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IJPDLM
36,9
666
International Journal of Physical
Distribution & Logistics Management
Vol. 36 No. 9, 2006
pp. 666-689
q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0960-0035
DOI 10.1108/09600030610710845
3PL practices: an Indian
perspective
B.S. Sahay and Ramneesh Mohan
Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, India
Abstract
Purpose – To carry out a comprehensive survey on 3PL practices in India and to establish the impact
of usage of third party logistics services on business results.
Design/methodology/approach – Begins by analysing the studies carried out on 3PL practices
and establishing a research framework. The input variables to the research framework depict the
organization-specific characteristics, such as the extent of usage of 3PL services, the reasons for
outsourcing and the impact of the usage of 3PL services. The output function of future usage of 3PL
services is influenced by the three input variables. Data collected through survey questionnaire on the
input and output variables are used to establish impact of usage of 3PL services on business
performance through statistical analysis.
Findings – The usage of 3PL services reveals positive and significant impact on business
performance though 3PL practices are still at a nascent stage in India. Additionally, results clearly
indicate that significant increase in outsourcing has been planned across all activities of the logistics
function in the next 2-5 years.
Research limitations/implications – Further research work should focus on managing 3PL
relationships; selection and contract management of 3PL service providers for building collaborative
supply chain partnerships; and identifying critical success factors for 3PL implementation and
establishing performance measures for long-term 3PL relationships.
Practical implications – Detailed study to motivate supply chain managers to outsource and use
3PL services to focus on the core business, drive logistics cost reduction, and improve supply chain
efficiency. These indicators should also help the 3PL service providers plan the depth and scope of
their service offerings to user organizations in India.
Originality/value – The paper contributes to the current 3PL and supply chain practices and the
emerging trends in 3PL services for achieving improved business results and supply chain efficiencies.
Keywords Supply chain management, Outsourcing, India
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Outsourcing of logistics function is a business dynamics of growing importance all
over the world. A growing awareness that competitive advantage comes from the
delivery process as much as from the product has been instrumental in upgrading
logistics from its traditional backroom function to a strategic boardroom function
(Razzaque and Sheng, 1998). In order to handle its logistics activities effectively and
efficiently, a company may consider the following options – it can provide the function
in-house by making the service, or it can own logistics subsidiaries through setting up
or buying a logistics firm, or it can outsource the function and buy the service.
Currently, there has been a growing interest in the third option, i.e. outsourcing of
logistics functions to third party logistics service providers.
Third party logistics services are widely prevalent in North America (Lieb, 1992;
Lieb and Randall, 1996) and Europe (Lieb et al., 1993) and have been examined in a
number of previous studies. Similar studies have focused on logistics issues in
Bulgaria (Bloomen and Petrov, 1994), South Africa (Cilliers and Nagel, 1994), Australia 3PL practices:
(Dapiran et al., 1996), Korea (Kim, 1996), Asia Pacific (Millen and Sohal, 1996), an Indian
Singapore (Bhatnagar et al., 1999), and Indochina (Goh and Ang, 2000). These countries
have availed large benefits of 3PL services over the last few years. However, to date perspective
there has been no comprehensive study reported in the literature that has focused on
third party logistics services in India. There are many isolated examples of individual
organizations and their respective logistics capabilities. Hence, it was considered 667
important to carry out a comprehensive survey on 3PL practices in India.
The paper has been organized as follows. In the next two sections, we present a brief
description of the Indian transport environment followed by a review of the relevant
segments of literature. Subsequently, we outline the research methodology which is
then followed by the results, based on data analysis, from the survey. Finally, future
trends and conclusions arising from this research are presented.

The Indian transportation environment

With a gross domestics product (GDP) of over US$475 billion, the Indian industry
spends 14 per cent of its GDP on logistics. The Indian logistics environment comprises
road transport companies, railways, air freight companies, inter-modal transport
providers, ports and shipping companies, as well as 3PL companies. Their performance
is critically dependent on the state of infrastructure – roads, railways, ports and
airports.

Roads and trucking

India has a fairly widespread road network totalling to 2.7 million km of road length
(1996-1997), the third largest road network in the world. According to estimates of the
planning commission, the roads carried just 11 per cent of goods and 28 per cent of
passengers during 1950-1951. The proportions stood at 60 per cent for goods and
80 per cent for passengers during 1995. Express and National highways constitute only
1.4 per cent of the total road length but carry nearly 40 per cent of all freight moved
through the road sector. Reach in the interiors of the mainland is limited with only
48 per cent of the 0.55 million villages being connected with roads. This poses a serious
limitation of access and connectivity to rural markets. Overall the quality of roads is
very poor, resulting in slow transport speeds, increased wear and tear of vehicles and
high accident rates. Despite suspect quality, the share of freight passing through roads
has grown to 61 per cent in 2001. The Indian Government has initiated a mega project,
called National Highway Development Program, for four-laning of highways
connecting the four metros of India and the North-South and East-West corridor.
Completion of this project by 2007 is expected to have a great impact on transportation
times and costs.

Rail transport
The Indian Railway network is a government monopoly in India and is fraught with
hidden efficiencies. It is the second largest railroad systems in the world covering a
route length of 62,809 km (1998-1999). This facilitates 4,630.05 millions of passengers
and 450 million tonnes of freight movement every year (CMIE, 1999). However, the
system of variable freight rates depending on class of commodities has discouraged
some of the industries from using rail transport. At the same time, the total cost of
IJPDLM using the rail network is high due to handling requirements and the time and cost of
36,9 arranging pick-up and drop of consignment to and from railway facilities. This results
in the slow average speed of freight movement and low average wagon turnaround
time, which are major concerns for the logisticians in the country. Currently, the Indian
Railways is making efforts to improve its services by introducing special freight trains,
which offer much quicker transportation times, and offering multi-modal facilities to
668 reduce handling times through containerized cargo movement by Concor (Container
Corporation of India).

Airports and air cargo

The six international and 87 domestic airports handle 0.22 million metric tonnes of
domestic cargo and 0.468 million metric tonnes of international cargo, which is
extremely poor in terms of world standards. This is because the air cargo is used only
when sea trade could not be used either due to time or space constraint. This poses a
serious limitation in procurement, especially when companies are looking at adopting
global sourcing strategies to reduce costs and enhance product quality. To make air
cargo more attractive and efficient, the Indian government has initiated some major
steps which include – introduction of “open sky” policy, introduction of integrated cargo
management system at four metro airports, provision of centres for perishable cargo and
synchronization of working hours for city side operation for export and import activities.

Seaports and shipping

There are 11 major ports that handle the total foreign trade of the country amounting to
271.92 million tonnes (1998-1999). The facility and infrastructure of Indian ports are
rated low on global standards primarily on account of lack of storage space and outdated
handling equipment. As a result, India’s share in the global maritime is miniscule though
the Indian fleet of vessels represent a little over 1 per cent of the global registered
tonnage. Owing to lower draft, the average size of the Indian ports is much smaller than
prevailing sizes internationally. Also, most Indian sea ports are inefficient in loading and
unloading operations. The result is that ships are stuck for longer time here, which
multiples the cost for the shipper by as much as 10-20 per cent. The granting of
infrastructural status to the shipping industry is expected to give financial and tax
benefits for the development of this transport mode in the coming years.
All the factors related to transport infrastructure stated above have adversely
affected the logistics network in the country – both in terms of lead-time and costs
(Korgaonker, 1990a, b). However, a host of policy changes currently underway is
expected to bring about a positive change in the Indian transportation environment.
This provides vast opportunities for companies offering logistics services in the
country and hence augurs good news for Indian organizations to reduce logistics costs
by using third party logistics services for enhanced supply chain efficiencies.

Literature review
Outsourcing, third party logistics services (3PL) and contract logistics generally mean
the same thing (Lieb et al., 1993). It involves the use of external companies to perform
logistics functions, which have traditionally been performed within an organization.
The functions performed by third party logistics service providers can encompass the
entire logistics process or select activities within that process.
 A key rationale for outsourcing of logistics functions is the intensified globalization 3PL practices:
of businesses. During the last two decades, globalization has emerged as a major force an Indian
of shaping business strategies, leading firms to develop products designed for a global
market and to source components globally (Cooper, 1993). This has led to more complex perspective
supply chains requiring larger involvement of managers in logistics functions. Lack of
specific knowledge of customs, tax regulations and infrastructure of destination
countries has forced firms to acquire expertise of third party logistics service providers. 669
As a result firms are concentrating their energies on core activities and leaving the rest to
specialist firms (Byrne, 1993; Foster and Muller, 1990; Trunick, 1989).
An equally important development that is impacting the logistics industry is
the increased emphasis on supply chain management as a source of competitive
advantage. In the last two decades, the quest for time-based competence led initially to
a rapid adoption of new manufacturing methods like just-in-time, flexible
manufacturing systems, computer aided manufacturing and so on by organizations.
These methods have brought about significant improvements in supply chain
performance through their focus on compressed manufacturing lead times and
improved quality. However, further enhancements in supply chain performance will
necessitate speeding the flow of information on orders to upstream supply chain
partners, and expediting logistics activities like storage and delivery of materials or
products through the entire supply chain (Bhatnagar et al., 1999). A recent research
carried out on supply chain management practices in India highlights that the opening
of Indian economy and globalization of businesses has been a key factor for the Indian
industry to align supply chain strategy with business strategy, streamline processes
for supply chain integration and form partnerships for minimizing inventories. Indian
organizations are increasingly deploying supply chain strategies for logistics
improvements – to increase sales revenue, enhance profits, reduce order to delivery
cycle time and minimize inventories (Sahay and Mohan, 2003).
Logistics is therefore emerging as a key frontier of competition in the future. Good
logistics performance requires a tradeoff between the need to reduce overall supply
chain inventory and lead times, while simultaneously capturing economies of scale and
improving customer service for enhanced business performance. Versatility of third
party logistics service providers enables them to maintain this trade-off by turning
fixed costs into variable costs for companies using their services (Trunick, 1989). The
use of third party logistics service providers has gained prominence in this context.
Empirical studies have tested the following factors in defining the extent of usage
(Lieb, 1992; Dapiran et al., 1996; Bhatnagar et al., 1999):
.
Length of experience with third party logistics firms.
.
Level of commitment to the usage of third party logistics services.
.
Percentage of the total logistics budget allocated to third party logistics service
providers.
.
Specific logistics services outsourced (warehouse management, shipment
consolidation, fleet management, order fulfilment, product returns, carrier
selection, logistics information systems, rate negotiation, product assembly, order
processing, inventory replenishment, order picking, inbound transportation,
outbound transportation, labelling and packaging, distribution, custom clearance
and forwarding, import export management, customer service/support).
IJPDLM Lieb (1992), Lieb and Randall (1993), Lieb et al. (1996) have documented the experience
36,9 of North American and European companies in using third party logistics services.
The studies indicated that European firms were significantly more committed and
allocated a larger share of the overall logistics budget to their 3PL company, as
compared to their American counterparts. However, companies from both regions
agreed that outsourcing need not be an all or nothing proposition. There seemed to be
670 consensus on “what” services to outsource, with warehousing, shipment consolidation,
and fleet management being the three services most frequently outsourced.
Dapiran et al. (1996) have presented an overview of the 3PL usage by large
Australian firms. The findings of these authors indicate that more than one-fifth
Australian firms characterize their commitment to 3PL as extensive, and one-quarter of
the firms allocate more than 50 per cent of their total logistics budget to third party
logistics service providers. Fleet management, warehouse management, and shipment
consolidation were the most frequently outsourced logistics services.
Bhatnagar et al. (1999) have analysed the third party logistics scenario for
Singaporean firms. The studies reveal that Singaporean firms have been utilizing the
services of 3PL service providers for several years with over three-quarters of the users
characterizing their commitment as moderate or extensive, and one-half of the firms
allocating over 30 per cent of their total logistics budget to third party logistics service
providers. Shipment consolidation is outsourced by more than one-half of the firms and
around 40 per cent of the firms outsource order fulfilment, carrier selection and freight
payment.
At the same time, studies indicate that firms outsource logistics functions for a
variety of reasons. Watson and Pitt (1989), Sheffi (1990), Foster and Muller (1990), and
Bardi and Tracey (1991) have suggested the following reasons for the growth of
logistics outsourcing in America: need to focus on core activities, better transportation
solutions (e.g. consolidation), cost savings, customized services, reducing inventory,
penetrating markets, becoming more active in international shipping, gaining the use
of sophisticated technology, need for more professional and better-equipped logistics
services. Gooley (1992) added flexibility as another reason for outsourcing based on his
experience with European firms. By understanding the reasons for outsourcing of
logistics services, 3PL service providers can gain insight into the benefits sought and
provide focused services. A third party logistics service provider with experience,
focus and expertise is regarded as more competent, compared to those service
providers who profess to be “all things to any consumer” (Sink et al., 1996).
The research on supply chain management practices in India has identified that
outsourcing of logistics activities is growing in popularity for Indian organizations and
there has been an increase in the number of third party logistics providers over the last
couple of years (Sahay and Mohan, 2003). The major reasons cited for usage of 3PL
services include – cost reduction (27 per cent), strategic reasons (26 per cent), process
effectiveness (24 per cent), and lack of internal capability (11 per cent).
Usage of third party logistics services is a strategic decision and hence it is
necessary to perceive and quantify the impact it has on business performance. The
purpose of engaging in third party relations is seldom cost reduction alone, but a
combination of service improvements and efficient operations (Skjott-Larsen, 2000).
Studies based on user firms indicate that the decision is worthwhile if it has an impact
on one or more factors depicted in Table I.
 3PL practices:
Factor Identified by (year)
an Indian
Impact on customer satisfaction Gooley (1992); and Lieb et al. (1993) perspective
Impact on logistics system performance Lieb et al. (1993) and Dapiran et al. (1996) and
Bhatnagar et al. (1999)
Reduction in capital investment in facilities Foster and Muller (1990) and Richardson (1992,
1995) 671
Reduction in capital investment in equipment Fantasia (1993), Foster and Muller (1990) and
Richardson (1992)
Reduction in investment in information Goldberg (1990), Sheffi (1990), Trunick (1990) and
technology Fantasia (1993)
Impact on employee morale Bowersox (1990) and Dapiran et al. (1996)
Reduction in manpower cost Foster and Muller (1990) and Richardson (1992,
1995)
Improvement on specific logistics function
parameters Minaham (1997) and Mc Mullan (1996) Table I.
Improvement in inventory turnover rates Richardson (1990, 1995) Impact of usage of 3PL
Improvement in on-time delivery Richardson (1995) services – literature
Increasing productivity Bradley (1995) review

Lieb et al. (1993), Dapiran et al. (1996) and Bhatnagar et al. (1999) have observed that
the future usage of third party logistics services is a function of the current level of
satisfaction of the firm with the logistics services provider. The authors have also
explored the changes in the level and the nature of outsourcing of logistics services by
the user firms. All the above studies indicate high levels of satisfaction with third party
logistics services providers, which will translate in increased outsourcing in the future.
Typically, firms start with the outsourcing of few logistics services, moving over to
activities which have maximum impact on logistics performance and then increase
scope of usage of logistics services with perceived and quantifiable impact on overall
business performance.
The above studies provide a robust framework for the research methodology for
analyzing the third party logistics practices in India. The input variables to the
research framework depict the organization-specific characteristics, such as the extent
of usage of third party logistics services, the reasons for outsourcing and the impact of
the usage of third party logistics services. The output function of future usage of third
party logistics services is influenced by the three input variables. This research
framework is shown in Figure 1.

Research methodology
To determine the usage of third party logistics practices in India, a mail survey was
conducted during 2002-2003. The survey questionnaire was designed based on the
studies carried out by Lieb et al. (1993), Dapiran et al. (1996), Bhatnagar et al. (1999),
Larrhoven et al. (2000) and Sahay and Maini (2002). The survey instrument focused on
the following areas:
.
importance of various logistics activities to organizations;
.
extent of usage of services offered by third party logistics service providers for
carrying out specific logistics activities;
IJPDLM Present extent of usage of Third Party Logistics services
36,9
Employment characteristics of users
Number of 3PL providers used
Length of experience
Geographical coverage
Logistics services outsourced
672 Importance rating of logistics activities
Level of commitment to usage of 3PL services
Percentage allocation of logistics budget to 3PL service providers

Reasons for Outsourcing Impact of Usage of 3PL services

Focus on core competencies Organizational impact

Logistics cost reduction Logistics system performance
Imbibe flexibility in operations
Improved customer services
Customer satisfaction
Productivity improvements Employee Morale
Access to emerging technology Financial impact
Access to unfamiliar market Impact on business objectives related to
Diverting capital investment / Improve ROA
Logistics system performance
To increase inventory turn

Future usage of Third Party Logistics services

Figure 1.
Schematic diagram of Overall Satisfaction with 3PL service providers
research framework Keenness to increase usage of 3PL services

. reasons for outsourcing;

.
the impact of using third party logistics services on logistics performance,
customer satisfaction and employee morale;
.
the benefits of using third party logistics services on specific business objectives;
.
the overall satisfaction with third party logistics service providers; and
.
the future plans of current users of third party logistics services.

The respondents were requested to fill out the survey that best captured the current
state of logistics issues in the organization with emphasis on outsourcing. In addition
to the questionnaire survey and a number of personal visits to various organizations
were carried out to get first hand information related to this field as well as cross-check
on the responses received from the survey participants.
The target population for this study was the 2002 Business Today list of top
500 organizations in India. The questionnaire together with the cover letter and a
post-reply envelope were mailed to these organizations addressed to the above
executives. Within a month of sending out the survey questionnaire 85 responses
were received. Thereafter reminder telephone calls were made to the remaining
272 organizations that had not responded. As a result, 49 organizations responded
more in the next two weeks. However, after data entry 4 responses were found 3PL practices:
incomplete and hence inappropriate for detailed analysis. It resulted in the final an Indian
response rate of 130 or 26.0 per cent of the original sample of 500 organizations.
The response rate is in line with the previous studies conducted on third party perspective
logistics services in North America, Europe, Australia and Singapore that were based
on 131, 53, 84 and 126 responses, respectively, (Lieb et al., 1993; Dapiran et al., 1996;
Bhatnagar et al., 1999; Laarhoven et al., 2000) resulting in response rate of 12.6 per cent 673
in Australia and 16.8 per cent in Singapore. The response rate also compares well with
the previous study conducted on supply chain management practices in Indian
industry that had a response rate of 156 organizations or 9.0 per cent (Sahay and Maini,
2002). Nonetheless with 74.0 per cent of the organizations receiving the questionnaire
but not responding, raises the issue of non-response bias. Does this fact introduce any
bias to the data and implications derived from the responding organizations? Do the
results reported in the study truly represent third party logistics practices in the Indian
industry? The issue of non-response bias was validated by hypothesis testing using x 2
test with 95 per cent confidence level and found that:
(1) There is no significant difference in the distribution of the response group and
the overall population by geographical area, ownership and industry category:
. classification of population and respondents by geography: x 2 value ¼ 3.887;
df ¼ 3; p-value ¼ 0.274;
.
classification of population and respondents by ownership: x 2 value ¼ 1.785;
df ¼ 2; p-value ¼ 0.410; and
.
classification of population and respondents by industry: x 2 value ¼ 4.326;
df ¼ 9; p-value ¼ 0.889.
(2) There are no significant differences in the responses received before reminder
and after reminder. Reminders were sent to the organizations that did not
respond to the first mailing and assisted in generating a reasonable overall
response rate of 25.2 per cent:
.
classification of respondents before reminder and after reminder by
geography: x 2 value ¼ 2.687; df ¼ 3; p-value ¼ 0.442;
.
classification of respondents before reminder and after reminder by
ownership: x 2 value ¼ 2.560; df ¼ 2; p-value ¼ 0.278; and
.
classification of respondents before reminder and after reminder by
industry: x 2 value ¼ 5.472; df ¼ 9; p-value ¼ 0.791.
(3) Furthermore, the characteristics and experiences of the respondents after
reminder are not significantly different to those obtained by the first mailing:
.
Comparison of mean scores on impact of use of third party logistic services
on logistics performance, customer satisfaction and employee morale before
reminder and after reminder: sample 2-T test value ¼ 0.54; p-value ¼ 0.60;
df ¼ 2.

The x 2 results provided validity to the sample size and eliminated the possibility
of non-response bias. Finally, detailed data analysis was performed on the usable
sample size of 130 Indian organizations. Analysis of the data are presented in the
following section.
IJPDLM Results
36,9 Participants profile
The responding organizations represented a broad cross-section of the industry
including engineering, chemicals, FMCG, retail, automotive, textiles, metal,
pharmaceuticals, trading, and telecom industries. However, majority of the
respondents were from automotive, engineering, chemicals, metals and FMCG (Figure 2).
674 The respondents include a mix of public sector as well as the private sector. The
responses are markedly better from public limited company, which constituted nearly
63 per cent of the total sample, followed by private limited (34 per cent) and public
sector (3 per cent) organisations (Figure 3). About 44.1 per cent of the total respondents
had MNC stake. Of the respondents with MNC stake 21.57 per cent had stake less than
25, 35.29 per cent had stake between 26 and 50 per cent, 21.57 per cent had between
51 and 75 per cent and equal percentage between 75 and 100 per cent.

Automotive 27.5

Engineering 22.9

Others 21

Chemicals/ Fertilisers 7.3

Metals 4.6

FMCG 4.6

Textiles/ Apparel 3.7

Services 3.7

Telecommunications 2.8

Figure 2. Transportation 1.8

Classification of 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
respondents by industry
Percentage of Respondents

Public Sector
3%

Private
34%

Figure 3. Public Limited

Classification of 63%
respondents by ownership
Responding companies had turnovers ranging from as low as Rs 30 lacs-16,000 crore 3PL practices:
per annum. Majority of the companies had turnover ranging from Rs 100-500 crore per an Indian
annum (FY 2002 figures) as shown in Figure 4. Overall, the respondent organizations
represented a combined turnover of US $350million in the financial year 2001-2002. perspective

Present extent of usage of third party logistics services

About 55.4 per cent respondents indicated that their organizations use third party 675
logistics services, while 44.6 per cent do not currently outsource logistics functions to
third party logistics service providers. Of those organizations currently outsourcing
logistics services, 82.3 per cent indicated that their firms employed the services of
more than one logistics service provider. Furthermore, 28.6 per cent of these have been
using the services of third party logistics service providers for over three years.
Another 18.8 per cent have been working with third party logistics service providers
for 1-3 years. This indicates a relatively low amount of experience with third party
logistics service providers in India as a result of which the concept of outsourcing
logistics functions to third party logistics service providers is still in its nascent
stage in India. This is in contrast to studies conducted in developed countries like
North America, Europe, Australia and Singapore (Lieb et al., 1993; Dapiran et al., 1996;
Bhatnagar et al., 1999).
The employment characteristics of the respondents are shown in Table II.
Hypothesis testing indicates that there is no significant difference between the firms
that choose to outsource and those who do not, in terms of their current employment
(x 2 test value ¼ 4.248; df ¼ 4; p-value ¼ 0.374; hence not significant at 95 per cent
confidence level).

> 1000 cr < 50 cr

18% 22%

500 to 1000 cr
11%
50 to 100 cr
13%

Figure 4.
Classification of
100 to 500 cr respondents by turnover
36%

Current employment Outsourcing (per cent) Not outsourcing (per cent)

,100 21 15
100 – 499 13 21
500 – 999 8 18 Table II.
1,000 – 4,999 16 10 Employment
.5,000 5 10 characteristics of
No response 37 26 responding firms
IJPDLM Out of the total no of respondents, more than half the organizations have already
36,9 outsourced logistics activities such as outbound transportation (55.7 per cent), inbound
transportation (52.2 per cent) and custom clearing and forwarding (51.5 per cent). Other
logistics activities that have been outsourced by more than a fourth of the respondents are
import and export management (34.5 per cent), outbound warehousing (33.9 per cent),
inbound warehousing (29.5 per cent), labelling and packing (29 per cent), fleet
676 management and consolidation (28.6 per cent), order picking (27 per cent) and inventory
management (23.5 per cent) indicating that these are the more important services that are
already being outsourced. The logistics functions that are least outsourced include
marketing sales promotion, assembly/installation, selected manufacturing and customer
service/support.
To determine why organizations decide to outsource certain logistics functions,
respondents were asked to indicate the importance of the same set of logistics functions
on a five-point Likert scale, with a score of 1 indicating “not important” and a score of 5
indicating “very important”. The responses to importance rating and the extent of
outsourcing of all logistics functions are presented in Table III.
Discrete data analysis [1-3] was carried out to test the importance attached to
logistics activities and the decision of using 3PL provider for those activities.
Hypothesis testing (at 95 per cent confidence level) indicates that:
.
There is a significant difference in the importance rating of logistics activities
between organizations that currently use the services of third party logistics
service providers and the ones who do not. (Sample-2T Test; P-value ¼ 0.04).

Importance ratinga
Current outsourced Outsourcing Non-outsourcing
Logistics activities (per cent) organizations organizations

Customer service/support 15.8 4.50 4.14

Inventory management 23.5 4.36 4.27
Rate negotiation 22.6 4.23 4.37
Outbound transportation 55.7 4.00 3.91
Distribution 22.9 3.91 3.80
Custom clearing and warding 51.5 3.91 3.50
Order fulfilment 20.4 3.80 3.77
Selected manufacturing 16.4 3.75 3.24
Order picking 27.0 3.69 3.54
Outbound warehousing 33.9 3.69 3.49
Labelling and packaging 29.0 3.55 3.00
Import/export management 34.5 3.54 3.34
Inbound transportation 52.2 3.44 3.25
Inbound warehousing 29.5 3.42 2.86
Fleet management and consolidation 29.1 3.40 3.12
Marketing sales promotion 8.5 3.25 3.89
Order processing 19.4 3.22 3.93
Assembly/installation 12.7 3.00 2.74
Table III. Reverse logistics 22.2 3.00 2.40
Importance rating and
extent of outsourcing of Notes: aImportance rating on a five point Likert scale: 1 indicating “not important” and 5 indicating
logistics activities “very important”
 For a majority of logistics activities, the importance ratings are higher for 3PL practices:
organizations that are currently outsourcing them compared to the ones who are
not.
an Indian
.
Amongst the various logistics functions, there is a significant difference in the
perspective
importance rating attributed to logistics activities (x 2 test: x 2 test value
¼ 26.783; p-value ¼ 0.032).
677
The test results clearly explain the variation in outsourcing percentage for logistics
activities by Indian organizations.
.
Importance rating . 4.00. Logistics activities with “high” importance rating
include customer service/support, inventory management and rate negotiations.
Less than 25 per cent organizations have outsourced these activities to 3PL
service providers primarily because of the criticality of the information related to
them and the strategic nature of these activities to impact business results.
Organizations using 3PL services for these activities have been working with
3PL service providers over an extended period of time and rate the effectiveness
of performance of top management of 3PL service providers as “high”.
.
Importance rating < 4.00 and . 3.25. Usage of 3PL services is exceptionally
high for logistics activities with a “moderate” importance rating between 4.00
and 3.25. Outbound transportation, inbound transportation and customer
clearing and forwarding are outsourced by maximum percentage of respondents.
Distribution (22.9 per cent), order fulfilment (20.4 per cent) and select
manufacturing (16.4 per cent) require organization-specific strategies from 3PL
service providers and hence score low on outsourcing percentage. Customized
solutions at an operating level by 3PL service providers could provide immense
benefits for improving supply chain results for Indian organizations in these
three areas. Increased 3PL services for order picking, order warehousing,
labelling and packaging, import/export management, inbound warehousing, and
fleet management and consolidation depict the increased service offering by 3PL
service providers and the growing confidence in their services by Indian
organizations.
. Importance rating of < 3.25. Currently less than 25 per cent organizations use
3PL services for these activities because of their “low” importance ratings.
However, usage of 3PL services for reverse logistics shows increasing trends.

Very clearly, outsourcing percentage is higher for organizations with importance

ratings between 4.00 and 3.25, i.e. “moderately important”. Organizations are still not
open to increased outsourcing of either “very important” or “less important” logistics
activities.
About 46.7 per cent of organizations in India use 3PL providers to perform both
domestic and international operations. The other 44.4 per cent use such services for
domestic operations only and 8.9 per cent use these for international operations only.
The level of commitment to the usage of the third-party logistics services varies
considerably amongst the respondents. Over two-third (67.7 per cent) of the
respondents, currently using the services of third party logistics service providers,
indicate that their organizations’ commitment to the concept was “moderate” or
“extensive” while the remaining users indicated that their organizations’ commitment
IJPDLM was “limited” or “very limited”. The varying degree of commitment is also reflected in
36,9 the percentage of the total logistics budget allocated to the third-party providers as a
proportion of the total cost of logistics function (Table IV).
Of the respondents, 63.4 per cent had less than 20 and 7.6 per cent had 20-40 per cent
of their total logistics budget allocated to 3PL service providers. These figures indicate
a fairly low level of commitment to the use of 3PL services in India currently.
678 Furthermore, there is no significant correlation between the total cost of logistics
function, as a percentage of gross sales, and percentage allocation of logistics budget to
3PL providers (x 2 test: x 2 value ¼ 27.593; df ¼ 16; p-value ¼ 0.759; hence not
significant at 95 per cent confidence level).

Reasons for outsourcing

To determine why companies decide to outsource their logistics functions, respondents
were asked to indicate the importance of a number of factors affecting the decision to
outsource on a five-point Likert scale, with a score of 1 indicating “not important” and a
score of 5 indicating “very important”. The responses to this question are presented in
Table V.
Over three-quarter of the users indicate that reduction in logistics cost (overall
importance rating 4.39), focus on core competencies (overall importance rating 4.28)
and improvement in customer satisfaction (overall importance rating 4.11) were
moderately important or very important reasons for outsourcing. About half of the
users identify, improved return of assets (overall importance rating 3.91), productivity
improvement (overall importance rating 3.75) and increased inventory returns (overall
importance rating 3.73) as substantially important or very important in their rationale
for outsourcing of logistics functions. Interestingly, results of the hypothesis testing
confirm that there seems to be significant convergence in the importance rating of
reasons for outsourcing between respondents whether or not they utilize 3PL services
currently (x 2 test: x 2 test value ¼ 58.749; p-value ¼ 0.263; hence not significant at
95 per cent confidence level).
Respondents were also asked to rank the top five reasons for using the services of
3PL providers. Of the respondents 80.6 per cent state that logistics cost reduction is an
important reason for outsourcing thereby reducing their costs of servicing the
customer. Of the respondents 76.0 per cent want to use the 3PL service providers so
that they can focus on their core competencies. Further organizations want to provide
improved customer service by using the competencies of the service providers as is
evident from the 71.3 per cent respondents stating it as an important reason for using
the service. The other important factors, which have been highlighted among the top

Level of commitment to usage of 3PL services

(percentage of respondents)
Percentage allocation of logistics
budget for 3PL services Extensive Moderate Limited Very limited

Table IV. 0-20 8.6 25.8 21.5 7.5

Percentage allocation of 20-40 0.0 0.0 6.5 1.1
total logistics budget for 40-60 5.4 7.5 1.1 0.0
3PL services .60 6.4 7.5 0.0 1.1
 Percentage respondents (per cent)
Moderately Very
Not important Less important Important important important
Reasons for outsourcing O NO O NO O NO O NO O NO

Focus on core competencies 0.0 0.0 2.6 0.0 12.8 33.3 15.4 30.6 69.2 36.1
Logistics cost reduction 0.0 4.7 0.0 2.3 16.4 16.3 21.8 11.6 61.8 65.1
Imbibe more flexibility in operations 5.9 6.9 14.7 13.8 29.4 37.9 32.4 27.6 17.6 13.8
Improved customer services 2.3 2.8 6.8 2.8 15.9 27.8 25.0 16.7 50.0 50.0
Productivity improvements 8.3 3.0 5.6 3.0 38.9 27.3 11.1 33.3 36.1 33.3
Access to emerging technology 7.1 20.0 7.1 16.0 35.7 24.0 28.6 20.0 21.4 20.0
Access/expansion to unfamiliar market 11.1 11.5 40.7 15.4 14.8 34.6 22.2 19.2 11.1 19.2
Diverting capital investment 25.0 20.0 25.0 20.0 32.1 28.0 10.7 20.0 7.1 12.0
To increase inventory turn 8.3 3.3 8.3 13.3 30.6 13.3 16.7 36.7 36.1 33.3
Success of firms using 3PL services 7.1 6.5 12.5 13.0 5.4 15.2 7.1 6.5 67.9 58.7
Corporate restructuring 26.1 20.0 21.7 28.0 21.7 36.0 26.1 12.0 4.3 4.0
To develop supply chain partnerships 14.7 3.6 14.7 25.0 35.3 32.1 11.8 17.9 23.5 21.4
Improve return of assets 5.6 3.3 11.1 6.7 22.2 13.3 19.4 36.7 41.7 40.0
Notes: O ¼ outsourcing; NO ¼ non-outsourcing
3PL practices:

perspective
an Indian

679

Reasons for outsourcing

logistics activities
Table V.
IJPDLM five reasons for outsourcing, include improved return on asset, increased inventory
36,9 turns and productivity improvements (Figure 5). To a great extent, the ranking of top
five reasons falls in line with the importance rating given by the respondents.
The reasons for outsourcing were then subjected to a factorial analysis using the
principal component equimax rotation method. The cumulative sum of four-factor
loadings explains over 67 per cent of the variation. The four factors were then
680 compared with the weighted score for importance as rated by the respondents and
were classified under four “key” focal areas (factors) – cost reduction, strategic intent,
improving supply chain efficiency, long-term benefits – as listed in Table VI.
The factorial analysis confirms the focus on “logistics cost reduction” among Indian
organizations, as the primary constituent driving outsourcing of logistics activities. The
second factor encompassing “focus on core competencies” “access/expansion to
unfamiliar market” “corporate restructuring” sum up the reasons related to the strategic
intent of organizations to seek 3PL services. It is because of these reasons that the
involvement of top management is critical in all outsourcing decisions. The third factor
of improving supply chain efficiency covers the issues related to “improving customer
services” “increasing inventory turns” “driving productivity improvements” “imbibing
more flexibility in operations” and “improving return on assets”. This is shaped by the
current business environment – in which the companies operate in the Indian economic
scenario – to drive bottom-line results through enhanced supply chain efficiencies.

Impact of usage of third party logistics services

Users of the services of 3PL providers were asked to categorize the impact of those
services to their business in terms of logistics system performance, customer
satisfaction and employee morale on a five-point Likert scale, with a score of 1
indicating “very negative” and a score of 5 indicating “very positive”. The responses to
this question are summarized in Table VII.

Logistics cost reduction 80.6

Focus on core competencies 76.0

Improved customer services 71.3

Improve return on assets 68.2

To increase inventory turn 60.6

Productivity improvement 56.5

Imbibe more flexibility in operations 46.1

Access to emerging technology 45.3

Access/ Expansion to unfamiliar market 35.9

Diverting capital investment 24.5

Figure 5.
0 20 40 60 80 100
Reasons for outsourcing
Percentage of Respondents
 Rotated factor Weighted mean score
Focal areas (factors) Reasons for outsourcing (variables) loadingsa Communalitiesa of importanceb

Factor 1: cost reduction Logistics cost reduction 0.900 0.832 4.39

Factor 2: strategic intent Focus on core competencies 0.839 0.903 4.28
Access/expansion to unfamiliar market 0.765 0.861 3.00
Corporate restructuring 0.528 0.514 2.56
Factor 3: improve supply chain efficiency Improved customer services 0.620 0.612 4.11
Improve return of assets 0.707 0.540 3.91
Productivity improvements 0.513 0.512 3.75
To increase inventory turn 0.844 0.793 3.73
Imbibe more flexibility in operations 0.733 0.665 3.35
Factor 4: long-term benefits Access to emerging technology 0.835 0.758 3.28
To develop supply chain partnership 0.532 0.516 3.21
Success of firms using 3PL services 0.449 0.506 3.00
Diverting capital investment 0.718 0.713 2.66
Notes: aRotational factor loadings and communalities have been computed using equimax method in Minitab, bweighted mean score indicates
importance rating by respondents on a 5-point scale with 1 indicating “not important” and 5 indicating “very important”
3PL practices:

perspective

activities
outsourcing logistics
an Indian

Primary factors for

681

Table VI.
IJPDLM Results indicate that the usage of services of 3PL providers has had a strong positive
36,9 impact on all the three dimensions. Nearly, 50 per cent of the users noted that
the impact has been “positive” or “very positive” in all the three areas of organizational
impact. However, 4.5 per cent of the respondents indicated that 3PL services had a
negative impact on employee morale. Also 3.2 per cent of the respondents indicated a
negative impact on logistics system performance. These results show that people
682 issues are a critical factor to be considered in outsourcing of logistics functions.
Besides, the respondents were also asked to quantify the percentage improvement
on financial indicators – improvement in sale revenues, working capital improvement,
capital asset reduction, production cost reduction, labour cost reduction, return on
asset improvement, logistics cost reduction – because of the usage of 3PL services.
User organizations have cited substantial financial improvements as shown in
Table VIII. The financial improvements tie well with the focus on logistics cost
reduction as the primary reason for using 3PL services.
Further, the survey questionnaire probed the respondents to report on the
improvement they have had on specific business objectives related to logistics system
performance. Users report obtaining multiple benefits in varying degrees compared to
their expectations. More than 80 per cent of the respondents state that the use of the
service providers has helped them improve on-time delivery, provide specialized
logistics service and reduce cycle time at “expected” or “more than expected” degrees.
Nearly, 75 per cent of the respondents feel that they have been able to improve focus on
their core competencies and reduce operational costs at or above expectations. 3PL
service providers have been able to enhance the geographic reach of the user
organizations as is stated by 61 per cent of the respondents. Finally, the use of the
service has also helped organizations to bring in more strategic/operational flexibility
and differentiation from the competitors (Figure 6).
Clearly, 3PL providers can help an organization achieve significant results, both in
terms of business performance and logistics cost reduction. Logistics competency
through outsourcing will definitely be a key differentiator in today’s competitive world.

Percentage of respondents (per cent)

Factors Very positive Positive Average Negative Very negative
Table VII.
Organizational impact of Logistics system performance 13.8 54.3 28.7 2.1 1.1
outsourcing logistics Customer satisfaction 22.6 45.2 32.3 0.0 0.0
activities Employee morale 6.8 42.0 46.6 4.5 0.0

Financial indicator Percentage of improvement

Improvement in sales revenue 13.5

Working capital improvement 12.3
Capital asset reduction 9.2
Production cost reduction 10.5
Labour cost reduction 10.0
Table VIII. Return on assets improvement 10.0
Financial improvements Logistics cost reduction 15.0
 Improve on time delivery 86.7
3PL practices:
an Indian
More specialized logistics expertise 85.3 perspective
Reduced cycle time 79.8

Improve focus on core activities 79.7 683

Operational cost reduction 76.4

Enhance geographic reach 61.3

Differentiation from competitors 56.7

Facilitate growth 56.1

Figure 6.
Improvement in business
Strategic/ operational flexibility 54.0
objectives related to
0 20 40 60 80 100 logistics system
performance
Percentage of Respondents

Summary and future trends

Currently almost all the organization using third party logistics services are satisfied
with the performance of 3PL service providers with respect to their expectations.
A total of 9.6 per cent indicated that their overall satisfaction with 3PL service provider
was “more than expected”. Another 72.3 per cent indicated that their satisfaction was
at “expected” levels. Only 6.0 per cent stated that they were either “not satisfied” or
their satisfaction were “less than expectations” with the usage of third party logistics
service providers.
Hypothesis testing was carried out to correlate the impact on logistics system
performance, customer satisfaction and employee morale on overall satisfaction with 3PL
service provider. The results of the hypothesis testing have been elaborated in Table IX.
All the test results, at 95 per cent confidence level, validate the alternate hypothesis that
increased benefits – related to logistics system performance, customer satisfaction and
employee morale – by the use of 3PL services has a positive impact on overall satisfaction
with 3PL service providers. Not surprisingly, 96 per cent of the respondents indicated that
the use of third party logistics service providers had been a positive development looking
at the impact of the usage of 3PL services on business objectives.
Users were also asked how they would modify their use of third party logistics
service providers, if they were given complete corporate responsibility to make that

Overall, satisfaction with 3PL service providers

(correlation at 95 per cent confidence interval)
Factors X2 value Degrees of freedom (df) p-value Significant (yes/no)

Logistics system performance 28.292 4 0.026 Yes Table IX.

Customer satisfaction 11.978 2 0.003 Yes Correlation of impact
Employee morale 10.750 4 0.043 Yes with overall satisfaction
IJPDLM decision. Most participants have shown keenness towards increasing the use of third
36,9 party logistics services from moderately increasing it to substantially increasing it. Of
the respondents 39.8 per cent are looking forward to modify the services by
substantially increasing it while 41.8 per cent of the respondents want to increase the
outsourced services moderately. Only, 15.3 per cent indicated that they would keep it at
same levels and the remaining 3.1 per cent would moderately decrease the use of
684 third party logistics services. The fact that no one would like to eliminate the use
of third party logistics service providers is in itself a positive sign of the changing
logistics scenario in India.
Hypothesis testing was carried out to validate whether the keenness to increase
usage was based on overall satisfaction with 3PL service provider. The test indicated
positive results (x 2 test: x 2 value ¼ 10.592; df ¼ 6; p-value ¼ 0.035) validating the
alternate hypothesis that increased satisfaction with the performance of 3PL service
provider had a significant impact on the keenness of organization’s to increase usage of
3PL providers for outsourcing of logistics functions.
With a keenness to increase the outsourcing of logistics activities, respondents were
asked to quantify the activities they planned to outsource in the next two years and the
next five years (Table X). Outbound transportation (94.3 per cent), inbound
transportation (95.5 per cent) and custom clearing and forwarding (90.9 per cent) will
continue to be the most prominent activities to be outsourced over the next five years.
Other logistics activities like import and export management (81.8 per cent), outbound
warehousing (82.1 per cent), inbound warehousing (85.2 per cent) and fleet management
and consolidation (83.6 per cent) would be outsourced by over 80 per cent of the
respondents in the next five years. However, maximum increase in usage of 3PL services
is expected in the areas of inbound warehousing (44.3 per cent) and reverse logistics
(42.6 per cent) in the next two years. Similarly, top five areas that will experience
maximum growth in the next five years include reverse logistics (57.4 per cent), inbound
warehousing (55.7 per cent), fleet management and consolidation (54.5 per cent),
inventory management (54.4 per cent) and distribution (54.3 per cent). Hence, the usage
of 3PL service providers would increase at a faster rate in logistics activities with lower
importance rating. This validates the need of Indian organizations to reduce logistics
cost and focus on core competencies as prominent reasons for usage of 3PL services.
Results clearly indicate that significant increase in outsourcing has been planned
across all activities of the logistics function in the next 2-5 years. However, no
significant changes are anticipated in the mix of logistics activities being outsourced
between now and the future trends. Both the above conclusions have been validated (at
95 per cent confidence level) with statistical analysis of data received from the survey
respondents. Undoubtedly, the future trends are a concrete indication of the immense
market potential of the third party logistics services in India. The trends also
substantiate the findings from the analysis in the earlier part of this section.
Organizations will continue to increase the usage of 3PL services in traditional logistics
activities and increase the scope of outsourcing based on the overall satisfaction and
the impact on business objectives – logistics system performance, customer
satisfaction and employee morale. These indicators should help the 3PL service
providers plan the depth and scope of their service offerings in India. They clearly
highlight the importance of delivering results that impact the business objectives in
order to increase outsourcing opportunities for Indian organizations.
 Percentage of respondents (per cent)
Current Increase in usage Increase in usage of
Importance rating of outsourcing of 3PL in two years 3PL in five years over
Logistics activities logistics activities levels over current levels current levels

Rate negotiation 4.3 22.6 33.9 38.7

Inventory management 4.3 23.5 38.2 54.4
Customer service/support 4.2 15.8 35.1 45.6
Outbound transportation 4.0 55.7 32.9 38.6
Marketing sales promotion 3.8 8.5 39.0 47.5
Distribution 3.8 22.9 38.6 54.3
Order processing 3.8 19.4 40.3 53.7
Order fulfilment 3.8 20.4 35.2 42.6
Custom clearing and forwarding 3.7 51.5 31.8 39.4
Order picking 3.6 27.0 38.1 52.4
Outbound warehousing 3.5 33.9 35.7 48.2
Import/export management 3.4 34.5 32.7 47.3
Inbound transportation 3.3 52.2 40.3 43.3
Selected manufacturing 3.3 16.4 34.4 47.5
Labelling and packaging 3.1 29.0 40.3 46.8
Fleet management and consolidation 3.1 29.1 40.0 54.5
Inbound warehousing 3.0 29.5 44.3 55.7
Assembly/installation 2.8 12.7 34.5 45.5
Reverse logistics 2.5 22.2 42.6 57.4
3PL practices:

perspective
an Indian

outsourced
Activities planned to be
Table X.
685
IJPDLM Conclusion
36,9 Changing business environment has pushed organizations in India to concentrate on
their core activities and offload a host of logistics functions to experts in the field.
Globally, the range of effective logistics outsourcing includes, apart from
transportation, warehousing and custom clearance a whole range of other activities
such as freight bill payments, auditing, contract manufacturing and assembly
686 operations, packaging and labelling, freight consolidation to name a few. The practices
in Indian industry reveal that:
. Warehousing, inbound and outbound transportation, custom clearing and
forwarding are the most frequently outsourced activities.
.
Activities such as packaging, fleet management and consolidation are gaining
attention and growing in popularity.
.
More and more companies are planning to use 3PL services in the future as an
integrated set of services rather than for just movement of material.
.
The motivation for doing so comes due to the benefits of logistics cost reduction,
ability to focus on the core business, and improving supply chain efficiency.
At the same time, the research study on the third party logistics scenario for the Indian
industry significantly validates the following prominent hypothesis:
H1. There is a significant difference in the importance rating of logistics activities
between organizations that currently use 3PL services and the ones who do
not. For a majority of logistics activities, the importance ratings are higher for
organizations that are currently outsourcing them compared to the ones who
are not.
H2. Amongst the various logistics functions, there is a significant difference in the
importance rating attributed to logistics activities. Outsourcing percentage is
higher for organizations with importance ratings of “moderately important”.
Organizations are still not open to increased outsourcing of either “very
important” or “less important” logistics activities.
H3. There is a significant positive correlation of the impact on logistics system
performance, customer satisfaction, and employee morale by the use of 3PL
services on overall satisfaction with 3PL service providers. Increased
satisfaction with the performance of 3PL service provider has a significant
impact on the keenness of organization’s to increase usage of 3PL providers
for outsourcing of logistics functions.
H4. Statistical results also indicate that significant increase in outsourcing has
been planned across all activities of the logistics function in the next 2-5 years.
However, no significant changes are anticipated in the mix of logistics
activities being outsourced between now and the future trends.
Though the usage of 3PL services reveals positive and significant impact on business
performance, third party logistics practices are still at a nascent stage in India. About
55 per cent of companies subscribe to 3PL services as compared to 75 per cent globally
and these seem to be more of transportation and warehousing-related activities.
However, with more and more customers of logistics service providers planning to use
in the near future an integrated set of services the need is that of a broad 3PL practices:
comprehensive set of service offering by third party logistics service providers. an Indian
This research opens the way for other in-depth studies on some of the critical factors
shaping the 3PL scenario. Further, research work in this field should focus on: perspective
.
evaluating the relationship management of 3PL service providers and its impact
on business performance of user organizations;
.
selection and contract management of 3PL service providers for building
687
collaborative supply chain partnerships; and
.
identifying critical success factors for 3PL implementation and establishing
performance measures for long-term 3PL relationships.

Detailed case study analyzing 3PL relationships that have either worked well or faced
challenges due to changing business strategy and economic scenario can be insightful
for both 3PL service providers as well as user organizations.
It is evident that usage of 3PL services can help organization’s achieve substantial
results, both in terms of customer satisfaction and logistics cost reduction. This will
form the cornerstone for increase in outsourcing of logistics functions in the near and
long-term future by present and prospective users for improved business results and
supply chain efficiencies.

Notes
1. x2 test. A x 2 test, also called “test of association,” is a statistical test of association between
discrete variables. It is based on a mathematical comparison of the number of observed
counts with the number of expected counts to determine if there is a difference in output
counts based on the input category. Critical x 2 is the x 2 value where p ¼ 0.05.
2. Sample 2T-test. A statistical test used to detect differences between means of two
populations. The test is used when you have two samples of continuous data, and you need
to know if they both come from the same population or if they represent two different
populations.
3. P-value. The p-value represents the probability of concluding (incorrectly) that there is a
difference in the sample when no true difference exists. It is a statistic calculated by
comparing the distribution of given sample data and an expected distribution (normal, F, t,
etc.) and is dependent upon the statistical test being performed. For example, a p-value of
0.05 means there is only a 5 per cent chance that you would be wrong in concluding the
populations are different. If p-value is less than 0.05, it is safe to conclude there is a difference
with 95 per cent confidence level.

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About the authors

B.S. Sahay is currently Director at Institute of Management and Technology, Ghazibad, India.
Prior to joining IMT, he was Dean (Research), Professor of Operations Management, and
Founder Chairman of Centre for Supply Chain Management at the Management Development
Institute, Gurgaon, India. His teaching, research and consulting interest include supply chain
management, operations management, productivity management and business modelling.
He has published seven books and 130 papers in international/national journals and conferences.
IN token of excellence of his research work he has received six awards including three best paper
awards. He is on the editorial board of seven international and many national journals. B.S. Sahay
is the corresponding author and he can be contacted at: bssahay@imt.ac.in
Ramneesh Mohan is a BTech (Mech. Engg.) and an MBA from Management Development
Institute (MDI), Gurgaon, India with specialization in Operations Management and Information
Management. He has worked in the field of logistics and supply chain management with Indian
Railways, Electrolux and Hughes Escorts Communications Ltd Currently, he is working with
Genpact (formerly GE Capital International Services or Gecis) in the area of Operations in the fast
growing business process outsourcing industry. He is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt in Quality
and has published/presented over a dozen papers in both international and national journals and
conferences. He can be reached at: ramneeshm@yahoo.com

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