Servix China and Chirale agreement: the first 5PL logistics system for the global market

After a few months of study, research and analysis, last week the agreement between Chirale S.r.l. and Servix China was finalised, officially launching one of the most ambitious projects ever involving our company.

Servix is an Italian firm with offices in Rome, London and Shenzhen, a leader in customs and administrative representation services dedicated to the cross-border e-commerce market, with a portfolio of more than 15,000 business clients based in the South-East Asia area (China, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, India, Bangladesh).

With the boom of global e-commerce and the resulting competition on international markets, it is extremely complex for non-Western companies to find economical, efficient and fast solutions for trade and logistics that comply with international rules, in a context of growing attention to financial regulation and to environmental and eco-sustainability concerns.

The e5PL project by Servix China addresses these needs by simplifying and combining in a single counterpart the complex stages of the logistics chain, leveraging the innovative technological and engineering solutions proposed by Chirale to implement a 5PL model.

5PL stands for Fifth Party Logistics and refers to the evolution of the more common 4PL model toward the full logistics integration of many suppliers and outsourced services.

The 5PL system delivers a fully integrated logistics solution covering the entire supply chain in an end-to-end process. To reach this goal, the effective integration of the IT systems of every actor involved is essential, and these systems in turn must be supported by advanced technology solutions.

The newly launched project will enable Servix China to implement the first real 5PL platform dedicated to cross-border e-commerce, consolidating its position as market leader.

Initially aimed at supporting trade between South-East Asia and the European Community, the e5PL platform will have a scalable model that can be used for transactions toward any kind of strongly regulated market and will be offered by Servix on the global market.

Chirale, thanks to its specialisation in designing innovative processes and developing advanced ICT technology solutions, will be the reference technical partner.

The newly signed agreement provides for the management of program & project management activities and the responsibility for developing the technology platform.

The project will involve a pool of international suppliers, including companies from the Digital Innovation Hub of Rome network, among them Blu Sistemi, Fastal and TCH Sistemi, along with a number of Chinese software houses based in Shenzhen, in charge of developing the front-end components of the software applications dedicated to the Chinese-speaking market and the broader Asian region.

What is 5PL, or Fifth Party Logistics?

In the field of logistics and supply-chain management, companies often rely on external providers to handle specific aspects of their operations. These external providers are classified according to the level of service they deliver.

To better understand 5PL, it is useful to recap the previous levels of logistics providers.

• 1PL (First Party Logistics): Here a company manages its logistics in-house, without help from external providers.
• 2PL (Second Party Logistics): A company outsources specific logistics tasks, such as transport or warehousing of goods, to an external provider.
• 3PL (Third Party Logistics): An external provider handles a wider range of logistics services, which may include warehousing, transport, packaging and other functions.
• 4PL (Fourth Party Logistics): A 4PL acts as a single point of contact between the client and various logistics service providers, usually managing and overseeing the whole supply chain.
• 5PL (Fifth Party Logistics): This level focuses on the optimisation and management of supply-chain resources through advanced technologies and data-driven solutions. 5PLs are often involved in planning, organising and implementing complex logistics solutions, leveraging technology to maximise efficiency and reduce costs. They are particularly active in network logistics, including the management of shipments across different modes and providers, and often focus on logistics linked to e-commerce and information technology.