2.1. Third Party Logistics Providers
Third party logistics has many interpretations and definitions, according to Berglund et al. (1999), Activities consisting of at least execution of transportation and management, and warehousing (if warehousing is part of the process) on behalf of the shipper are carried out by3PL’s. Lieb et al. (1993), define third party logistics as the external company to carry out the logistics functions that have conventionally been executed within an organization. Third party logistics is becoming more and more common in Europe and USA and now third party logistics is accepted business practice (Laarhoven et al., 2000). Out sourcing of the logistics services enables companies to control is resources, spread its risks and focus on issues that are very much crucial to its existence and future growth (Sink and Labgley, 1997).