LOGISTICS

MILES LETHBRIDGE DIRECTOR , MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS CONSULTING , PWC

and boards are looking at outsourcing not only as a way to drive savings , but also to increase resilience .

As businesses have become more comfortable with outsourcing and more educated about it , they ’ re more adept at tailoring what they ask of outsourced providers and using it as a differentiator .

In what ways has outsourcing changed since the pandemic ? TW : The pandemic , and its associated supply chain disruption , has increased the need of businesses to outsource for a variety of reasons .

There ’ s an acute shortage of both labour and warehouses , and 3PLs have greater access to resources that can be shared across operations .

Also , there is a pressing need for automation in supply chains and logistics operations ( in part to cover for the shortage of people ). 3PLs generally have more experience in this area , and some businesses are leveraging their relationship with them in order to help fund this investment .

Businesses also now see 3PLs as a way to help manage the increased levels of volatility in today ' s supply chains , because these relationships help secure access to additional capacity space at short notice . Also , 3PLs are held to enable better risk-management systems . However , this does need to be fully tested and understood by any company that is outsourcing , so that they are confident they ’ ll receive the necessary focus when it is needed .

What determines whether a business needs a 3PL or 4PL provider ? ML : It all comes down to the level of control over assets in the supply chain . In 3PL , there is a higher degree of dedicated assets to an operation . A potential risk is that an operation might carry too much capacity at certain points but it does provide certainty . supplychaindigital . com 73