As the supply chain continues to deal with a whole host of obstacles, including various disruptions, labor challenges, and strategic misalignments, there is a need for things to get back to basics for both 3PLs and shippers.
That was the key theme of the annual 2023 27th Annual Third-Party Logistics Study, which was released this week at the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP) Edge Conference in Nashville. This study was created in conjunction with NTT Data, supply chain professor and researcher Dr. C. John Langley and Penske Logistics.
The study’s findings were based on feedback from several hundred usable responses from shippers, or users of 3PL services, and non-users of 3PL services, as well as 3PL sector respondents.
As usual, the study was replete with interesting data points, highlighting the differences in how 3PLs and shippers approach the same issues.
From a relationship perspective, the study found that 83% of shipper respondents described their relationships with shippers as successful, amid ongoing challenges, strategic misalignments, or unexpected challenges, which marked a decline from a rate that in the past has come in at around 90% or higher. 3PLs, however, pointed to their relationships with shippers being more successful, coming in at 99%. But even with a lower rate this year, the study observed that 71% of shippers indicated that using 3PLs has been beneficial in improving customer service, in line with 73% from a year ago. What’s more, it added that 71% of shippers and 92% of 3PLs maintain that “3PLs provide new and innovative ways to improve logistics effectiveness.”
