I still remember arriving in France for the first time fresh out of college. It was exhilarating yet petrifying. People were speaking in another language, which caused all sorts of questions to race through my head: how do we get from the train station to the hostel? Is someone going to steal my bag? What food am I ordering when I point to this line on the menu?
If your business is growing to the point where you are serving a global market, you might be feeling the same sort of excitement and anxiety.
First the bad news: the LSP market is still relatively unconsolidated which means there are few providers that can handle all of your supply chain requirements across multiple continents.
Now the good news: if you are a United States based company, outsourced logistics is even more prevalent in Europe and Asia so you should have a multitude of options to consider.
That being said, a few key points to look out for:
- If you work with a 3PL in the US, there is a good chance they have global partners. They should be on the shortlist for consideration. You will want to find out to what degree they are actually integrated versus having just a marketing arrangement in place.
- Are they a leader or laggard in terms of technology adoption? Some international 3PLs will buy ‘a system’ simply to state that they have one. Understanding their supply chain technology capabilities will be paramount to understanding the integration cost on your side.
FYI, that line on the menu? That night I had pâté with some kind of eggs. It could’ve been worse…
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