Comment / The myth of integrated logistics and why it's doomed to fail

ID 38929626 © Morawskistudio | Dreamstime.com

For decades, the world of ocean shipping and the world of third-party logistics (3PL) have run on parallel tracks. Every few years, a container shipping line – armed with vessels, capital, and big ambitions – announces its intention to expand beyond the blue water into integrated logistics. Each time, the industry watches with curiosity, sometimes with fear, sometimes with skepticism.

And yet, history has been remarkably consistent: the grand plans rarely survive more than one or two cycles, before ...