Logistics service provider

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Logistics service providers are commercial companies that mainly offer and provide logistics , but also production-related services for third parties. The range of services and solutions goes beyond the traditional freight forwarding business : For example, customer-related storage , order picking , assembly and invoicing are offered.

classification

The different logistics service providers can be differentiated from each other and from other service companies in numerous, sometimes non-uniform ways. One possibility is the typology of logistics service providers according to their range of services. A distinction can be made, for example, between transport, process chain development, supply, order processing including production and distribution as well as disposal .

A second, very widespread possibility of delimitation offers the classification of logistics service providers into operational , coordinating and strategic services and the use of fixed goods, so-called logistics assets . Providers are referred to as "service providers" and are hierarchically structured in areas ("party logistics"), starting with first party logistics up to fifth party logistics service providers.

Development of logistics service providers

The classification of logistics service providers into different areas can be traced back to a historical development.

First Party Logistics Service Provider (1PL)

Until the end of the 1970s, logistical services were largely handled internally by manufacturing companies. These manufacturing companies belong to the First Party Logistics (1PL) sector. Most of the core logistics activities, the so-called transport, handling or storage services (TUL services), could be carried out by the companies themselves, as they usually had their own fleet of vehicles and their own warehouses. Only the international transport of parts and goods was given to forwarding agents.

Second Party Logistics Service Provider (2PL)

In the 1980s, in the wake of internationalization and the emergence of new management concepts, especially lean management , the trend towards outsourcing logistics services began, as companies wanted to concentrate on their core competencies . Service providers who take on transport, handling or storage services (TUL services) for these companies are called Second Party Logistics Service Providers (2PL) .

2PL service providers are e.g. B. freight forwarders , shipping companies , shippers, storage and handling companies as well as providers of courier, express and parcel services .

Third Party Logistics Service Provider (3PL)

Service providers from the third area of ​​the logistics service industry, Third Party Logistics (3PL), developed in the 1990s from 2PL service providers to so-called system service providers. These organize the flow of goods and information for their customers, take over all of their logistics and sometimes offer financial and information services. They also offer their customers complex service packages which, in addition to the above-mentioned logistical services, also include so-called value-added services . A long-term partnership between logistics service provider and customer is required for this form of cooperation.

Fourth Party Logistics Service Provider (4PL)

Fourth Party Logistics Service Provider (4PL) emerged in the mid-1990s. They are understood as system integrators who stand between their customers and other logistics service providers in order to ensure the coordination and organization of all business processes along the value chain . They keep an eye on the entire supply chain and look for an optimal overall solution for the use of resources in the logistical chain. The ability to coordinate complex, cross-company business processes with the help of modern technologies and to supplement one's own strengths with additional service providers is one of the key competencies of 4PL Service Providers.

Fifth Party Logistics Service Provider (5PL)

Fifth Party Logistics Service Providers (5PL) deal with supply chain management and offer the respective customers system-oriented consulting services and value chain management.

Differentiation in terms of performance

CEP services (courier, express and parcel services, sometimes also courier, express and postal services) are logistics and postal companies that no longer specialize in the retail market. The differentiation criteria to other markets are: a. Weight and volume of the shipments, the speed of the shipment of goods and the service.

In general cargo and groupage traffic, all industrial goods are transported and distributed that are too heavy or too large for CEP companies and too small for direct journeys. The transport chain customer-pre-collection-envelope-main flow-envelope-delivery runs through several items with associated interfaces .

Part and full load traffic is used when the goods to be transported are transported from the sender to the recipient without further handling. This is useful if the type of goods is not suitable for handling. The factors are quantity, weight and dimensions.

literature

  • H. Baumgarten and others: Logistics service provider - Quo vadis? - Importance of the Fourth Logistics Provider (4PL). In: Logistics Management. Volume 4, No. 1, 2002, pp. 27-40.
  • H. Baumgarten: Development phases of supply chain management. In: H. Zadek et al. (Ed.): Supply chain control and services. Logistics service providers manage global networks - best practices. Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 2004, pp. 51–60.
  • R. Vahrenkamp: logistics management. 5th edition. R. Oldenbourg, Munich 2005.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ M. ten Hompel (Ed.): Taschenlexikon Logistik. Abbreviations, definitions and explanations of the most important terms from material flow and logistics. Springer, Berlin / Heidelberg 2006, ISBN 3-540-28581-4 , p. 141.