Trade Compliance Blog

DC Velocity recently published the results of a Panalpina survey showing that shippers place accurate landed cost high on their wish-list when selecting a 3PL.

Delivering “total landed cost” reporting and analysis is the most important quality a third-party logistics service provider (3PL) can bring to a strategic relationship with a shipper, according to preliminary results of a survey by freight forwarding giant Panalpina.

Nearly 63 percent of shippers surveyed cited “landed-cost reporting and analysis”—the ability to provide customers with the end-to-end cost of transportation, inventory, customs brokerage, and distribution services—as the strategic capability they would most like their 3PL to offer. Second on the list was a “strong knowledge of business process and IT issues,” followed by the ability to perform “supply chain network design.”

However  most shippers would prefer to have their own landed cost calculations, in order to have analysis ready whenever they need to make important distribution decisions.

At the same time, the survey found that when it comes to their supply chains, shippers are reluctant to give up the reins.

Asked what factors keep them from outsourcing more work to their 3PLs,

• 55.7 % replied that supply chain management remained a core in-house competency,
• 43.2 % said their 3PLs lacked sufficient business expertise, and
• 42 % said they wanted their 3PLs to focus on execution and not design and implementation.

“Many businesses still feel they are better at supply chain design and execution than their 3PLs,” the study authors said.

Read the complete article at DC Velocity.

For all you shippers who are reluctant to give up the reins, consider automating export compliance to provide accurate analysis, a streamlined compliance process, and no surprises in total landed cost.

Filed under:
customs compliance, export compliance, trade compliance by Caroline