The concept of fourth-party logistics (4PL) was first proposed by Anderson Consulting, which even registered a trademark for the term and defined it as "a deployment and management organization's own and complementary logistics Supply chain integrators who use the resources, capabilities and technology of service providers to provide comprehensive supply chain solutions." Conceptually, fourth-party logistics is a leading logistics provider that can provide comprehensive supply chain solutions through its influence across the entire supply chain and bring greater value to its customers; it not only controls and manage specific logistics services, and propose solutions for the entire logistics process and integrate this process through e-commerce. Fourth-party logistics is increasingly becoming a real asset transfer that helps enterprises achieve continuous operating cost reduction and is different from traditional outsourcing business. It is actually a kind of virtual logistics that relies on the best third-party logistics suppliers, technology suppliers, management consultants and other value-added service providers in the industry to integrate social resources to provide users with unique and extensive supply chain solutions. . This is something no one company can provide alone.
Therefore, one of the characteristics of fourth-party logistics is that it provides a complete set of supply chain solutions to effectively adapt to the diverse and complex needs of buyers and concentrate all resources to improve customers' needs. Solve the problem effectively. It not only integrates the capabilities of management consulting and third-party logistics (3PL) service providers, but more importantly, the design, implementation and operation of an unprecedented unified technical solution that maximizes customer value can only be achieved through consulting companies, technology This is only possible through the concerted efforts of companies and logistics companies. The second characteristic of fourth-party logistics is that it adds value through its ability to influence the entire supply chain, that is, it can bring benefits to customers throughout the supply chain. 4PL makes full use of the capabilities of a group of service providers, including 3PLs, information technology providers, contract logistics providers, call centers, telecommunications proliferation service providers, etc., plus the capabilities of customers and the 4PL's own capabilities.
In short, 4PL meets the broad and complex needs faced by today's enterprises by providing a comprehensive supply chain solution. This solution focuses on all aspects of supply chain management, not only providing continuously updated and optimized technical solutions, but also meeting the unique needs of customers.
Moreover, according to Anderson Consulting, there are three possible application models of 4PL:
① Knowledge-intensive model, also known as "assistant improver", that is, the fourth party Logistics works for third-party logistics and provides technical and strategic skills that third-party logistics lack.
②The solution customization model, also known as the "solution integrator", means that the fourth-party logistics serves the cargo owner and is the center of contact with all third-party logistics providers and other providers.
③Integrated model, also known as "industrial innovator", that is, fourth-party logistics operates supply chains for many industry members by focusing on synchronization and collaboration.
In fact, no matter which model is adopted by fourth-party logistics, it is based on solving the problem of enterprise logistics, integrating social resources, solving the problem of fully sharing logistics information and making full use of social logistics resources. problem. Therefore, it is also the only entry point that can be used to exert government functions and promote the development of my country's modern logistics industry. Therefore, fourth-party logistics is a booster for the development and improvement of China's logistics industry.