Logistics Manager’s survey of Top Logistics Service Providers is designed to provide the key information customers need when selecting a logistics partner-size, geographical coverage, market specialisation and so on.
In addition, we aim to provide a round up of what the company has been doing over the past year – any takeovers or mergers that it has been involved in, contracts won or lost and major personnel changes.
The survey highlights the massive changes that have taken place in the UK market over the past year. Exel is now owned by the German post office, TNT is up for sale, the ACR name has disappeared following the takeover by Kuehne & Nagel and both Christian Salvesen and Wincanton have new chief executives.
The survey also reflects the fact that smaller operators have been getting together to improve their competitiveness. We include some of the major pallet networks as well as organisations like Jigsaw in which regional operators work together to provide large scale national 3PL services.
Speaking at the recent Logistics Manager Supply Chain Conference, David Hindson, marketing director of TDG argued that operators needed to decide whether they were “lean and mean” suppliers of basic services or were going to focus on supply chain re-engineering. Among the larger players it is clear that supply chain re-engineering is the order of the day. it remains to be seen which way the others will go.
There is no doubt that the third party logistics market is in a period of rapid change – whether the coming year will see such spectacular changes as last year is food for discussion.
To compile the survey we ask the companies to supply us with information – and, while we make every effort to be as comprehensive and accurate as possible, one or two companies have been omitted because we could not get the information necessary. If you think your company should be included in the survey please contact the editor, Malory Davies, email: malory.davies@centaur.co.uk
