Logistics, the process of moving goods from supplier to vendor to customer, has been the missing link in many e-commerce business plans. New market research from IDC has identified a burgeoning opportunity in creating and optimising logistics business processes. Using information technology, an emerging group of service providers are offering ordering, fulfillment, and transportation services that go beyond merely the physical flow of the products to encompass the process and information necessary to optimise a customer`s logistics function.
According to IDC, the increasing popularity of e-commerce and e-business solutions is fueling tremendous opportunities in the logistics business process outsourcing (LBPO) market. "In a world of at-home delivery, the logistics industry makes e-commerce possible," said Ting Piper, senior research analyst with IDC`s IS Outsourcing and BPO program. "Many dot-coms will very soon realize that building a cyber business involves much more than spending millions of dollars on marketing and advertising and will very shortly shift their focus to actually delivering value, rather than merely positioning to deliver it."
e-Commerce demand will drive growth in the LBPO market well into the new millennium. IDC forecasts U.S. LBPO will grow from $67 billion in 1999 to $114billion in 2003. During that time, the logistics industry will undergo a transformation from an asset-driven business model to an information-driven business model. To be successful, logistics service providers will not only need experience in transportation management, warehousing management, order fulfillment, freight forwarding, and reverse logistics, but they will also need the ability to help engineer their clients` business processes.
IDC`s new report, Logistics Business Process Outsourcing: A Market Overview and Service Provider Analysis (IDC #B21263), thoroughly analyzes the U.S. logistics BPO services market.
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