Analysis
NAICS 541614 is the 2022 national industry for process, physical distribution, and logistics consulting services, part of 54161 (Management Consulting Services). Census lists 18 example activities under it in the official index.
By establishments it ranks 5th of the 5 codes at this level within Management Consulting Services, with 4.4% of them.
County Business Patterns counts 8,360 US establishments in this code in 2023, employing 97,017 people at an average annual payroll of $72,883 per employee (57th percentile of national industries). 73% of the establishments have fewer than five employees, which marks it as a small-business industry.
Its index entries, the activities Census uses to assign businesses to this code, include customs consulting services, efficiency management (i.e., efficiency expert) consulting…, freight rate auditor services and freight rate consulting services, among 18 in all.
Census lists 4 related activities that belong elsewhere, most often in 541330, 541512, 488510 and 4931. Businesses that do several things are classified by their primary activity, the one that generates the most value, so check those boundaries before settling on this code.
For example, planning and designing industrial processes and systems are classified in 541330 (Engineering Services) instead.
Official definition
This U.S. industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing operating advice and assistance to businesses and other organizations in: (1) manufacturing operations improvement; (2) productivity improvement; (3) production planning and control; (4) quality assurance and quality control; (5) inventory management; (6) distribution networks; (7) warehouse use, operations, and utilization; (8) transportation and shipment of goods and materials; and (9) materials management and handling.
Illustrative Examples:
Freight rate or tariff rate consulting services Productivity improvement consulting services Manufacturing management consulting services Inventory planning and control management consulting services Transportation management consulting services
Source: US Census Bureau, NAICS 2022 Manual.
Not this code if…
| The business mainly does | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Planning and designing industrial processes and systems | 541330 Engineering Services |
| Providing computer systems integration design services | 541512 Computer Systems Design Services |
| Arranging transportation of freight between shippers and carriers | 488510 Freight Transportation Arrangement |
| Operating warehousing and storage facilities and providing related logistics services | 4931 Warehousing and Storage |
Index entries (18)
- Customs consulting services
- Efficiency management (i.e., efficiency expert) consulting services
- Freight rate auditor services
- Freight rate consulting services
- Freight traffic consulting services
- Inventory planning and control management consulting services
- Logistics and integrated supply chain management consulting services
- Logistics management consulting services
- Manufacturing management consulting services
- Manufacturing operations improvement consulting services
- Materials management consulting services
- Operations research consulting services
- Physical distribution consulting services
- Production planning and control consulting services
- Productivity improvement consulting services
- Tariff rate consulting services
- Tariff rate information services
- Transportation management consulting services