Integrated 3PL, Contract Logistics & Supply-Chain Solutions
3PL & Contract Logistics
Executive Search
55+ 3PL & Contract Logistics Placements — with an average 90 Days time-to-placement and a 12-month candidate guarantee.
55+
3PL & Contract Logistics Placements
90 Days
Avg. Time-to-Placement
87%
Offer Acceptance Rate
12 Months
Candidate Guarantee
Specialisation withinLogistics & Supply Chain·Moving the World Forward
3PL and contract-logistics leadership in India operates across the integrated 3PL operators (DHL Supply Chain, Kuehne + Nagel Contract Logistics, DB Schenker Logistics, Nippon Express India, Yusen Logistics, CEVA Logistics / CMA CGM, Agility Logistics, Bolloré Logistics, Rhenus Logistics), the Indian integrated-3PL-and-contract-logistics operators (Mahindra Logistics, TVS Supply Chain Solutions — listed, Future Supply Chain Solutions, Safexpress, Delhivery's B2B Supply Chain Services, TCI Supply Chain, Gati — now Allcargo, Allcargo Logistics — listed, DTDC B2B, Holisol Logistics, Blackbuck's 3PL operations), the warehousing-led-3PL operators (Welspun One Logistics Parks, IndoSpace, LOGOS India, Blackstone Horizon Industrial Parks, Embassy Industrial Parks, NDR Warehousing, Ascendas-Firstspace with 3PL-operating-arms), the e-commerce-fulfilment 3PLs (XpressBees — now unicorn post-Warburg-backed, Ecom Express, Shadowfax's B2B fulfilment, Blue Dart's 3PL), and the automotive-and-industrial-contract-logistics specialists (TCI Freight, TCI Express, Gati Kintetsu — now Allcargo-Gati, Mahindra Logistics' auto-OEM-vertical, GATX). Leadership requires large-account-and-enterprise-customer-engagement credibility, WMS-and-TMS architecture stewardship, multi-site-operations discipline, and the specific 3PL-and-contract-logistics rhythm.
Is This Your Situation?
If any of these sound familiar, you're speaking to the right practice.
→Global integrated 3PL operator scaling its India business running Chief-Executive-Officer succession — confidential search across large-account-and-enterprise-customer-engagement credibility and WMS-and-TMS architecture stewardship.
→Indian 3PL operator (listed or PE-backed) running Chief-Commercial-Officer succession — search across enterprise-logistics-sales-and-large-account-management credibility and shipper-and-industrial-customer-engagement stewardship.
→Warehousing-led-3PL operator running Chief-Operating-Officer succession — search across multi-warehouse-and-multi-site-operations credibility and warehouse-automation-architecture stewardship.
→Automotive-industrial-contract-logistics operator running Sector-Vertical-Head (Automotive) succession — search across automotive-supply-chain-and-inbound-logistics credibility and JIT-and-milk-run-architecture stewardship.
Our 3PL & Contract Logistics Track Record
Situation:
A global integrated 3PL operator scaling its India business needed Chief-Executive-Officer succession for the India-country-head role. The brief required large-account-and-enterprise-customer-engagement credibility, WMS-and-TMS architecture stewardship, multi-site-operations discipline, and the governance rhythm of global-3PL-India-country-head.
Outcome:
Placed a CEO with prior Managing-Director tenure at a competing global 3PL operator's India business (with 16+ years of 3PL-and-contract-logistics leadership) and subsequent President-and-CEO tenure at a listed Indian 3PL. The business's enterprise-customer-base, revenue-and-yield-per-sq-ft, and pan-India operating-site-footprint progressed ahead of plan within 18 months.
Situation:
A PE-backed warehousing-led 3PL operator running 15+ million sq ft of Grade-A-logistics-parks needed Chief-Operating-Officer succession. The brief required multi-warehouse-and-multi-site-operations credibility, WMS / labour-management-and-productivity architecture stewardship, warehouse-automation-and-ASRS / AS-RS-and-AGV / AMR-architecture fluency, and the specific PE-backed-warehousing-led-3PL-COO rhythm.
Outcome:
Placed a COO with prior Head-of-Operations tenure at a global 3PL operator's India business (with 14+ years of warehouse-and-distribution-operations leadership including automation-project-delivery) and subsequent President-and-COO tenure at a listed logistics operator. The operator's warehouse-productivity, lines-per-hour, and automation-project-ROI metrics improved materially within 15 months.
All client details anonymised. Specific mandates available for reference under NDA upon request.
Our 3PL & Contract Logistics Practice
3PL and contract-logistics leadership in India operates across the integrated 3PL operators (DHL Supply Chain, Kuehne + Nagel Contract Logistics, DB Schenker Logistics, Nippon Express India, Yusen Logistics, CEVA Logistics / CMA CGM, Agility Logistics, Bolloré Logistics, Rhenus Logistics), the Indian integrated-3PL-and-contract-logistics operators (Mahindra Logistics, TVS Supply Chain Solutions — listed, Future Supply Chain Solutions, Safexpress, Delhivery's B2B Supply Chain Services, TCI Supply Chain, Gati — now Allcargo, Allcargo Logistics — listed, DTDC B2B, Holisol Logistics, Blackbuck's 3PL operations), the warehousing-led-3PL operators (Welspun One Logistics Parks, IndoSpace, LOGOS India, Blackstone Horizon Industrial Parks, Embassy Industrial Parks, NDR Warehousing, Ascendas-Firstspace with 3PL-operating-arms), the e-commerce-fulfilment 3PLs (XpressBees — now unicorn post-Warburg-backed, Ecom Express, Shadowfax's B2B fulfilment, Blue Dart's 3PL), and the automotive-and-industrial-contract-logistics specialists (TCI Freight, TCI Express, Gati Kintetsu — now Allcargo-Gati, Mahindra Logistics' auto-OEM-vertical, GATX). Leadership requires large-account-and-enterprise-customer-engagement credibility, WMS-and-TMS architecture stewardship, multi-site-operations discipline, and the specific 3PL-and-contract-logistics rhythm.
As a specialist CEO mandates in 3PL & contract logistics, our practice also covers CFO placements in logistics operators, our practice also covers Logistics & Supply Chain practice overview, and as a source for Logistics — express, parcel & last-mile.
The 3PL & Contract Logistics Landscape Today
India's 3PL and contract-logistics market crossed ₹2.5 lakh crore by late-2025 — ~22-25% of the broader ₹11 lakh crore logistics market — and is scaling at ~10-14% CAGR driven by manufacturing-PLI-expansion, e-commerce penetration, GST-architecture-enabled-hub-and-spoke-model adoption, and the growing 'Make-in-India-for-the-world' manufacturing base. DHL Supply Chain, Mahindra Logistics, TVS Supply Chain Solutions (IPO 2023), Future Supply Chain, Safexpress, Allcargo (including acquired Gati), and TCI Supply Chain are the category-leaders. The PE-and-institutional-capital tranche in 3PL has scaled — Warburg Pincus's investment in XpressBees (now unicorn), Blackstone's logistics-real-estate architecture, and CPP-LOGOS-JV, alongside strategic-acquisitions (Allcargo-Gati, BlueStar-3PL consolidation). The Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) — Western DFC operational 2023 and Eastern DFC operational 2024 — has materially improved trunk-route economics. The National Logistics Policy 2022 (aiming to reduce logistics-cost-to-GDP from ~13-14% to ~8-9% by 2030) and the PM Gati-Shakti Master Plan 2021 architecture have accelerated multi-modal-logistics-integration.
Key Leadership Challenges in 3PL & Contract Logistics
Chief Executive Officer / Managing Director succession at integrated 3PL operators requires large-account-and-enterprise-customer-engagement credibility, WMS-and-TMS architecture stewardship, multi-site-operations discipline, and the governance rhythm of integrated-3PL-operators.
Chief Commercial Officer / Chief Revenue Officer succession requires enterprise-logistics-sales-and-large-account-management credibility, shipper-and-industrial-customer-engagement stewardship, and the specific 3PL-CCO rhythm.
Chief Operating Officer / Head of Warehouse-and-Distribution Operations succession requires multi-warehouse-and-multi-site-operations credibility, WMS / labour-management-and-productivity architecture stewardship, and the specific 3PL-COO rhythm.
Head of Transportation / Head of Linehaul succession requires TMS-and-fleet-and-route-optimisation credibility, trunk-route-and-last-mile architecture stewardship, and the specific 3PL-transportation rhythm.
Head of Automation-and-Robotics / Head of Intralogistics succession requires warehouse-automation-and-ASRS / AS-RS-and-AGV / AMR-architecture credibility and the specific warehouse-automation rhythm.
Chief Financial Officer succession at 3PL operators requires asset-heavy-and-asset-light-3PL-financial-architecture credibility, yield-per-sq-ft-and-yield-per-truck-kilometre stewardship, and the specific 3PL-CFO rhythm.
What We Look For in 3PL & Contract Logistics Leaders
Across mandates, 3pl & contract logistics leadership tends to cluster into a small set of archetypes. We calibrate each search against the profile your board actually needs — not the one most commonly available.
The Integrated 3PL Chief Executive Officer
Senior logistics-business-leader with large-account-and-enterprise-customer-engagement credibility, WMS-and-TMS architecture stewardship, multi-site-operations discipline, P&L-and-service-level-engineering fluency, and the governance rhythm of integrated-3PL-operators.
The 3PL Chief Commercial Officer / Chief Revenue Officer
Enterprise-sales leader with enterprise-logistics-sales-and-large-account-management credibility, shipper-and-industrial-customer-engagement stewardship, solutions-pricing-and-contract-architecture discipline, and the specific 3PL-CCO rhythm.
The 3PL Chief Operating Officer
Operations leader with multi-warehouse-and-multi-site-operations credibility, WMS / labour-management-and-productivity architecture stewardship, safety-and-H&S discipline, and the specific 3PL-COO rhythm.
The Head of Transportation / Head of Linehaul
Transportation leader with TMS-and-fleet-and-route-optimisation credibility, trunk-route-and-last-mile architecture stewardship, driver-and-carrier-management discipline, and the specific 3PL-transportation rhythm.
The Head of Automation-and-Robotics
Warehouse-automation expert with ASRS / AS-RS-and-AGV / AMR-architecture credibility, MHE-and-WCS / WES stewardship, automation-ROI-and-payback discipline, and the specific warehouse-automation rhythm.
The 3PL Chief Financial Officer
Finance executive with asset-heavy-and-asset-light-3PL-financial-architecture credibility, yield-per-sq-ft-and-yield-per-truck-kilometre stewardship, capex-and-WACC-optimisation discipline, and the specific 3PL-CFO rhythm.
Regulatory & Compensation Context
Regulatory Backdrop
3PL and contract-logistics activity sits at the intersection of the Multimodal Transportation of Goods Act 1993 (governing multimodal-transport-operator architecture), the Carriage by Road Act 2007 (governing road-carrier architecture, carrier-liability, and bill-of-lading), the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 (as amended by the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act 2019 — with driver-licensing, vehicle-registration, commercial-vehicle-permit, and e-way-bill-architecture), the Carriage by Air Act 1972 with the Montreal Convention 1999 (for air-cargo), the Merchant Shipping Act 1958 and Marine Insurance Act 1963 (for ocean-freight), the Customs Act 1962 and Customs Tariff Act 1975 (for bonded-warehouse and customs-cleared-3PL), the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act 2007 (WDRA-architecture for accredited-warehouses), the Goods and Services Tax Act 2017 (with GST e-way-bill architecture, interstate-input-tax-credit architecture, and the Integrated GST / IGST architecture for interstate-logistics), the Indian Contract Act 1872, the Companies Act 2013, the Competition Act 2002 (for M&A-clearance above turnover / asset thresholds), the Factories Act 1948 / OSH-Code 2020 (for warehouse-and-operations-site labour-architecture), the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 / Industrial-Relations-Code 2020, the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970, the Employees' Provident Funds Act 1952, the Employees' State Insurance Act 1948, the Payment of Wages Act 1936 / Code on Wages 2019, the Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (for FDI-in-logistics, which is 100% FDI-automatic-route), the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act 1992, the Shops and Establishments Acts, the Weights and Measures Act 1976, sector-specific regulations applicable to the commodity (CDSCO for pharma-cold-chain, FSSAI for food-cold-chain, AERB for radioactive-materials), and the DPDP Act 2023. The National Logistics Policy 2022 and the PM Gati-Shakti Master Plan 2021 architecture provide the broader policy-context. The Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC — Western and Eastern corridors) architecture and the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) architecture are operational.
Compensation Architecture
3PL and contract-logistics leadership compensation mixes substantial base-and-bonus with ESOP / equity architecture at venture-and-PE-backed platforms and listed-company ESOP architecture at listed-3PL operators. Chief Executive Officer / Managing Director at integrated 3PL operators ranges ₹3-10 crore fixed + ₹1.5-4.5 crore annual bonus + ESOP architecture (at listed-platforms typically 0.3-1% ESOP; at PE-backed platforms typically 1-2.5% sweet-equity). Chief Commercial Officer / Chief Revenue Officer compensation ranges ₹2-5 crore + ₹1-2.5 crore annual bonus + new-business-ARR-linked-incentive architecture + ESOP. Chief Operating Officer compensation ranges ₹2-4.5 crore + ₹75 lakh-2 crore annual bonus + operating-KPI-linked-incentive architecture. Head of Transportation / Head of Linehaul compensation ranges ₹1.5-3.5 crore + bonus + cost-per-km-and-asset-utilisation-linked-incentive architecture. Head of Automation-and-Robotics compensation ranges ₹1.75-4 crore + bonus + automation-project-ROI-linked-incentive architecture. Chief Financial Officer compensation ranges ₹2-5 crore + ₹1-2.5 crore annual bonus + ESOP architecture. Sector-Vertical-Head compensation ranges ₹1.5-4 crore + bonus + vertical-P&L-linked-incentive architecture.
Roles We Typically Place
Why Gladwin International Leadership Advisors for 3PL & Contract Logistics
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director searches at integrated 3PL operators.
Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Revenue Officer searches with enterprise-logistics-sales credibility.
Chief Operating Officer and Head of Warehouse-and-Distribution Operations searches.
Head of Transportation and Head of Linehaul searches.
Head of Automation-and-Robotics and Head of Intralogistics searches.
Chief Financial Officer searches at 3PL and contract-logistics operators.
Sector-vertical-leadership searches (automotive, industrial, FMCG-consumer, pharma-cold-chain, retail, e-commerce-fulfilment).
Organisations We Serve
Global integrated 3PL operators (DHL Supply Chain, Kuehne + Nagel, DB Schenker, Nippon Express, Yusen Logistics, CEVA / CMA CGM, Agility, Bolloré, Rhenus).
Indian integrated 3PL and contract-logistics operators (Mahindra Logistics, TVS Supply Chain Solutions, Future Supply Chain Solutions, Safexpress, Delhivery B2B Supply Chain, TCI Supply Chain, Allcargo Logistics, Gati, Holisol).
Warehousing-led-3PL operators (Welspun One Logistics Parks, IndoSpace, LOGOS India, Blackstone Horizon Industrial Parks, Embassy Industrial Parks, NDR Warehousing, Ascendas-Firstspace).
E-commerce-fulfilment 3PLs (XpressBees, Ecom Express, Shadowfax B2B-fulfilment, Blue Dart 3PL).
Automotive-and-industrial-contract-logistics specialists (TCI Freight, TCI Express, Allcargo-Gati, Mahindra Logistics auto-OEM-vertical).
Captive-3PL arms of large consumer and industrial operators.
PE-backed logistics-platform operators scaling through acquisition.
Logistics-real-estate-sponsor 3PL-operating-arms (Blackstone, LOGOS, Indo).
3PL & Contract Logistics leaders assessed on the Logistics “VELOCITY” framework
Seven dimensions calibrated for logistics and supply chain leadership. Dimensions are calibrated for 3pl & contract logistics mandates where relevant.
Parent Practice
Return to Logistics & Supply Chain
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