The consumer products division of Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications giant, found additional dollars to invest in its capital-intensive business by outsourcing inbound logistics and shifting responsibility for inventory management to vendors.

As Kodak's European business changed in response to economic union and various internal factors, the company needed a logistics solution that would provide greater flexibility and lower overhead costs at key facilities. It opted for outsourcing with a shared-use approach, a concept that was given an unusual and innovative twist in the U.K. with partner MSAS Global Logistics.

Fujitsu PC needed help with its notebook operation, which was suffering from both excess inventory and slow deliveries. It turned to FedEx for a total logistics solution and now is getting the results it wanted - but the start-up was far from smooth.