Overview of the Logistics Industry

The logistics industry is confronting immense change owing to the presence of digital transformation, changing customer expectations, and evolving business models. With the relentless growth in the competition, companies are planning to invest highly in product innovation and expansion facilities to strengthen their foothold in the market. Contract logistics at large involves the process of handling activities such as designing and planning supply chains, facilities, and warehousing to improve the supply chain efficiency. Moreover, the growing convenience of online shopping is compelling businesses to outsource their logistics activities.

Some of the factors that may curtail the growth of the contract logistics space include:

• Rising fuel costs: Today, prominent contract logistics service providers are witnessing a fluctuation in the fuel prices. Higher fuel prices will have an adverse effect on the transportation as it escalates the surcharges added to freight rates. Even in the midst of the fluctuations, prominent contract logistics will face the need to ensure consistency in their product offerings while meeting the quality requirements.
• Improving customer service: The consumers of today are informed and are demanding transparency in their supply chain activities. To keep pace with the customer demands, contract logistics providers need to improve their technical capabilities and streamline their supply chain operations to stay relevant and offer more reliable services to the customers. In addition, contract logistics service providers need to meet the regulatory compliance to reduce the time-to-market for the products.

To address such challenges and adequately gain relevant insights into the market, leading contract logistics service providers are augmenting the need for a category market intelligence solution. Request a free proposal to access our service portfolio of category market intelligence solutions.

The Business Challenge and Our Journey

The client, a renowned contract logistics service provider, wanted to understand the market landscape in terms of the drivers and the potential challenges in the market. With the help of a category market intelligence solution, the contract logistics service provider needed to analyze the supply and the commodity price trends and understand the supplier pricing and the cost structure to deliver the products to the target audience. The primary objective of the client was to assess the technology landscape and streamline their technical capabilities to improve the supply chain efficiency.

To analyze the latest developments in the contract logistics services space, the procurement experts at SpendEdge carried out extensive research comprising interviews and discussions with prominent stakeholders in the market. Through category-specific websites, trade journals, and specialized publications, the experts also compiled information needed to eradicate supply chain risks.

The category market intelligence solution offered by SpendEdge assisted the contract logistics service provider to devise a robust SWOT analysis to identify the key risks in the logistics industry. Moreover, the solution also offered relative insights into the procurement best practices that can help the contract logistics service provider to improve supply chain efficiency and ultimately reduce excess inventory costs.

Want to gain better understanding of market dynamics, drivers, and niches?

Fundamental Questions Answered to the Contract Logistics Service Provider :

For detailed insights on solutions offered, request for more information. 

The Results

The engagement offered insightful ways for the contract logistics service provider to gain information on the market dynamics in terms of the raw materials and the indirect spend involved in the supply chain process. The solution further assisted the client gain early warnings of any potential problems and mitigate robust supply chain risks.