4PLs ideally placed to deliver crowd logistics services

Written By Reagan Nyandoro

20/03/2018

Busy city streets with streaks of headlights.

4PL providers “by definition” have the skills needed to deliver successful crowd logistics services, according to a researcher in an interview with Supply Chain Quarterly.

Aurelien Rouquet is one of the authors on a recent academic paper published in the December 2017 issue of the Journal of Business Logistics.

In the paper, the authors look at the potential for crowd logistics to co-create logistics value, while in the interview, Rouquet explains the role 4PL providers can play in its delivery.

“Service providers can look to include crowd delivery services in their offerings,” the researcher told Supply Chain Quarterly.

“They are better able to do so if they are positioned as 4PL providers, since by definition they have the skills to orchestrate logistics resources, which are precisely the skills needed by successful crowd logistics firms.”

4PL providers may also be the answer to ever-increasing convolution in supply chains, for example as crowd delivery services introduce another layer of complexity, serving as a new kind of intermediary between suppliers, retailers and end-customers.

Control complex supply chains with 4PL

4PL providers like 3T Logistics are continually evolving to account for the increasing complexity and the large number of different agents involved with many modern supply chains.

We can coordinate not only individual suppliers, shippers and forwarders, but can also help to bring more coherence to supply chains that are already managed in part by 3PL companies.

Importantly, 4PL goes a step further, using huge amounts of generated data to optimise operations that would be beyond the scope of an individual operator or even a traditional 3PL provider.

The future of logistics will only become even more convoluted, with much more widely distributed supply chains using methods like crowd logistics.

3T Logistics can advise you on the best way to keep complex supply chains under control. To speak to one of our experts, call us on 0116 2824 111 or fill in our online enquiry form for a quick response.

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