1. The birth of the concept of third-party logistics
Third-party logistics was first proposed by the American Logistics Management Committee in the 1980s. In 1988, in a customer service survey conducted by the American Logistics Management Committee, the term "third-party service provider" was used for the first time. It is also known as contract logistics, outsourcing logistics and logistics alliance.
In a narrow sense, third-party logistics refers to a logistics management method that has no fixed assets but can still undertake logistics business, and with the help of external forces, it is responsible for replacing the consignor to complete the entire logistics process. After the third-party logistics companies have undertaken the warehousing and transportation agency, in order to reduce the cost of expenditure, and at the same time make the production enterprise feel profitable, it must make overall planning as much as possible to rationalize the logistics.
2. The characteristics of third-party logistics
Third-party logistics is a third-party logistics company that provides users with a series of personalized logistics services at a specific price within a specific time period. It has the following characteristics:
(1) Information networking
The development of information technology is a necessary condition for the emergence of third-party logistics. Information technology has realized the rapid and accurate transmission of data, and has improved the automation level of warehouse management, loading and unloading transportation, purchasing, ordering, distribution and shipping, and order processing; integrated ordering, warehousing, transportation, and circulation processing; companies can use information technology to communicate and collaborate with logistics companies more conveniently, and coordination and cooperation between companies may be completed quickly in a short time.
(2) Contractualization of relationship
Third-party logistics is different from traditional outsourcing. Outsourcing is limited to one or several independent logistics functions, such as transportation company providing goods transportation services and warehousing company providing warehousing services. Third-party logistics provides multi-functional and even all-round logistics services in accordance with the provisions of the contract. Generally speaking, a third-party logistics company can provide nearly 30 kinds of logistics services such as warehouse management, transportation management, order processing, product recycling, handling and unloading, logistics information systems, product installation and assembly, delivery and transportation negotiations.
(3) Functional specialization
Third-party logistics is reflected in the professionalization of logistics services. From logistics system plan design, logistics operation process, logistics technology tools, logistics facilities to logistics management and other aspects of specialization, these are the needs of cargo owners and enterprise logistics outsourcing, and they are also the basic requirements for the development of third-party logistics companies.
