Logistics Coordination Based on Inventory Management and Transportation Planning by Third-Party Logistics (3PL)

Currently, there is still a strong trend in research and in the market connected with the role of 3PL (third-party logistics) companies and the trend of developing and creating coordination in logistics networks. The most important issue for the following paper is the examination of the 3PL enterprise, which is able to create the demand forecasts to gain the functions of logistics coordination in the fields of inventory management and transportation planning. This research paper focuses on showing the demand forecasting tool results for 29 chosen distribution networks (in this paper, the traditional forecasting methods were used based on time series exponential smoothing, ARIMA, machine learning and neural-network-based methods, created in the R programming environment). In the next steps, the forecasting results were compared in the conditions of transportation planning and inventory management (in the conditions of “future” dynamic ABC analysis). The forecasting function supports the inventory management and transportation planning activity of 3PL as a key element of logistics coordination in distribution networks. The proper way to transfer the results of forecasting to an ABC analysis and transportation planning concept is to create a cloud-based system supported by data from the WMS (warehouse management system), while providing the possibility of results visualization by using some BI (business intelligence) solutions or different tools to create managerial information dashboards. Currently, one of the most efficient models connected with logistics coordination is the centralized network with 3PL responsible for planning and executing logistics processes with the creation of additional value. As such, 3PL is able to create a similar forecast for different types of DN and with different aggregations (per SKU or per recipient). It could support coordination in DN from the point of view of inventory management and transportation planning.