Logistics Outsourcing- A way to increase efficiency

In recent years the strategy of concentrating on core competencies of companiesled to a vertical disintegration of processes along the value chain. Practicalexperience shows that companies focusing on their core competencies infirst turn outsource logistics operations within their supply chain to externalservice providers. A fundamental question to ask in this work is whether outsourcingis really value enhancing and in particular whether the firm thatundertakes outsourcing becomes more efficient as a result.It will be shown that in an attempt to increase efficiency by reducing expensesand turning fixed costs into variable costs companies pursue restructuringprocedures that include outsourcing of non-core activities to specialistshaving a lower cost base due to better economies of scale and scope.Anyone who wants to outsource a function or who wants to know moreabout how outsourcing works can find within this book a discussion of selectedissues that may arise during this process putting the main emphasis onthe planning stage as it is considered to be the critical factor in a successfuloutsourcing project.