Logistics outsourcing and company performance of SMEs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the current state of and future expectations concerning the usage of the outsourcing of logistics operations in small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), and to analyse and quantify the relationships between logistics outsourcing, costs and performance, financial performance, and the company context.Design/methodology/approach – The data were 223 manufacturing and trading SMEs from the Finnish logistics survey combined with detailed financial report‐based data, both referring to the year 2008. Statistical analyses including ANOVA and factor analysis were applied.Findings – Transport activities are excessively outsourced. Most companies report no outsourcing of order processing and invoicing, and half of them have not outsourced logistics IT systems. Outsourcing is expected to grow in all areas with strongest expectations in materials management, value‐added services, and in IT. The logistics costs for companies engaging in the medium level of outsourcing...