Procuring logistics services is not the same as buying paper clips
Quite – the title of this article could almost have been a quote from a ...
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By Zen Yaworsky
In the first of a two-part series, supply chain consultant Zen Yaworksy explains why 3PLs shouldn’t expect shippers to give them the oxygen to innovate anytime soon
Last week The Loadstar ran a post: “Shippers demand innovation from their favourite 3PLs, but will they pay for it?” Behind the post was a report from SCM World which broadly concluded that “buyers speak out of two sides of their mouth”; that they “want innovative solutions and strategic thinking, but in the end ...
Comment on this article
Kate Vitasek
August 20, 2014 at 6:27 pmThank you for this article. I have echoed this paradox as well in many of my writings, including my book Vested Outsourcing: Five Rules that Will Transform Outsourcing.
You ask if there’s a need for anything more than a transnational relationship. In our work at the University of Tennessee we think of sourcing as a continuum and there are actually seven sourcing business models (you can download a free white paper on the Vested site – http://www.vestedway.com -Unpacking Sourcing Business Models.) Progressive companies are realizing that the key to unleashing real innovation is true collaboration based on shared-value principles and jointly agreed upon pricing models, what we have coined as a “Vested” sourcing business model. The service provider becomes a partner who is trusted and incentivized to make the relationship a win-win for the long term.
Happy to answer any questions if you have them.