Third-party logistics origination playbook

A research template, not investment advice. Figures are not stated where the public record does not support them.

Sector

Third-party logistics

2022 U.S. NAICS

488510 · Freight Transportation Arrangement

493110 · General Warehousing and Storage

Classification limits

Starting points for discovery, not a complete niche definition. Classify the actual activity and verify scope against the U.S. Census NAICS reference.

Understand the operating model

Third-party logistics can mean freight brokerage, warehousing, fulfillment or combinations of those services. The same brand may operate warehouses while arranging transport through carriers it does not own. Map the legal entities and service responsibilities rather than treating the umbrella term as one comparable business model.

Revenue may be billed per shipment, storage unit, order, handling task or contracted capacity. Gross billings and economic contribution can differ sharply where carrier costs are passed through. Facility specialization, customer systems and local operations can support distinct providers, but network affiliates and subcontracted capacity need explicit treatment.

A service-platform hypothesis asks whether operating processes and customer integrations support reliable execution. Test it against site and shipment records. It weakens where one customer fills a facility, carrier relationships depend on one broker, or minimum commitments and lease obligations create a mismatch between promised capacity and flexible demand.

What makes a target worth investigating?

These are fit hypotheses to test against your mandate. They are not verified attributes of any company or a prediction of acquisition performance.

• A defined service mix with brokerage, storage, fulfillment and any owned transport shown separately.
• Customer obligations and operating capacity attributable to identifiable entities and facilities.
• Management coverage for operations, carrier relationships and systems beyond the principal owner.

Tailor these questions before collection. Each accepted answer needs a supporting verbatim excerpt from a retained page. Options describe permitted answers, not default assumptions. When no source supports an answer, leave it unanswered; absence from a website is not a “no.” See screening criteria for defining gates and weights.

Four questions apply to every playbook (ownership category, locations, sale process, exclusions) and are listed once on the playbooks overview.

Match every source to the correct entity, location and collection date. Use the data-source directory to choose discovery paths, and evidence standards to decide what an excerpt actually supports.

Ownership and succession signals

• A principal who controls carrier procurement and key shipper relationships may be a continuity dependency even with staffed facilities. Establish responsibility without assuming personal exit plans.
• Compare dated leadership pages with entity records and transaction announcements. A missing management biography is an evidence gap, not proof that the owner lacks a successor.
• These are research signals, not proof of intent to sell. Confirm control, decision rights and succession preferences directly through an approved conversation before treating them as transaction facts.

Read succession and ownership before turning a continuity question into an ownership claim.

Reasons to stop or separate the record

Apply a disqualifier only when supported by evidence and your written mandate. Unresolved facts stay open for review; they do not become negative findings.

• A pure carrier outside a brokerage or warehouse mandate.
• Specialist handling, geography or customer exposure outside the buyer's operating capabilities.
• Unresolved entity or facility control that prevents attribution of the advertised service network.

Approach with context and approval

• State the relevant service model and geography, and avoid implying that customer contracts automatically transfer.
• Do not request shipment-level customer information before confidentiality and authorized diligence arrangements.
• The client approves each target and the messaging before contact. Check suppression records and applicable channel requirements; coordinate email, LinkedIn and phone so the business receives one coherent approach.

Use the outreach compliance guide to define channel requirements and suppression handling before optional outreach begins.

Questions for later diligence

These require direct records, management access and appropriate specialist review. Public screening identifies the questions; it cannot settle them.

• Reconcile customer billing, carrier costs and site contribution under the applicable accounting treatment.
• Review concentration, minimum commitments, lease terms, claims history and subcontractor controls.
• Assess warehouse systems, labor requirements, facility utilization and customer change-of-control provisions.