Outsourcing Keeps Growing — but Expectations and Reality Are Moving Further Apart
Frankfurt am Main, June 01, 2026. Logistics outsourcing remains a key building block of modern value creation. At the same time, shippers and logistics service providers are facing rising expectations around governance, transparency, and day-to-day collaboration. These are among the key findings of Miebach’s 2026 Logistics Outsourcing Study, conducted in cooperation with the German logistics newspaper Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung (DVZ). The study surveyed 198 shippers and 164 logistics service providers from Germany, the rest of Europe, and Latin America.
The results are clear: outsourcing continues to grow, but it is also becoming more complex. The basic division of responsibilities between shippers and logistics service providers remains largely stable. However, decision-making, governance, transparency, and implementation capabilities are becoming far more important. Digitalization and automation are not completely reshaping outsourcing models, but they are making tenders, contract awards, and implementation significantly more demanding.
“Digitalization and automation are changing outsourcing – making
tendering and awarding decisions more complex. Companies outsourcing today must evaluate not only the cost and performance of different automation concepts, but also control, transparency, and implementation capabilities” says Prof. Dr. Bernd Müller-Dauppert, Head of Business Unit Digital & Transformation at Miebach.
Key Study Findings
Outsourcing has more growth ahead – while outsourced functions remain operationally focused
The outlook of outsourcing remains positive. Across all regions, 65 percent of respondents expect outsourcing to continue increasing. In Germany, 62 percent of shippers and 60 percent of logistics service providers expect outsourcing to grow.
Logistics outsourcing continues to center on classic operational services. Transportation and warehousing remain the core outsourced activities, while strategic management and control functions are still largely kept in-house.
Around 60 percent of the companies surveyed have already fully outsourced transportation services, while 25 percent fully outsource their warehouse operations. At the same time, many companies still see room for additional outsourcing, particularly in warehousing at 21 percent and picking at 18 percent. The growth potential becomes even clearer when looking at concrete project plans: 57 percent of respondents are planning outsourcing projects in warehousing, 46 percent in picking, and 34 percent in transportation.
Cost flexibility, investment avoidance, and core competencies continue to drive decisions
From the shipper perspective, outsourcing is still driven primarily by economic factors. The top reasons are cost variability at 80 percent, investment avoidance at 79 percent, and a focus on core competencies at 77 percent. Pure cost reduction remains relevant at 73 percent, but it is no longer the only priority.
Newer topics such as digitalization, automation, and sustainability are gaining ground, but they do not yet rank among the top decision criteria. Digitalization is cited by 53 percent of shippers as a reason for outsourcing, followed by automation at 45 percent and sustainability at 34 percent.
The study also reveals clear regional differences. German shippers are under stronger cost pressure, while service, capacity expansion, automation, digitalization, and sustainability play a larger role internationally.
Financial results often fall short of expectations
Despite the positive outlook for future growth, shippers’ satisfaction with the results of outsourcing projects remains moderate. In Germany, only 34 percent of respondents say outsourcing has delivered financial success. In the rest of Europe excluding Germany, the figure is 42 percent; in Latin America, it is 65 percent.
A major source of dissatisfaction is the lack of transparency around costs and services. Many shippers struggle to understand why rates are increasing or which services are actually being charged. The top reasons for dissatisfaction include insufficient KPIs and transparency, pricing, IT and digitalization capabilities, quality, and automation initiatives.
“Cost increases without clear transparency are a major driver of dissatisfaction. Open communication, transparency, and reliable KPIs are essential for a sustainable logistics service provider relationship,” says Dr. Klaus-Peter Jung, Head of Industry at Miebach.
Dependency has become the biggest risk
One of the study’s most important findings is a shift in how shippers assess risk. Dependency on logistics service providers is now seen as the biggest outsourcing risk across all regions. In Germany, 85 percent of respondents cite this concern, up from 72 percent in the 2023 study.
Traditional risks such as loss of control and quality issues remain important, but they have become less prominent compared with the previous survey. In Germany, 63 percent of respondents cite loss of control and 60 percent cite quality risks as key concerns. This shows that risk perception is shifting away from short-term operational issues and toward long-term strategic dependencies.
Tendering cycles are shifting – implementation quality is becoming critical for success
The study shows that tenders are becoming increasingly important — but transportation and warehousing are developing in different ways. In transportation, tender frequency is rising sharply. In Germany, 55 percent of shippers now tender transportation services annually, compared with around 37 percent in the previous survey.
Warehousing follows a different pattern. While transportation services in Germany are being tendered more frequently, warehouse tenders point to longer-term tendering and contract cycles. The share of companies in Germany that tender warehouse services only every five years or every seven years or longer has increased from 14 percent in 2023 to 22 percent. In the rest of Europe, this share is at a similar level of 23 percent, while Latin America shows shorter tendering cycles at 11 percent.
From the service providers’ perspective, there is significant room to improve the quality of tenders. They point in particular to insufficient information, changes made during the process, tight timelines, unrealistic KPIs, and unclear governance structures as key challenges.
For outsourcing projects to succeed, companies need detailed implementation planning, precise process descriptions, comprehensive tender documents, site visits, and sufficient resources on both sides. As automation increases, structured implementation planning becomes even more critical.
Insourcing is becoming a strategic complement
Alongside the continued outsourcing trend, insourcing remains relevant. In Germany, the study shows a significant increase in companies that have brought logistics activities back in-house in recent years. Looking ahead, 72 percent of shippers in Germany plan to insource logistics activities; globally, the figure is 62 percent.
This does not mean companies are turning away from outsourcing. Instead, they are increasingly moving toward hybrid models. They use insourcing selectively to reduce dependencies, maintain control, and keep critical capabilities within their own organization.
Request the full report
The full study report, “Outsourcing Under Pressure — Between Expectations and Reality in Global Comparison,” can be downloaded on the Miebach website unter this link: https://www.miebach.com/de/en/news-and-resources/studies/2026/miebach-study-2026-outsourcing-keeps-growing-management-summary
About the study
In cooperation with Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung (DVZ), Miebach Consulting conducted the tenth edition of its Logistics Outsourcing Study in February 2026. A total of 198 shippers and 164 logistics service providers from Germany, the rest of Europe, and Latin America participated in the survey. The study aimed to identify the current state of logistics outsourcing, long-term developments, selection criteria, and success factors, and to compare the findings with previous studies.
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