3PL Primer for BusinessSuccess.doc

外文文献原文3PL Primer for Business SuccessTHOMAS CRAIGWhat is 3PL?More and more organizations worldwide want to develop products for global markets. At the same time, they need to source materials globally to be competitive. One of todays trends to solve this problem is outsourcing logistics or using third-party-logistics(3PL)to manage complex distribution requirement.Outsourcing of logistics tasks and supply chain responsibilities is a dynamic model. The most interesting aspect is that companies-manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, and distributors-are turning over parts of their supply chain to firms that have their roots as commodity service providers. Firms that know ocean shipping, forwarding, warehousing, or trucking are now handling and, in some cases, managing broad domestic and international logistics activities.3PLs, regardless of how experienced in outsourcing, face common challenges to prime their market and keep it primed. These include:Define yourself. How do you see yourself and your company? This is an important question. It frames who you are and how you present and position yourself in the market. Are you an ocean carrier with a 3PL service option? Are you a warehouse with a 3PL service? Or are you a logistics service provider with a strong shipping, transport, warehouse or forwarding capability? There is substantial difference between these two views, a difference that affects how you position yourself and how you are perceived in the market.Develop strategy. Confusion sometimes exists between operational efficacy and strategy. Operational efficacy is doing the same or similar activities better than competitors. Management tools-such as benchmarking, partnering, reengineering and change management, for example-are means that let companies reduce costs and achieve performance improvements. They are necessary to sustaining competitiveness. But they can also be temporary achievements, as competitors work to mimic programs that work.Strategy is how you differentiate your company in the marketplace. It is what makes you unique and separates you from the competition. Positioning can reflect the customers you target, the type of service you provide or a blend of customers and service. For example, a strategy can be based on all importers and providing one-stop shopping. A strategy can be sliced for importers who bring in less than 500 containers per year; this is a different segment than the broad approach of targeting all importers or even all large importers. Or a different strategy is focus on importers of less than 500 containers who are distributors/ wholesalers to mass merchandisers and large retailers. With the strategy, you can assemble the resources and approaches needed for the market that you have selected.Have outstanding management. Management is often what separates outstanding companies from the also-rans. It requires a leadership who has a sustainable vision, its processes, goals and methodology. They have an entrepreneurial mindset. These people are proactive, not reactive. These leaders see the logistics service, not the freight, warehouse or other assets employed. They see the supply chain process, not the transactions. All this separates them from executive caretakers who can flip-flop with management de jour approaches, indifference or quick fixes to growth, positioning and profits. Investors realize how critical outstanding management is to a companys success and so should the 3PL. These executives can break the company from its commodity service origins into being a value service provider.Research the market. For your marketing plan, you need to understand your market. Depending on your market position you may be looking for general or specific information as to opportunities or issues, with the market or with you. Define the market; define your customer. Look at the market you compete in. See its composition, size, trends and needs. Use internal and external data and additional research as needed. Find customers; who are they; who makes decisions; what decisions are made; how are they made, why are they made, what external factors exist for customers; and how are you perceived as compared to competitors. Learn if you are visible in this market. And remember, customers are both new and existing, with changing needs.Assess your capabilities. This is a moment of truth. You must honestly assess your strengths and weaknesses, your capabilities and limitations. This applies to all parts of your company, regardless of whether corporate office, division or field locations or partners/alliances and regardless whether domestic or international. The checklist of topics includes:Organization. Look at your structure as to vertical, horizontal or matrix. It should reflect the usual organization reporting arrangement. And, more importantly, it should support the means to providing a dynamic, ongoing logistics service with successful results.Skill sets. You want to establish yourself as a supply chain service solution provider, someone who will develop a tailored logistics program to fit the specific needs of each customer. Solution providers see the container-and more. They see pallets of product-and more. They know it is about the process, not the container or pallet.3PLs initially focus on investing in assets, warehouses and technology, without knowing how these fit into 3PL solutions. This approach constructs answers without knowing the questions. Rather, the successful 3PL sells, design and manages customized logistics in an international or domestic venue. The issue then becomes whether existing personnel are capable of selling logistics and supply chain solutions.A holistic sales approach is needed for 3PLs than for commodity service providers. Commodity sales personnel often deal with the customer perspective of the need to manage costs. Yet the customer has additional accountabilities. 3PL sales personnel need to address the customers supply chain accountability scope. The accountability scope is 90% of the customer attention span as compared to the 10-25% that freight or warehousing cost is. 3PLs must focus on the 90%, not the 10-25%, to gain business.Firms need training to facilitate these skills. Staffing is often built with existing personnel who have sales and operations experience with the commodity service parent company. 3PLs, not surprisingly, find that even with training, and with continuous performance monitoring afterward, less than 10% of the sales force can make the mindset change to sell logistics. As a result, they may employ non-shipping people to do logistics selling. They draw on outside firms with people who have real world supply chain knowledge and experience to sell and assist with designing and managing integrated logistics programs.Other. There are other points to recognize as to process design capability, people, technology, budget, sales targets and advertising. The overseas network, where applicable for international 3PLs, is a key factor.Conclusion. The ongoing challenge for 3PLs is to successfully design, sell and manage a logistics solution with easily monitored metrics and accountability. Consider the high rate of outsourcing failures. Causes ranging from a rush to procure business and not understanding the process and requirements to some 3PLs converting back into a commodity service. This conversion defeats the very purpose of the 3PL. Outsource service providers seek competitive advantage; they know that preserving competitive advantage is an ongoing challenge.外文文献译文第三方物流在商业上的成功托马斯克雷格什么是第三方物流？越来越多的世界性组织想要建立全球化的产品市场，与此同时，他们需要获得全球的资源以应对竞争。如今，解决这一问题的趋势是采用物流外包或第三方物流来应对复杂的配置需求。物流外包和供应链责任是一个动态的模型。最重要的方面是，制造企业、零售商、批发商、分销商正在转变成为拥有自己的基础、作为商品服务供应商的供应链的一部分。公司都知道海洋运输、转运、仓储、货运或现正处理的交易，在某些情况下，管理着广泛的国内和国际物流活动。第三方物流，不论如何有经验的物流外包，都面对着共同的挑战，去保持自己的市场和地位。这些措施包括：自我定位。你如何看待你和你的公司呢？这是一个重要的问题。这决定了你是谁，以及你目前如何保持在市场上的地位。你是一个拥有第三方物流服务的海运承运人吗，你拥有第三方物流的储存服务吗？或您是具有雄厚的航运、运输、仓库或转运能力的物流服务供应商吗？在这两种意见之间有很大的差异，那就是你如何定位自己和保持自己的市场。制定战略。有时在运作效率和战略之间存在着疑惑。运作效率是做相同或相似的活动优于竞争对手。管理工具-比如说标准、合作伙伴、重组和变革管理，意味着使公司降低成本，并达到性能方面的改进。它们对保持竞争力是有必要的。但他们也可以是暂时的成就，作为竞争对手的方面，可以吸取先进经验。战略是你如何区分你的公司在市场上的位置。他使你和你的竞争者相比更加独特。从竞争、定位可以反映你的目标顾客，您所提供的服务类型或混合的客户和服务。例如，一个策略可以基于所有进口商和提供一站式购物。一项战略可以给进口商每年带来不少于500个容器的好处，这是一个针对所有进口商或大部分进口商的较广泛的做法，。或不同的策略是针对相对于集体买办和大型零售商来说少于500个货柜的分销商和批发商。通过这个战略，您就可以组合适合你选择的市场的资源和方法。有出色的管理。管理往往可以区分一个先进的公司和落后的公司。它需要一个有可持续的视野，管理的过程、目标和方法的领导。他们有一个企业家的心态。这些人是主动的，而不是被动的。这些领导人看重的是物流服务，而不是运费、仓库或其他租用的资产。他们看重供应链的进程，而不是交易。这一切，可以从互相转变的执行者、管理者和特殊的管理方法区分开来，缓慢或者快速的增长，定位和利润。投资者认为出色的管理对一个公司的成功和第三方物流很关键。这些执行者可以使该公司从商品服务的初始者成为一个增值服务供应商。研究市场。作为您的营销计划，您需要了解市场。根据您的市场地位，也许你还可以看到一般或特定的信息作为市场或你的机会或问题。界定市场；界定你的客户。看看市场的竞争、市场的组成、规模、发展趋势和需要。使用内部和外部数据进行更多的研究。寻找