To thrive, third-party logistics providers must go global

By Staff -- Logistics Management, 1/1/1999

To thrive, third-party logistics providers must go global, says Hugh Randall, head of Mercer Management's transportation consulting practice. Randall says that these activities will not produce immediate revenue gains, but they will produce more secure relationships between 3PLs and customers. Ultimately, these opportunities can generate the higher profit margins the 3PLs need to produce profitable growth, says Randall. "U.S.-based users prefer to expand outside this country with their domestic providers," he says, warning that customers may pull domestic accounts from 3PLs that cannot provide international logistics support.