Please list and explain four of the ten intermediary and special services (as listed in the textbook) which are offered by 3PLs to their customers

Answer 1

Surface freight forwarding: Surface freight forwarders pick up, assemble, and consolidate shipments and then hire carriers to transport and deliver the consolidated shipments to the final destination. They match demand with capacity and help customers obtain economic rates for the consolidated shipments. From the perspective of the customer, freight forwards act as the carrier, and, therefore, are liable to shippers for loss and damage to freight that occurs during transit.

Air freight forwarding: Air freight forwarders consolidate small shipments for long-haul movement and distribution. They primarily use the services of major passenger and freight airlines for long-haul service. The air freight forwarder serves the shipping public with pickup service, a single bill of lading and freight bill, one-firm tracing, and delivery service.

Freight brokerage: Brokers function as "middlemen" between the shipper and the carrier much the same as a real estate broker does in the sale of property. A broker is an independent contractor paid to arrange transportation. The broker normally represents the carrier and seeks freight on their behalf to avoid moving empty equipment. They may also represent shippers seeking capacity on the spot market.

Intermodal marketing companies: IMCs are intermediaries between shippers and railroads and are also known as consolidators or agents. They are facilitators or arrangers of rail transportation service. They assume little or no legal liability; the legal shipping arrangement is between the shipper and railroad and not with the agent. Freight charge payment usually is made to the IMC who, in turn, pays the long-haul carrier.

Shippers associations: These non-profit transportation membership cooperatives arrange for the domestic or international shipment of members' cargo with motor carriers, railroads, ocean carriers, air carriers, and others. The association aggregates cargo and ship the collective membership cargo at favorable volume rates.

Dedicated contract carriage: 3PLs offering this hybrid private/fore hire arrangement serve as a customer's private fleet with a customized turnkey solution. Dedicated contract carriage includes the management of drivers, vehicles, maintenance services, route design, delivery and administrative support for a fixed price. Companies gain the advantages of a private fleet without the direct responsibility of capitalizing and operating it.

Drayage: These companies provide local transportation of containerized cargo. Drayage companies specialize in short haul movement of intermodal containers from origin to ocean ports and rail yards and from these facilities to their ultimate destination. They are typically contracted by the rail or ocean carrier to provide these pick up and delivery services.

Pool distribution: As an alternative to direct LTL service, a 3PL may move a large quantity of product in bulk to a specific market or regional terminal. From there, the pooled freight is off loaded, sorted by customer, and then reloaded onto local delivery trucks for distribution to final destinations. Pool distribution can reduce transit times, maintain shipment integrity, reduce claim potential due to less handling, and generate cost discounts versus LTL rates.

Merge in transit: A merge-in-transit system unites shipments from multiple suppliers at a specified merge point located close to the end customer. It avoids the need for traditional warehousing, in which orders are assembled from inventory in stock for shipment. Merge-in-transit provides a number of customer benefits, including the delivery of a single, consolidated shipment, reduced order cycle time, and lower transportation costs with less inventory in the system.

Last mile delivery: This group of service providers represents the final opportunity to impress customers with dock-to-door and store-to-door delivery. They often provide value-added services such as inside delivery, assembly, installation, product testing, and packaging removal.