Research On The Development And Regulation Of The Fourth Party Logistics

With the development of the market economy, people put more emphasis on logistics and it has more evident influences on the economic activities. Currently, the logistics has become the most important and competitive domain. Under the circumstances of more fierce market competition and the gradual enhancement of the requirement towards the competitive ability, the traditional operating mode of self-supporting logistics cannot satisfy the company's requirement of high operating efficiency and low cost of the logistics. The modern society emphasizes the diversification and individuation of the logistics service more and more and the company has to programme the logistics system from the point of the supply chain.The global economy brings wider and wider fields for the logistics service and scales for the supply chain management while the application of the information technology makes higher and higher informationization. With such a background, the third party logistics (3PL) sprang up in 1980s shows the deficient serving ability and the forth party logistics (4PL) is gradually becoming a new logistics operating mode to help the company reduce the operating cost of the asset transferring for the outsourcing transaction.About the domain development and government regulations, the thesis contains the following aspects of the research:The background, definition and characteristics of the fourth party logistics: firstly, the 4PL undertakes the programming of the whole supply chain system; secondly, it emphasizes to achieve higher economic profits with the optimization to the whole supply chain; thirdly, the 4PL is an advanced logistics operating mode and concept in China. The thesis believes that the profits driving, environment changing and the competition pricking up are the main reasons for the appearance of the 4PL.The operating mechanism of the 4PL: the basic concept, evidence, core of the 4PL is competition, integrated supply chain management and the organic integration of the complementary knowledge assets. Good company reputation and advanced information technology are the important foundations and main means of the 4PL.The research of the 4PL: the essence of the 4PL operating mode is to prescribe how to distribute, balance and operate the company resources and research the operation of the 4PL, i.e., the research about the philosophy, strategy, methods and means adopted by the company during the business activities. The thesis puts forward the necessary conditions for the organization of the 4PL and makes feasibility analysis about several kinds of the organization. It holds the idea that there are three main operating modes, including the virtual type, alliance type and entity type, and believes that though this high-leveled cooperation between companies is very difficult, it's possible for the strategic alliance to be the supplier of the 4PL.The development of the 4PL industry: the 4PL industry is composed by the logistics companies which supply the 4PL services and the various economic departments, companies and individuals that are qualified for the need of 4PL. It is the extension of the modern logistics industry. The thesis orients the 4PL industry from the macro, medium and micro views and it points out the necessary characteristics of the 4PL: the complete industry morphology, the special industry technology foundation, the productive value of the ponderable industry development, the composition of economic organizations including various trades, the social attribute and market attribute. The 4PL industry is still a coming thing. The author believes that though at present the 4PL companies are very limited, they are still the important compositions of the developing 4PL industry.The future and related regulations of the 4PL in china: in the author's opinion, though there are different ideas about whether the 4PL.company exists, what the company did have partly showed some characteristics of the 4PL. The development of the 4PL needs the exploring and experimental activities of the early leaders and needs the reputation and information transparency of the logistics market. Aiming at the difficult problems to be solved to develop 4PL, the thesis puts forward new ideas about the government orientation. It believes that all the law-making departments, government and organizations should cooperate and balance together to improve the policy level and implementary results of the logistics policy system. The analysis expects to perfect the logistics policy system and makes it follow the principles of market economy, sustainable development, abundant embodiment of the modern logistics, adjustment of the economic globalization and according with the situation of the country to optimize configuration, and guarantee the building of the logistics infrastructure with the policies.