{"id":6074,"date":"2026-09-16T15:16:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T12:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/shippers-want-more-from-their-3pls-but-do-they-really-need-a-4pl\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T15:16:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T12:16:43","slug":"shippers-want-more-from-their-3pls-but-do-they-really-need-a-4pl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/shippers-want-more-from-their-3pls-but-do-they-really-need-a-4pl\/","title":{"rendered":"Shippers want more from their 3PLs \u2013 but do they really need a 4PL?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"3pl<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Shippers are demanding far more from their logistics providers as disruption and supply chain complexity increase \u2013 but that does not necessarily mean they are ready to make the leap from 3PL to 4PL.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The latest annual Third-Party Logistics Study<\/a> paints a contradictory picture of the shipper-3PL relationship: 88% of shippers describe their relationships with logistics providers as successful, yet half are consolidating the number of 3PLs they use. \u00a0<\/p>\n

And expectations of the remaining providers are rising.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study noted it was \u201cno longer sufficient\u201d for a logistics provider simply to execute the movement of freight from A to B, with shippers increasingly looking for continuous improvement, technology, expertise and value creation. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Some 81% of shippers said disruption and supply chain complexity was driving interest in more strategic logistics partnerships, while 76% cited cost optimisation through greater collaboration and 57% digital transformation and technology integration. \u00a0<\/p>\n

This changing relationship prompted Seko Logistics to argue that some companies may have outgrown the traditional 3PL model altogether.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Paul Lockwood, Seko\u2019s UK & Ireland group managing director, said the shift towards 4PL typically began when a shipper\u2019s supply chain had become too complex to manage through a collection of individual providers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He identified fragmented visibility, rapid growth, increasing demands on internal logistics teams and disconnected technology systems as signs that a company might need to move towards a 4PL model.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c3PL is built to execute. 4PL is built to orchestrate,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rather than simply moving and storing freight, the 4PL assumes responsibility for coordinating multiple logistics providers, technology platforms and data flows, potentially giving the shipper a single view of its supply chain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, Global Shippers Forum director James Hookham questioned whether increasing demands on logistics providers were translating into a significant shift towards 4PL.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said shippers were certainly asking much more of their existing providers, particularly following successive supply chain disruptions, but he was not seeing a widespread move towards 4PL among the shippers he dealt with.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, shippers had become more dependent on their logistics providers for ideas and solutions, rather than simply execution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The economics could also restrict the 4PL model largely to bigger and more complex supply chains, he suggested.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Introducing another management layer is a significant step and requires sufficient volume, scale and complexity to produce a return on the additional cost. For many smaller shippers, that threshold may simply be beyond them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That raises the question of whether the distinction between 3PL and 4PL is itself becoming blurred.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study found that 81% of shippers credited their 3PL relationships with improving customer service, 75% with reducing logistics costs and 69% said providers had introduced innovative ways to improve logistics effectiveness. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Technology, however, remains a conspicuous weakness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some 90% of shippers said technological capability was important when selecting a 3PL, but only 57% were satisfied with the capabilities their providers offered. Advanced analytics and network optimisation were each identified by 61% of shippers as important IT requirements from their 3PLs. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The trend towards using fewer providers could therefore present both an opportunity and a threat for forwarders. Shippers outsource an average 62% of their logistics expenditure, according to the study, but half are now consolidating their 3PL rosters. \u00a0<\/p>\n

There are also questions around the supposed neutrality of the 4PL model.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A 4PL is expected to select and manage the most appropriate providers on the shipper\u2019s behalf, but many companies offering 4PL services also operate forwarding, warehousing or other logistics businesses of their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Hookham questioned how neutral such an arrangement could ever be, although he also accepted that access to stronger provider relationships was itself part of what a shipper would expect to gain by handing over greater control of its supply chain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For the moment, at least, the evidence may point less towards shippers abandoning 3PLs than towards a change in what they expect a 3PL to deliver.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study itself found growing demand for more integrated logistics solutions, noting that combining transportation and warehousing services could reduce fragmentation and streamline shipper operations. \u00a0<\/p>\n

For forwarders, the challenge may therefore be less about whether their customers will become 4PL users, and more about how much of the visibility, technology, optimisation and strategic input associated with 4PLs they will increasingly be expected to provide themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

16 September 2026 Shippers are demanding far more from their logistics providers as disruption and supply chain complexity increase \u2013 but that does not necessarily mean they are ready to make the leap from 3PL to 4PL.\u00a0 The latest annual Third-Party Logistics Study paints a contradictory picture of the shipper-3PL relationship: 88% of shippers describe 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September 2026 Shippers are demanding far more from their logistics providers as disruption and supply chain complexity increase \u2013 but that does not necessarily mean they are ready to make the leap from 3PL to 4PL.\u00a0 The latest annual Third-Party Logistics Study paints a contradictory picture of the shipper-3PL relationship: 88% of shippers describe…","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phf4fX-1zY","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/3bcbadfb1512d8ee9468069ed5bebc57-680x0-c-default-l6ul6l.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/280549882"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mikhailinvest.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}