3PLs, 4PLs ... why not 10PLs?

When you get a press release with a headline like "Dedola Obliterates 3PL Industry with New 10PL Service," you have to sit up and take notice. "10PL"? That unfamiliar term and the date of the release—just before April Fool's Day—clued us in that this was no ordinary announcement.

With tongue in cheek, Los Alamitos, Calif.-based Dedola Global Logistics (DGL), a provider of logistics and international trade services to importers and exporters, announced that as of April 1, 2012, it had "revolutionized the logistics industry" and would "change the 'PL' landscape forever" by becoming the world's first 10PL provider.

DGL, the release said, felt that there has been an innovation void after the advent of third- and fourth-party logistics. "Why stop at four?" asks Chief Operating Officer Stephen Dedola. "Think about it: 10PL is more than three times greater than 3PL and two and a half times more efficient than your 4PL providers." Dedola, backed by a tear-jerker of a sound track, also stars in a video that pokes fun at the vagueness of third-party providers' promises.

That, in fact, is the serious message behind DGL's April Fool's Day prank. In addition to entertaining, the deliberately over-the-top press release (Sample: "We see 10PL as a holistic way for best-of-breed supply chains to create actual synergy in their logistics paradigm") suggests that shippers should be wary of "style over substance" marketing approaches and make sure that the logistics reality matches their expectations.

More information, including the video and a chart that traces the supposed evolution of logistics management from "1PL" to "10PL," can be found at www.dedola.com/10PL.