Types of 3PL providers

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		Jack Marcus Consultant, United States
	Types of Third Party Logistics Providers Susanne Hertz and Monica Alfredsson (Strategic Development of Third Party Logistics Providers, Industrial Marketing Management (Elsevier Science) 32 (2): pp. 139–149, 2003) mention Four categories of 3PL providers: 1. Standard 3PL Provider: the most basic form. Performs activities such as pick and pack, warehousing, and distribution (business) – the most basic functions of logistics. For a majority of these firms, the 3PL function is not their main activity. 2. Service Developer: offers its customers advanced value-added services such as: tracking and tracing, cross-docking, specific packaging or advanced security system. A solid IT foundation and a focus on economies of scale and scope will enable this type of 3PL provider to perform these types of tasks. 3. Customer Adapter: essentially takes over the complete control of the client's logistics activities at their request. Improves the logistics dramatically, but do not develop a new (generic) service. The customer base for this type of 3PL provider is typically quite small. 4. Customer Developer: the 3PL provider integrates itself with the customer and takes over their entire logistics function. These providers will have merely a few customers, but will perform extensive and detailed tasks for them.