuticals industry or dealing
with products with short shelf lives in the
fashion industry may be able to transfer
that expertise to electronics, he said.
There are other areas where the perceptions of third-party providers and their customers appear to be at odds. Langley noted
that 3PLs tend to rate themselves higher on
some service attributes—such as overall satisfaction, agility and flexibility, and interest
in gain-sharing agreements—than do the
shippers who participated in the study. “Our
interpretation is that this is an understandable bias, but it does highlight the need for
3PL providers and users to develop sound
processes for comparing evaluations of each
other to make sure there is an accurate
alignment between both parties’ perspectives of each other,” he said.
To close the perception gap, 3PLs and
their customers may have to improve
other aspects of their communication,
too. This year, 69 percent of shipper
respondents reported satisfaction with
their 3PLs’ openness, transparency, and
communication, while only 62 percent of
the 3PLs said the same of their customers.
Both of those percentages are disappointing, Langley said. The data indicate
that “there is considerable room for
improvement in the ability of 3PLs and
customers to have relationships that are
open, transparent, and benefit from good
communication.” ;
Editor’s note: The complete “2012 16th
Annual Third-Party Logistics (3PL) Study”
results are available at www.3plstudy.com.
The “18th Annual Survey of Third-Party
Logistics Providers” can be accessed at
http://cba.neu.edu/uploadedFiles/News/
2011%20CSCMP%20Presentation.pdf.
