| Omar Bradley offered a truism, that amateurs study | | | | travel agencies quickly became redundant with online |
| tactics, armchair generals study strategy, and | | | | booking services, logistics software vendors are |
| professionals study logistics. This is just as true in the | | | | trying to render the third party logistics company |
| world of business as it is in the military. Logistics is | | | | obsolete. Building automatic data scrapers that can do |
| the art of getting supplies where they're needed so | | | | the basic work of comparing logistics rates to |
| other functions can happen. In the modern business | | | | different parts of the country or world is fairly |
| world, logistics means freight shipping - both internally | | | | straightforward, as is a price search algorithm. |
| and externally. In this field, freight rates and carrier | | | | While these systems primarily offer a way to avoid |
| rates are the price of doing business. | | | | third party logistics fees, they also offer a bit more |
| Freight shipping is one of those expenses that can be | | | | direct control over your company's shipping needs, |
| minimized, but never totally eliminated. It's also a | | | | and some managers and executives like that hands |
| manpower time sink, and because of this, more and | | | | on feel. They can also be used to significantly |
| more companies are outsourcing their freight needs | | | | automate a lot of routine functions in the shipping |
| to third party logistics companies. These are outfits | | | | department and the mail room. They can also be |
| that have people who do nothing but look over the | | | | used to identify process problems - there's a saying |
| assorted rates and package deals offered by the | | | | that every time something was sent out overnight, |
| major freight carriers and try to find the best deal | | | | someone higher up in the chain didn't do their job |
| possible for their client, with a nice commission on top | | | | correctly, and when you're looking directly at the |
| for them. | | | | costs of expedited shipping, it becomes easier to |
| All in all, third party logistics management makes | | | | focus on the process issues that lead to it, than |
| sense for organizations that are above a certain size | | | | when you're looking at a third party statement of |
| (too small, and they don't generate enough volume | | | | account. |
| to be worth the trouble of maintaining the account) | | | | Ultimately, which one works best is a function of |
| and below a certain size (at which point the company | | | | your business' needs and internal culture; some |
| can have an inside staff that does the same function | | | | businesses simply don't want to bring that job in |
| for less). | | | | house. Others need to. Both are viable strategies |
| Alternatives to third party logistics offers are in | | | | depending on what your operation's needs truly are. |
| house logistics software. Much the same way that | | | | |