Untitled - Ministerstwo Rozwoju Regionalnego

chain at a strategic level and focuses on providing logistic solutions throughout
the entire supply chain 25 . There are 5PL model interpretations where it is emphasised
that enterprises operating in the 5PL model originate from lower logistics
levels and have been created to serve the e-business market. 5PL providers
are considered to be 3PL and 4PL companies that manage all links in the supply
chain for e-commerce. 5PL organizations are almost fully virtual, as having no
typical assets, they focus on acquiring the necessary skills to manage and coordinate
operations of other providers of services through dedicated information solutions,
and they are also associated with the demand and supply sides through
electronic logistic services markets 26 .
The major tasks of 5PL companies include mapping and reengineering of
the supply chain, the 4PL functions (integration and control of transport, handling,
warehousing, etc.) and providing integrated information systems to ensure
real-time visibility and control of the supply chain. Another task of 5PL is
also to adapt specific supply chains to the operation of a common network managed
by one organisation at the strategic level. The network participants are able
to derive greater benefits from the visibility of flows in real time and the economies
of scale, achieving better efficiency and lower costs, which they would
never achieve using 3PL services 27 .
5PL is not a physical organisation but a system that provides information to
the chain participants under its control. Then, individual participants manage
various supply chains in the network on the basis of the information received in
real time and adapted to such logistic services as transport, forwarding, warehousing,
etc. Development and coordination of specific supply chains and their
transformation into supply networks by 5PL involves formation of virtual corporations.
Through new business models, companies generate greater possibilities for
integration of supply and cooperation chain, which translates into producing
new values for customers and business partners. Network organisations such as
Virtual Network Consortia (VNC) and joint ventures increase the width and
depth of their supply chains and significantly improve the industry’s position in
international markets. Global competition requires more and more joint initiatives
and cooperation for innovations, both at the industry level and the supply
chain level. The tendency to combine the logistic service of flow of goods with
the management of information and knowledge will become more and more
important in the future.
25 P. Hosie, The Evolution of the 5PL. http://log.ae/2008/04/01/the-evolution-of-the-5pl/ of 27.10.2008.
26 J. Crespo De Carvalho, J. Menezes, E. Dias, Logistic Providers: Portuguese and European Perspectives.
Fourth International Meeting for Research in Logistics 2002. http://airllogistique.org/fr/files/?view=168
of 27.10.2008.
27 What is Fifth Party Logistics (5PL)? 5PL Supply Chain Engineering. http://5pl-uk.com/what.html of
27.10.2008.
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