Hiring logistics operators has long since become a common practice. The increasing complexity of logistics processes and the rise of e-commerce businesses have led most companies to turn to specialized intermediaries to delegate functions over their supply chains.

In this context, it is essential to know what types of logistics operators you can hire if you want to delegate some processes of your distribution chain.

What are logistics operators?

Logistics operators are logistics companies that function as suppliers who take on the responsibility of managing one or more tasks in the supply chain of a contracting company. The aim of this process is that the contracting company can devote all its efforts to its business area while delegating its logistics area to a supplier specialized precisely in logistics.

In this way, the contracting company does not need to invest resources in developing its own logistics platform, acquiring a transport fleet, or training its staff in complex logistics tasks. Instead, it is more cost-effective and productive for the company to outsource to logistics operators that already have the infrastructure, transport, and logistics staff to be in charge of the supply chain wholly or partially.

Among these activities that you can delegate to different types of logistics operators are the following:

• Storage of goods.

• Inventory management.

• Logistics transportation and physical distribution of goods.

• FTL and LTL freight forwarding.

• Picking and packing.

• Reverse logistics.

• Shipment and reception of goods

Let us now look at what the different types of freight logistics operators consist of:

1PL logistics operators: In the particular case of 1PL (first-party logistics) logistics operators, these are not suppliers per se but are the companies themselves that decide to take charge of their land logistics without subcontracting to a third party. In this sense, the 1PL logistics operator is the company that directly stores and transports its goods autonomously.

2PL logistics operators (second party logistics) provide the means for the storage and transport of goods for the contracting companies.

3PL logistics operators (third party logistics) are providers that have their warehouses and transport fleets. They also assume responsibility for managing these resources as part of the logistics services they provide to the contracting companies.

4PL (fourth-party logistics) operators, also known as lead logistics providers or LLD (Lead Logistics Provider), are providers that take over the management of the entire supply chain of the contracting companies (beyond just warehousing and transport).

The 5PL (fifth party logistics) operators are the latest and most advanced link in logistics outsourcing. These providers are characterized by the fact that they have sufficient capacity to manage multiple global supply chains. In this sense, contracting companies do not assume responsibility for their logistics, as they delegate 100% of their supply chains to 5PLs.

Ultimately, all companies need to optimize their supply chains in one way or another. The same is true for logistics operators, who need to improve their processes to offer increasingly efficient services.