Purpose – This research explores the impacts of third-party logistics (3PLs) within the aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) industry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to explore the role of collaborative relationships for improving outsourcing. Globalization and time based competition have changed business environments and challenged the conventional management strategies that are related to core competencies and operational models. Organizations are forced to devise innovative practices in which logistics outsourcing to 3PLs offers significant advantages. Research design, data, and methodology – This case study was conducted within a leading global aircraft MRO organization whose reach spans across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. The methods used face to face semi-structured interviews, validated through further focus group discussions. Results – These findings highlight the effectiveness of collaborative relationships on their role to improve outsourcing and also demonstrated that MROs gain several advantages from 3PL arrangements. However, any gaps in outsourcing management elevates potential risks to organizations as well, which could result in reputational, operational and financial losses. Conclusions – Although generalizability is not possible due to the case study approach, generality suggests that in order to reduce reputational, operational and financial risks, enhanced collaboration with 3PLs is recommended to optimize outsourcing arrangements.