2018 State of The Third-Party Logistics Industry

Over the past decade there has been an extraordinary amount of change within the logistics industry. From new requirements, to new competitors, new technologies, and more, the entire industry is now dramatically different than it was just five years ago. But of all the factors that have sparked this upheaval, none has been more revolutionizing than the rising demand for a superior customer experience.

In fact, the still-escalating rise of eCommerce has completely transformed the entire 3PL warehousing economic model. Once dependent largely on a series of B2B clients, many 3PL warehouses now make the bulk of their revenue from B2C clients – most of whom are involved with some form of eCommerce. And these new B2C clients are under relentless pressure from their own customers.

Enabled by online and mobile innovations, these consumers are now requiring every retailer to provide unprecedented levels of visibility and service. Every day seems to bring a new demand to have more products available – all of which must be delivered faster than ever before. In short, today’s consumers will accept nothing less than a superior experience at every single touchpoint of their journey: browsing, purchasing, fulfillment, delivery, and returns. And warehouses should be up to the challenge in delivering this experience in order to grow their businesses.

At 3PL Central, we believe that today’s smartest warehouses will view these increased levels of customer expectations as a significant opportunity to differentiate themselves from their competition. 3PLs who can delight today’s customers will be poised to increase both their market share and profitability.

In fact, we predict these new levels of customer expectations will produce five specific new opportunities for 3PL warehouses to do just that. While each may require new investments or ways of thinking, we believe they will present amazing prospects to those 3PLs who are forward-thinking, nimble, and fully committed to adapting.