Qualitative Investigation of 4PL Value Offerings to the USCG and USMC

Abstract

This study fills the gap in knowledge surrounding military services outsourcing their procurement activities to fourth-party logistics (4PL) providers. A 4PL provider serves as a single interface integrating and coordinating supply chain activities including logistics management. The existing partnerships between General Services Administration (GSA) Retail Operation’s 4PL and both the USMC ServMart and USCG Yard formed the basis of a qualitative analysis using case studies to examine the 4PL program implementation process, limitations, and effectiveness. The results revealed that the factors inhibiting 4PL adoption include long lead times to add items, vague Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause on mandatory usage, and incompatible financial systems. Despite these limiting factors, we discovered that GSA 4PL has been able to reduce inventory cost, improve procurement performance and enhance customer value for the USMC and USCG on commercially available recurring items. This study will assist military services considering the use of 4PL to augment and improve their procurement processes. Future research using a comparative analysis approach assessing GSA and commercial 4PL providers is recommended to broaden the knowledge on the benefits, limitations, and risks of 4PL outsourcing.