Third-party Logistics Market Continues to Expand with Chinese Logistics Company S.F. Express completing its merger with

 By definition, third-party logistics is the use of third-party vendors to complete parts of a company's supply chain. This is most commonly found in the distribution and handling of inventory. It is also used in international supply chains and in handling the transportation of finished goods. In addition, it can be defined as the integration of these systems. However, many companies use third-party logistics on a regular basis, especially in e-commerce and other business activities such as market research and delivery. Such services have experienced massive growth over the years, with the U.S. leading the way. The growth is driven by high demand for cold storage and robust tight truck capacities across the region Kerry Logistics to expand its logistics capabilities 

 

Logistics is the overall process of handling how resources are acquired, stored, and transported to their final destination. Logistics handles the flow of resources from the point of production to the point of consumption, in order to meet the requirements of customers. The retail industry is one of the key sectors that require adequate logistics solutions. Over the years, it has started adopting reverse logistics due to numerous advantages including increased velocity, the greater achievement of sustainability goals, improved customer service, etc. Recently, in March 2021, OnePak, a U.S.-based IT asset management company, launched a carbon offset program for the reverse logistics sector. Such factors have stimulated growth of third-party logistics market over the years.

Core activities of logistics include various activities of the supply chain including information flows, transportation, customer service, inventory management, and order processing. Furthermore, other support activities include material handling, information, purchasing, warehousing, packaging, and maintenance among others. Since there is a massive demand from the manufacturing sector to manage inventory and supply chain, the third-party logistics market has witnessed a massive growth in the recent past. However, there are some major challenges in this industry such as risk related to cross-border transportation, which can impede growth of the third-party logistics market significantly.

Distribution companies depend on third-party logistics providers to deliver their wares to their various customers. The role of the warehousing companies becomes important in this type of distribution. They will generally act as a link between the production and the warehouses. Warehouses will then take the items from the production and transport them to the customer. While the distribution companies have complete control over the physical processes involved in warehousing activities, they will still rely on a third-party logistics provider to make sure that the process is efficient. The third-party logistics market is witnessing massive growth in emerging economies such as China and India due to the fact that there is a concentration of the pharmaceutical and automotive manufacturing sectors.

Recently, in February 2021, S.F. Express, a Chinese logistics company, merged with Kerry Logistics to expand its logistics capabilities.