4. Find the odd word.

1. Tractor lorry truck tracker

2. Transshipment rehandling transferring overburdening

3. Reworking recycling redesigning refining

4. forwarding traffic trucking loading

5. Supply equipment provision purchasing

6. Break- bulk off-load rework unpack

7. Kitting completing packaging cycling

8. Reusable returnable multitier multiturn

5. Substitute the underlined wrong terms with correct ones from exercises 1 and 2.

1. Reverse logistics is a process to change (waste) materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials.

2. Outsourcing is used to report the arrival or departure of the object and recording the identification of the object.

3. A warehouse or other specialized building, often with refrigeration or air conditioning is called a freight forwarder.

4. A standard (twenty or forty-foot) container that is loaded and unloaded under the risk and account of the shipper or consignee is known as HGV (heavy goods vehicle).

5. Standards for all operations related to the reuse of products and materials are called Reverse Logistics.

6. Order picking is a process of assembling a set of parts or materials.

7. Break bulk entails processing small to large quantities of product, often truck or train loads and disassembling them, picking the relevant product for each destination and re-packaging with shipping label affixed and invoice included.

8. A receipt at the warehouse is a document that accompanies goods shipped by an international courier to provide detailed information about the shipment and allow it to be tracked.

Reading 1⁶⁴

a. Answer the questions by scanning the text:

1. What are the advantages of using 3PL companies?

2. How should one properly select a 3PL company?

3. How would you title this text?

Third party logistics (3PL) companies are becoming an important part of today’s supply chain. These companies offer services that can allow businesses to outsource part of all of their supply chain management function. Many 3PL companies offer a wide range of services including; inbound freight, freight consolidation, warehousing, distribution, order fulfillment and outbound freight. The growth of 3PL companies has been driven by the need for businesses to become leaner, reducing assets and allowing focus on core business processes.

The growth of 3PL companies began back in the 1980’s when businesses began to look for new ways in which they could outsource logistics functions and concentrate on their core business. One company that has been associated with the 3PL revolution is FedEx. The company’s overnight delivery service changed the way in which business to business and business to customer transactions operated. This offered businesses the opportunity of using just-in-time techniques, which saved warehousing space and reduced overall costs. The introduction of efficient-consumer-response (ECR) techniques led to smaller and more efficient shipment sizes, which in turn further reduced costs.

As companies saw the benefits of outsourcing delivery and warehousing functions, the number of third party logistics companies began to rise offering an ever increasing number of services. The increasing numbers of 3PL’s inevitably led to increased competition between these firms, which led to greater savings for the companies who employed them. The last decade has seen the 3PL provider transitioning from a local or regional business to one that offers national or global coverage. In US, the 3PL market has been growing at a compound annual rate of 14.2 percent since 1996 and in 2006; 3PL’s in the United States reported $89.4 billion in gross revenue.

Deciding to a use a third party logistics company is a decision that depends on a variety of factors that differ from business to business. The decision to outsource certain business functions will depend on the company’s plans; future objectives, product lines, expansion, acquisitions, etc.

Once a decision has been made to outsource certain processes then a company will begin a search for the right 3PL that fits all their requirements at the best possible price. There are three types of Third Party Logistics Company that operate today: asset based, management based, integrated providers.

Asset based third party logistics companies use their own trucks, warehouses and personnel to operate their business. Management based companies provide the technological and managerial functions to operate the logistics functions of their clients, but do so using the assets of other companies and do not necessarily own any assets. The third category, Integrated Providers, can either be asset based or management based companies that supplement their services with whatever services are needed by their clients.

When selecting a 3PL, the request for information (RFI) or quotation (RFQ) should be as detailed as possible. The company that is selected should be able to fulfill all the logistics requirements and that can only be assured if every requirement is communicated to potential companies. The RFI should include a detailed description of the areas to be outsourced.

After the bids have been received by a company from the prospective 3PL’s, an evaluation would take place where a multi-discipline team will review each bid based on a pre-defined set of criteria. These will include some of the following.

• Does the 3PL provide the services required?

• Does the 3PL have the technology required to perform the tasks required?

• Does the company have the required warehouse space, dock capacity, warehouse personnel, etc.?

• Is the 3PL financially sound?

• Are the 3PL’s geographical locations suitable to cover the network?

• Does the 3PL have the flexibility to respond to changes?

• Are the 3PL’s environmental policies compatible?

• Are the costs of the services detailed enough for comparison to other bids?

• Are the customer references acceptable?

• Is the 3PL a good cultural fit?

The selection team will usually review each of the bids based on the criteria and give each bidder a score. Depending on the importance of each criteria, a weighting can be given which gives more importance for one or more criteria in the selection process. Once the selection team has evaluated the bids, management will often select the top two or three companies for site visits, face to face interviews and more detailed reviews of financial records. Once a company has been identified contract negotiations would follow before a final agreement could be reached.

b. Translate the italicized paragraph.

c. Summarize the text filling in the table.

Definition of 3PL
1980-s
Nowadays
Types
Selection procedure

d. Translate the following word combinations.

dock capacity	core business
quotation	gross revenue
warehouse space	product line
to bid	acquisition
to outsource	just-in-time technique
site visit	inbound freight
to become leaner	freight consolidation

e. Fill in the table with correct word forms.

Verb	Noun	Adjective
serve
	consolidation
fulfill
	acquisition
		prospective
	evaluation

f. Match synonyms.

asset	staff
freight	benchmark
company	examination
function	pivot
core	capital
transaction	enterprise
client	consumer
personnel	role
criterion	cargo
review	trade

g. Match words to make collocations by consulting the text.

supply	quotation
to offer	policy
overnight	delivery
to reduce	chain
environmental	record
regional	business
detailed	costs
financial	services

h. Fill in the gaps with prepositions consulting the text and make your own sentences with the phrases.

1. to focus __ business process

2. to look __ new ways to outsource

3. techniques __ turn reduce costs

4. to depend __ a variety of factors

5. to fit all requirements __ the best price