External actor: business is outsourcing logistics en masse
Companies began to switch massively to intermediary services for the transportation and storage of goods. During the year, this market grew by 19% and reached 652 billion rubles, industry participants told Izvestia. The reason is rising business costs, unstable demand, against which companies are trying to reduce costs, as well as a shortage of warehouses. Consumers only benefit from this situation: due to the development of new logistics, they receive prompt delivery and greater access to goods. This is especially true for remote regions.
What is the reason for the growth of outsourcing in logistics
Russian companies are increasingly abandoning their own logistics, as it is becoming less profitable against the background of high loan rates, volatile demand and shortage of warehouse capacity. As a result, businesses outsource up to 10% of warehouse logistics, market participants told Izvestia.
Against the background of this trend, which is additionally fueled by marketplaces, retail and e-commerce, the services of an operator that acts as an intermediary between cargo owners and their recipients are coming to the fore. In the market, this is often referred to by the abbreviation 3PL (third party logistics, from English — "third party logistics").
A source in the logistics industry told Izvestia that the volume of the Russian 3PL market has grown from about 547 billion rubles in 2024 to 652.6 billion in 2025, and may reach 687.5 billion in 2026. Thus, in two years it can add about 140 billion rubles.
This means that the trend is already affecting a large number of companies, primarily manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and e-coms. For businesses, switching to outsourcing today is a way to maintain profitability, namely, to reduce investments in warehouses, scale faster to regions and reduce costs, the source said.
Sergey Malikov, an entrepreneur and expert at the Moscow branch of Opora Russia, confirmed to Izvestia that businesses are massively switching to 3PL or even 4PL models (when the company completely outsources the logistics chain).
If rental rates and salaries of logisticians remain at a high level, there will be a structural shift and the share of 3PL in logistics services will grow, says Roman Sudorgin, head of the Main Transport portal. It will also depend on the ability of intermediary operators to keep relatively low prices for their services for a long time.
According to Ivan Masalov, director of the department for the development of outsourcing of warehouse logistics at PEC, the recorded increase in interest in outsourcing does not always lead to a real increase in demand. Against the background of market instability, cargo owners are cautiously approaching the launch of new warehouse projects, he added.
How do logisticians explain the growth of 3PL services
Intermediary logistics services make it possible to optimize costs due to synergy on the site of one operator, which is especially beneficial for small companies with warehouse capacities of 1-15 thousand square meters, Ivan Masalov noted.
"With fluctuations in cargo owners' inventory and unstable rental costs, this tool allows you to pay only for the volume actually processed and stored, effectively minimizing risks," he assessed the model of flexible contracts with 3PL operators.
According to Alexey Shpikelman, CEO of the federal transport and logistics company Byte Transit, the transformation of the market is related to the unwillingness of businesses to invest in their own warehouse infrastructure, equipment, personnel and management of this circuit, as well as the need for flexibility amid seasonal peaks in demand. Companies are increasingly abandoning the model of a single large warehouse in favor of a distributed network of warehouses of 3PL operators, added Konstantin Derbenev, Director of e-commerce Development at KIT Shopping Center.
The company's budget savings when switching to outsourcing can reach 15-50%, said Harold Vlasov, Managing Director of 3PL operator NC Logistic.
"Previously, customers outsourced individual operations, for example, storage only, but today they tend to transfer the entire logistics circuit to the operator's side," he said.
Sergey Malikov stressed that 3PL services will be an advantage for companies that cannot afford to build a warehouse for billions of rubles or lease trucks at 20% or more. At the same time, he noted that businesses are becoming highly dependent on the quality of logistics operators: an intermediary's mistake can lead to supply disruptions and, as a result, loss of loyalty to end customers.
What do market players say about logistics outsourcing
— There is indeed a trend, but it would be premature to talk about a complete abandonment of the business' own logistics. Rather, companies are switching to a hybrid model: they retain strategic control over supply chains, but outsource the most expensive and technologically complex operations — storage, assembly, packaging, labeling, return processing and transportation," Sergey Katyrin, head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, told Izvestia.
He highlighted dependence on an external operator, failures in IT systems, lack of capacity during seasonal peaks, and rising tariffs as risks in the market.
The press service of Magnit told Izvestia that the retailer is actively developing its own logistics infrastructure in order to efficiently supply goods to the retail network, but also launched commercial transportation in 2025.
"The company provides external partners with the opportunity to transport their goods by their own vehicles, which makes it possible to increase the efficiency of using the fleet," its press service said, adding that the 3PL model can be implemented point—by—point.
According to the Chairman of the Association of Omnichannel Retail Companies (ACORT) Stanislav Bogdanov, there is no trend towards outsourcing logistics in large food retailers, on the contrary, chains continue to increase their own capacities in order to ensure the sustainability of supplies in any market conditions.
"Control of the supply chain allows networks to respond quickly to changes in demand, maintain the availability of socially significant products and invest in long—term reduction of logistics costs, which ultimately affects the price and quality of goods on the shelf for the buyer," he explained.
The Wildberries & Russ press service explained that the company adheres to a hybrid logistics model that combines the use of its own fleet and infrastructure with the involvement of external partners — logistics operators.
How the new logistics affects consumers
Russian 3PL operators have significantly strengthened their competencies in recent years, Sergey Katyrin emphasized. This is no longer just about a warehouse or transportation, but about a comprehensive service with digital integration and analytics. As a result, consumers receive more predictable delivery, fewer errors in orders, and a wide geography of sales.
Ivan Masalov drew attention to the fact that companies are actively switching to the FBS (fulfillment by seller) model of operation, in which the seller independently stores, completes and packages goods in the warehouse of the logistics operator, and the marketplace is responsible only for accepting orders, processing payments and delivering to the end customer. Accordingly, this option allows, among other things, to respond more quickly to changes in demand.
Dmitry Zavyalov, Head of the Department of Entrepreneurship and Logistics at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, told the media in March 2025 that large 3PL providers process orders faster and provide a higher level of service. In fact, we are talking about a direct reduction in waiting time for customers and an increase in the convenience of delivery for them.
The Business Lines press service noted in the summer that the integrated logistics business has been active over the past few years not only in Moscow, but also in the cities of Krasnodar, Yekaterinburg and Samara. Modernization of logistics makes life much easier for customers not only in the capital, but also in the regions.
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