What’s the difference between a 3PL and a 4PL? Well, before we go there, how about a 1PL and 2PL? A 1PL is simply the owner of the cargo who manages the entire distribution process internally. A 2PL is a for-hire air, ground, rail, or ocean carrier that directly provides transportation service to a shipper. As far as 3PLs and 4PLs are concerned, according to the glossary published by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), the definitions for both are as follows:
Third-Party Logistics (3PL)
Outsourcing all or much of a company’s logistics operations to a specialized company. The term “3PL” was first used in the early 1970s to identify intermodal marketing companies (IMCs) in transportation contracts. Up to that point, contracts for transportation had featured only two parties, the shipper and the carrier. When IMCs entered the picture—as intermediaries that accepted shipments from the shippers and tendered them to the rail carriers—they became the third party to the contract, the 3PL. The definition has broadened to the point where these days, every company that offers some kind of logistics service for hire calls itself a 3PL. Preferably, these services are integrated, or “bundled,” together by the provider. Services they provide are transportation, warehousing, cross-docking, inventory management, packaging, and freight forwarding. In 2008 legislation passed declaring that the legal definition of a 3PL is “A person who solely receives, holds, or otherwise transports a consumer product in the ordinary course of business but who does not take title to the product.”
Fourth-Party Logistics (4PL)
Differs from third-party logistics in the following ways; 1) 4PL organization is often a separate entity established as a joint venture or long-term contract between a primary client and one or more partners; 2) 4PL organization acts as a single interface between the client and multiple logistics service providers; 3) All aspects (ideally) of the client’s supply chain are managed by the 4PL organization; and, 4) It is possible for a major third-party logistics provider to form a 4PL organization within its existing structure. However, 4PL was originally defined by Accenture as a trademark in 1996 and defined as “A supply chain integrator that assembles and manages the resources, capabilities, and technology of its own organization with those of complementary service providers to deliver a comprehensive supply chain solution.”, but is no longer registered.
Logistics Plus 4PL & Supply Chain Management
Okay, now that we have the academic definitions out of the way, what do services really entail for a company working with Logistics Plus on a 4PL basis? Logistics Plus 4PL customers generally receive dedicated, on-site support and expertise in managing their supply chains. Our dedicated resources will work with customers to:
Manage both domestic and international shipping
Document and simplify the logistics process for shipping sites
Oversee customs regulations and compliance
Provide tools, like eWorldPlus™ and eTNTPlus™, for tracking and compliance
Identify potential savings opportunities
Implement cost savings projects
Liaison between allocated carriers and sites
Resolve disputes raised by sites or carriers
Audit freight invoices to ensure accurate billing
Facilitate idea generation with customers’ logistics team
Test pilot special projects to determine effectiveness
And anything else needed to add value to the partnership
If your company is struggling with logistics management and getting control of its supply chain, Contact Us and let us provide you with a risk-free logistics analysis. Call us a 3PL, 4PL, or whatever you’d like — but we’ll help you identify areas of opportunity and how we can help you address them.
People often ask us what the “Plus” in Logistics Plus means. Although it can be difficult to put into words, we often say the “plus” represents all of the extra little things we do to help our customers be successful – whether that means someone working late to track a shipment, assigning a dedicated resource to work on a project, or providing some training on trade compliance regulations.
Yes, these are all things we do, but nothing is more representative of the “plus” than an actual example. Many of these “true examples” go unnoticed and undocumented since it is just the way we go about our business here at Logistics Plus. However, from time to time, we get a customer who takes the time to acknowledge something special one of our employees has done, and it really helps shine a light on some pretty cool stuff our people will do to get the job done.
Take Emily Grein, a logistics specialist and member of our International services staff. On Thursday of last week, Emily received a call from one of our customer’s customers. Apparently, a production line in Scotland was going to shut down if a special part in Erie, Pennsylvania was not delivered immediately. Emily, with her passport in hand, volunteered to pick up the part, drive it to the Cleveland airport in a total snow blizzard, and then fly to Glasgow, Scotland where she personally delivered the part the next day.
In the end, the customer avoided a costly production line shut-down for which they were very happy. In fact, the external sales manager for the company wrote the following testimonial back to us to say … “We (all) endured a really difficult few days last week, in relation to supply of critical goods to a key customer. I’d like to say thanks to Emily, who had a real difficult journey in getting the goods to us. After a serious amount of hours traveling, with very little sleep, I couldn’t believe how friendly and pleasant she managed to be, at the point of arrival. …. I’m not convinced I could have achieved this. It goes without saying, and I’m pretty certain you’ll agree, you’re really fortunate to have a work colleague and an asset, that is Emily Grein.”
That, my friends, is how we put the “plus” in Logistics Plus. Contact us if you need our hand-carry service for a critical shipment.
Last week Jim Berlin, CEO and owner of Logistics Plus Inc., and Yuriy Ostapyak, director of global operations, both attended the EY Strategic Growth Forum in Palm Springs, CA where the annual EY Entrepreneur of the Year™ awards was presented. Jim and Yuriy both report that the conference was entertaining and inspirational and they brought back a lot of ideas learned and shared with fellow entrepreneurs at the conference.
The conference included many thoughtful and insightful presentations from well-known celebrities such as Ron Howard, Seth, Myers, Emmitt Smith, Jimmy Johnson, and David Robinson, as well as accomplished entrepreneurs such as Tony Hsieh (CEO for Zappos) and Patricia Woertz (CEO for Archer Daniels Midland Company).
As a very entrepreneurial company in its own right, Logistics Plus would like to congratulate Mr. David Hung, CEO, and founder of Medivation, one of biotech’s greatest success stories, for taking home the “2014 EY Entrepreneur of the Year” award. We’d also like to congratulate the many regional winners and finalists for their extraordinary achievements.
Of course, Jim Berlin is no stranger to the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards having won an award himself back in 2004 for the Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia Region. Jim is also a lifetime member of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Hall of Fame, a truly well-earned distinction (see image below, which can be found on the www.ey.com website).
This past week was a busy, and exciting week of media coverage for Logistics Plus at our global headquarters in Erie, PA. Earlier in the week Yuriy Ostapyak, director of global operations, Michelle Fontaine, global sales manager, and Jenny Melgert, Dallas branch manager, all participated in an interview with an editor forSupply Chain World magazine.
Yuriy talked about the company, our services and technology, and our general philosophy regarding people, customers, and projects. Michelle talked in more detail about our approach to working with customers and how we build and cultivate relationships. Canadian Solar Inc. was used as an example (which, coincidentally is also being interviewed by Supply Chain World magazine). Jenny was able to shed some light on our operational excellence and how we work to integrate ourselves with our customers and their supply chains. Both the Logistics Plus and the Canadian Solar articles will appear in the winter issue of Supply Chain Worldmagazine which hits newsstands in a few weeks.
Yesterday, we had the senior writer and managing editor for Business Magazine (a publication of the Manufacturer & Business Association) on-site for an interview Jim Berlin, CEO, and owner of Logistics Plus, Adam Mook, compliance department manager, and Gretchen Blough, licensed customs broker. Jim gave an update on the company, recent growth, and future plans for expansion – both globally and within the Erie, Pa. community. Adam and Gretchen both discussed our global trade compliance services and how we help companies with their import and export activities. In particular, they provided details and examples of how we help companies navigate the complex world of global duties, tariffs, and regulations through training programs and other dedicated services.
Business Magazine also had a professional photographer on-hand for the interview taking pictures of our people in action and in settings around our global headquarters (the historic Union Station in Erie, Pa.). A couple of notable shots taken were of our LTL/brokerage staff in front of the painted railroad bridge just outside our offices, and then an all-inclusive shot of almost all of our nearly 100 Erie-based employees in The Brewerie dining area – one of the great tenants that leases a part of our building. The collage above contains some “non-professional” pictures taken during the photoshoot.
The feature article and final photographs will appear in the January 2015 issue of Business Magazine. Stay tuned for more details on both of these media features. If you want to learn more about Logistics Plus in the meantime, please visit us online at www.logisticsplus.com or contact us for more information.
Logistics Plus Inc. is a fast-growing worldwide provider of freight management, global logistics, and business solutions. We have a comprehensive network of people and resources located around the world … including Indonesia, where we have offices located in Jakarta and Surabaya.
Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia and its largest city. It is located on the northwest corner of Java and is the country’s economic, cultural, and political center. Jakarta also has the largest population of any city in Southeast Asia. Jakarta is home to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. It serves 17 freight carriers. It is currently so busy that it is under an expansion project with a projected completion date of December 2014. The Port of Jakarta is the largest Indonesian seaport. Forty-five million tons and four million TEUs along with 18,000 vessels move through the port’s 20 terminals every year.
Officially the Republic of Indonesia encompasses 33 provinces and 1 Special Administrative Region (for being governed by a pre-colonial monarchy) with an estimated population of over 252 million people, making it the world’s fourth most populous country. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, Palau, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies. The Indonesian economy is the world’s 16th largest by nominal GDP.
Our Indonesia team is led by Wahyu Jatmiko, its president director, and they are quite resourceful, as evidenced by the following two videos they produced earlier this year.
If you have any importing, exporting, or domestic Indonesian freight needs, contact your Logistics Plus global team of experts to enjoy the extra “plus” attention that comes from working with us. You can reach us in Indonesia, or you can contact us at our global headquarters.
This week Inbound Logistics magazine distributed an article called “10 Tips for Maximizing Your Freight Broker Relationship.” If you saw the article, it almost reads like a checklist for Logistics Plus® freight services. Here are the recommended ten tips from the article along with information on how Logistics Plus stacks up:
Find a reliable partner with market knowledge. As our many testimonials prove, Logistics Plus is about as reliable a freight management partner as you will find. Additionally, we have nearly 20 years of experience managing freight for reputable companies such as GE, PPG, and many others. We have tools that allow us to secure market competitive rates, and we have relationships with thousands of reputable freight carriers.
Check for the right fit. We are the right fit for just about any size company. We work with Fortune 500 corporations, and we manage shipping for small businesses. Typically the businesses that find us to be the right fit are the ones that require that extra “plus” attention. In fact, we have a reputation for taking on big freight projects that other logistics companies turn down (e.g., we recently shipped over 3 million solar panels to southern California for a large solar panel manufacturer). We do the little things like schedule pickups, provide storage services, monitor deliveries, track shipments, and more.
Are they where you need them to be? Logistics Plus has a network of people and resources located in offices across North American and around the world. So it’s hard to imagine a scenario where a customer needed service somewhere that we could not provide it.
Financial standing. We are a privately-owned company, but you can rest assured knowing that we have made the Inc. 5000 list on three different occasions for being one of the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. Additionally, our founder has earned an Entrepreneur of the Year award from Ernst & Young, and many others, which would not be possible if our company was not financially strong.
Look for sourcing expertise. We work with all of the top national and regional LTL (less-than-truckload) carriers in the U.S., and we have service agreements in place with thousands of additional truckload and specialized carriers. Additionally, we have logistics experts who monitor and use all of the top load boards in the industry. If you need affordable capacity or unique equipment – we can find it!
Ensure strong relationships. As mentioned in tip #5, we have all of the carrier relationships a reliable freight management partner should have. We also have in-house resources and assets through our National Truck Load (NTL) division in cases where more dedicated resources are needed. We also work as a 4PL partner with many large corporations which helps reinforce our buying leverage and keeps us in tune with trends in both supply and demand.
Check for visibility. Whether your shipments are domestic, cross-border, or international – Logistics Plus has the expertise and technology to monitor shipments and keep the most important information visible to you. Our eShipPlus™ keeps our North American customers apprised of their freight shipments, while our LP WorldPlus™ systems keep our global customers in the loop on their international cargo.
Research details and hidden costs. Freight quotes through Logistics Plus are detailed and transparent, as is our invoicing You’ll never be surprised with hidden costs when you work with us.
Ensure resilience. Asset-only brokers often cannot be as flexible as those who source assets. Shippers should look for a company that remains as lean as possible. That’s exactly what Logistics Plus is – lean and flexible: we can confidently cover almost anything, anywhere in the world.
Check compliance track record. The Inbound Logistics article finishes off by recommending that shippers be sure the broker they choose is fanatical about compliance issues. When it comes to carrier compliance – and other trade compliance matters – no one could be more fanatical than Logistics Plus. We even provide regular training on this very subject to other companies and organizations.
There you have it. If you like the 10 tips for maximizing your freight broker relationship as recommended by Inbound Logistics magazine, then you’ll love working with Logistics Plus for all of your freight management needs. If you’re ready to give us a try, simply click the button below to get a QUICK QUOTE on your next shipment to get started (or call us at 1-866-564-7587)!
What’s the difference between a 3PL and a 4PL? Well, before we go there, how about a 1PL and 2PL? A 1PL is simply the owner of the cargo who manages the entire distribution process internally. A 2PL is a for-hire air, ground, rail, or ocean carrier that directly provides transportation service to a shipper. As far as 3PLs and 4PLs are concerned, according to the glossary published by the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), the definitions for both are as follows:
This past week was a busy, and exciting week of media coverage for Logistics Plus at our global headquarters in Erie, PA. Earlier in the week Yuriy Ostapyak, director of global operations, Michelle Fontaine, global sales manager, and Jenny Melgert, Dallas branch manager, all participated in an interview with an editor for 
Logistics Plus Inc. is a fast-growing worldwide provider of freight management, global logistics, and business solutions. We have a comprehensive network of people and resources located around the world … including 
This week Inbound Logistics magazine distributed an article called “10 Tips for Maximizing Your Freight Broker Relationship.” If you saw the article, it almost reads like a checklist for Logistics Plus® freight services. Here are the recommended ten tips from the article along with information on how Logistics Plus stacks up: