A study on the current status and ways of activating 3PL

제3자물류의 실태분석 및 활성화 방안에 관한 연구

Despite the importance and necessity, the 3PL has not been activated to date. Among many views, customers claim that logistics service provider(LSP) are not prepared or capable of offering satisfactory 3PL services, while LSP emphasize the lack of mutual trust, closed corporate culture of the customer and excessive demand for reducing the costs. With this keeping in mind, it surveyed difference of perception between users and providers of 3PL services in terms of the actual status of using 3PL services, the degree of satisfaction and key factors for selecting 3PL provider through the questionnaire. As shown in this study, 43.3％ of the respondents outsourced logistics services. However, Most company outsourced only inland transportation (49.5％) which is a simple and limited scope of 3PL services, but it also indicated that the percentage of users have ranged was less then 10% in outsourcing their whole logistics sector to 3PL provider and employing other logistics functions. Among respondents, a majority of the service provider stated that they offered satisfactory cost-saving to the customers, while users felt that the degree of satisfaction for using 3PL services was evaluated as at an average level and they more highly regarded the strong partnership of their 3PL provider rather than the saving of cost and improvement of customer's services. Moreover, in contrast to the 3PL providers which regard the most important factor for selecting 3PL service provider is the logistics cost quoted, users of 3PL services felt that the quality of services was more significant than the reduction of cost, and this tendency for selecting 3PL providers was shown in more advanced countries. While users of 3PL services indicated that the main reason for not using 3PL services was to avoid disclosing information of their business and it costs much for employing 3PL providers than doing themselves, 3PL providers thought it was due to reluctancy of opening information and resistance from the logistics division engaged in logistics activities concerned. Accordingly, providers and users of 3PL services should trust each other and prepare plan to activate 3PL services under the collaborative relationships as soon as possible.