This year’s research has found that both shippers (86%) and 3PL providers (94%) largely view their relationships as successful, with shippers posting some impressive results from outsourcing: Just over half (56%) say their use of 3PLs has led to year-over-year incremental benefits.

Far more shippers (65%) are increasing their use of 3PL services than returning to insourcing (22%) some 3PL services. Shippers report spending an average 12% of revenues on logistics, and an average 39% of that figure is spent on outsourced logistics services. Outsourcing accounts for 54% of shippers’ transportation spend and 39% of warehouse operations spend.

As found in past Annual 3PL Study surveys, transactional, operational, and repetitive activities such as transportation, warehousing, and freight forwarding tend to be the most frequently outsourced.

The pace of progress toward the advanced end of the maturity model for 3PLs-shipper relationships seems to have slowed. Trust levels, technical challenges, and risks required to create these highly evolved relationships, as well as the continuing impact of the recent recession, are certainly factors in this development.