Much has been written about change management, and the basics of smoothing the way for new ideas and processes are fairly well known. But managing large-scale change in freight transportation deserves its own chapter in the manual. While the general…
The overall business model for most logistics service providers (LSPs) is not that complex. The LSP provides services to their clients that, in turn, generate revenue for the LSP. A key challenge for most LSPs is that the difference between…
Traditionally, most third party logistics companies have focused on creating value for customers by taking over their transportation and warehousing operations, and through economies of scale, systems and best practices, removing excessive costs from these functions. While this ability to…
Oliver Williamson, a Professor Emeritus at the University of California Berkley and co-recipient of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Economics, published a paper in April 2008 titled “Outsourcing: Transaction Cost Management and Supply Chain Management” in the Journal of Supply Chain…
In the past, entering and competing in the Third Party Logistics (3PL) marketplace required sales savvy, options for inexpensive warehouse space and good operational management skills. With these things in hand, a 3PL could acquire clients, lease space, hire workers…
I picked up this week’s BusinessWeek and took a glance at their cover story, “The BusinessWeek 50: the Best Performers.” As I scanned the list of the top 50 financial performers, I was surprised to see a logistics company, Expeditors,…
