Accenture Outlook Freight Forwarding And Logistics What High Performers Know
Outlook
Point of View
January 2013, No. 1
Freight & Logistics
Freight forwarding and logistics: What the high performers know
By Rob Knigge
Rob Knigge leads the
Accenture Freight & Logistics group in Europe, the Middle
East, Africa and South America. rob.a.knigge@accenture.com For further reading
Access the complete research report: www.accenture.com/ us-en/Pages/insight-achievinghigh-performance-freightforwarding-industry.aspx Read more industry insights: www.accenture.com/us-en/ industry/freight-logistics/Pages/ freight-logistics-index.aspx For more related content, please visit: www.accenture.com Freight forwarding and contract logistics continues to be a growth industry. Though such growth is expected to slow somewhat (from a high of 3 percent over the past five years to about 1.5 percent in the near term), that rate will still likely outpace that of global GDP—a good situation to be in, considering current economic circumstances. Even so, freight and logistics companies will need to deal with numerous issues in the years ahead.
For example, as trade routes become more competitive and as freight rates fall, the industry’s traditional bargaining power with its shippers—volume—will be challenged. One important strategy to counter this challenge is to use balance sheet strength to acquire niche players in important trade routes and geographies, especially in emerging markets.
Another key to growth and profitability will be the ability to analyze customers’ needs and then respond quickly with differentiated and advanced logistics solutions. That will require better IT tools to improve internal process efficiency and to generate analyses that result in deeper understanding of customers’ industries and business processes.
According to recent Accenture High Performance
Business research, which analyzed corporate performance in the freight forwarding and contract logistics industry from 2008 to 2011, high performers owe their success to a combination of factors:
Point of View
January 2013, No. 1
Freight & Logistics
Freight forwarding and logistics: What the high performers know
By Rob Knigge
Rob Knigge leads the
Accenture Freight & Logistics group in Europe, the Middle
East, Africa and South America. rob.a.knigge@accenture.com For further reading
Access the complete research report: www.accenture.com/ us-en/Pages/insight-achievinghigh-performance-freightforwarding-industry.aspx Read more industry insights: www.accenture.com/us-en/ industry/freight-logistics/Pages/ freight-logistics-index.aspx For more related content, please visit: www.accenture.com Freight forwarding and contract logistics continues to be a growth industry. Though such growth is expected to slow somewhat (from a high of 3 percent over the past five years to about 1.5 percent in the near term), that rate will still likely outpace that of global GDP—a good situation to be in, considering current economic circumstances. Even so, freight and logistics companies will need to deal with numerous issues in the years ahead.
For example, as trade routes become more competitive and as freight rates fall, the industry’s traditional bargaining power with its shippers—volume—will be challenged. One important strategy to counter this challenge is to use balance sheet strength to acquire niche players in important trade routes and geographies, especially in emerging markets.
Another key to growth and profitability will be the ability to analyze customers’ needs and then respond quickly with differentiated and advanced logistics solutions. That will require better IT tools to improve internal process efficiency and to generate analyses that result in deeper understanding of customers’ industries and business processes.
According to recent Accenture High Performance
Business research, which analyzed corporate performance in the freight forwarding and contract logistics industry from 2008 to 2011, high performers owe their success to a combination of factors: