Despite inflationary pressures on companies' pocketbooks, now is the time for them and logistics service providers to gear up for challenges 2023 is likely to present, says Mike Riegler, senior vice president, LSP, One Network.

As he surveys the industry in early 2023, Riegler says he sees rates for transportation going down, and that has “lulled some to sleep without remembering what they went through for the last two years. There was chaos, there was disruption, and people were exhausted and anxious because of the uncertainty and unpredictability of everything.”

That means it’s a perfect time for logistics service providers to present options for competitive advantage to chief supply chain officers.

And because chaos and disruption are not going to disappear, LSPs need to make the argument that they are at the epicenter of all supply chain networks. “They have their hands in a lot of things,” Riegler says. “They can run to their enterprise customers with options and be able to say, we can handle things for you at a network level, not just from point A or point B. Chaos creates more opportunity for the LSPs to be more valuable.”

Sustainability, risk management and the talent gap are other major themes that supply chain managers must contend with this year, Nelson says. All present opportunities for LSPs. Take the workforce issues many companies face, Nelson says: Logistics providers can argue that they have the business process outsourcing solutions that customers need. The message: “We can take on a lot of that, bring that expertise to you. That's going to sell very well for that customer base.”

One of the biggest selling points LSPs have is possession of the technology needed to collect and assess data. Customers are especially keen to have that capability, he says.