Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to conduct a systematic review of the sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) literature in the principal logistics and supply chain management journals, across a 20‐year time frame.Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a systematic literature review methodology. This methodology allows for the minimization of researcher bias and the maximization of reliability and replicability. The study's empirical validity is further enhanced by demonstrating high levels of inter‐coder reliability across families of codes.Findings – The field of SSCM has evolved from a perspective and investigation of standalone research in social and environmental areas; through a corporate social responsibility perspective; to the beginnings of the convergence of perspectives of sustainability as the triple bottom line and the emergence of SSCM as a theoretical framework. While the SSCM research has become more theoretically rich and methodologically rigorous, there are numerous oppo...

Sustainable supply chain management: Evolution and future directions

Purpose – To provide a taxonomy of third party logistics (3PL) research and, based on that, to develop a research agenda for this field of study.Design/methodology/approach – The proposed 3PL research classification framework is based on a comprehensive literature review, which concentrates on peer‐reviewed journal papers published within the period 1990‐2005. A total of 114 academic sources have been retrieved and analysed in terms of research purpose and nature, method employed, theoretical approach and level of analysis.Findings – The review reveals that 3PL research is empirical‐descriptive in nature and that it generally lacks a theoretical foundation. Survey research is the dominant method employed, reflecting the positivist research tradition within logistics. It identifies certain knowledge gaps and develops five propositions for future research. It suggests that focus should be directed towards more normative, theory‐driven and qualitative method‐based studies. It also argues that further empiric...

Third party logistics : a literature review and research agenda

As interest into the nature and value of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) within organizations continues to grow, it becomes increasingly desirable to establish a tactical linkage between the strategic value of EDI and observed operational benefits. This article provides such a tactical linkage by presenting an approach to EDI measurement consisting of four facets: volume, diversity, breadth, and depth of a firm's EDI initiatives. Each of these facets is defined and then described through its application within the contexts of seven case sites, where each case site represents a strategic business unit having a long, successful history of EDI use. The article concludes with suggestions for both practice and research.

Measuring the extent of EDI usage in complex organizations: strategies and illustrative examples

While it is certainly too early to make a definitive assessment of the effectiveness of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), it is not to take stock of what has been achieved and to think about what could be achieved in the near future. In our opinion, ITS developments have been up to now largely hardware-driven and have led to the introduction of many sophisticated technologies in the transportation arena, while the development of the software component of ITS, models and decision-support systems in particular, is lagging behind. To reach the full potential of ITS, one must thus address the challenge of making the most intelligent usage possible of the hardware that is being deployed and the huge wealth of data it provides. We believe that transportation planning and management disciplines, operations research in particular, have a key role to play with respect to this challenge. The paper focuses on Freight ITS: Commercial Vehicle Operations and Advanced Fleet Management Systems, City Logistics, and electronic business. The paper reviews main issues, technological challenges, and achievements, and illustrates how the introduction of better operations research-based decision-support software could very significantly improve the ultimate performance of Freight ITS.

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Intelligent Freight Transportation Systems : Assessment and the Contribution of Operations Research

Electronic data interchange (EDI), a specific form of interorganizational systems, has the potential to significantly influence business operations and the exchange of business documents in a number of industries and to provide substantive tangible and intangible benefits to the participating firms. However, successful implementation and diffusion of these systems innovations requires the cooperation and commitment of all participating member firms. A number of interorganizational as well as internal, organization-specific factors can influence both the extent to which EDI is diffused and used and the level of subsequent benefits that accrue to the firms. Research from sociopolitical process framework in marketing, organizational theory, innovation theory, use of information technology for competitive advantage, and information systems (IS) implementation was used to identify 3 interorganizational variables (customer support, customer expertise, competitive pressure) and 4 organizational variables (intern...

Organizational and Interorganizational Determinants of EDI Diffusion and Organizational Performance: A Causal Model

In 1990 the authors conducted a survey of the U.S. motor carrier industry that addressed key management activities and the relationship between trucking firms and their shippers. At that time there had been little empirical research on the extent of partnering relationships between shippers and carriers. More specifically, the 1990 study assessed motor carrier dependence upon the primary shipper account and the extent and nature of motor carrier use of contracting, electronic data interchange (EDI), and transportation third-party services. The focus of the study was on the implications that evolving interfirm relationships between motor carriage service providers and their customers might have on the structure and behavior of the trucking industry.

A longitudinal assessment of motor carrier-shipper relationship trends, 1990 vs. 1996

Electronic data interchange (EDI), the direct computer-to-computer communication of business documents and information in machine-readable structured format, plays an important role in supply chain management. This study uses the same survey and sampling methodology used in the authors' earlier research to ascertain the key changes in EDI use and perceptions about EDI since 1990 and whether projections and expectations for EDI use made in 1990 have been realized. The primary focus of the article is on 35 motor carriers that answered the survey in both 1990 and 1996. However, because a sample size of 35 is not large enough to allow segmentation by nature of carrier operations or firm size, data from all respondents are utilized to allow longitudinal comparisons of truckload (TL), less-than-truckload (LTL), large, and small motor carriers.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/info/20713370

A longitudinal assessment of edi use in the u.s. motor carrier industry

The major objectives of this paper are (1) to measure the extent to which motor carrier-shipper relationships currently reflect the aforementioned characteristics of partnershipping, and to project future trends in such motor carrier-shipper relationships; and (2) to identify and examine potential impacts on the trucking industry. The paper focuses on three constructs of the carrier-shipper relationship: the carriers' dependence on key shippers, contracting, and EDI (as a measure of the operational integration of carrier and shipper).

The changing nature of the motor carrier-shipper relationship: implications for the trucking industry

The management of information has become increasingly important to the transportation industry since deregulation. The survival of transportation firms may depend on how well management utilizes technology in developing information systems and in connecting these systems to their intemal and extemal environments. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) is one form of technology that is gaining currency within the transportation industry. EDI is the computer-to-computer exchange of business applications between firms using strictly standardized formats.

The state of edi usage in the motor carrier industry

The primary purpose of this article is to report the results from a study of the potential impacts on the motor carrier industry of three logistics strategies that have produced fundamental changes in shipper acquisition and management of motor carrier service. The three strategies are: (1) a reduction in the number of motor carriers utilized by individual shippers (the carrier reduction strategy), (2) the use of electronic data interchange (EDI) between shipper and carrier (the EDI strategy), and (3) the use of long-term contracting for motor carrier service (the contracting strategy).

Benjamin J. Allen

Papers

A longitudinal assessment of motor carrier-shipper relationship trends, 1990 vs. 1996

A longitudinal assessment of edi use in the u.s. motor carrier industry

The changing nature of the motor carrier-shipper relationship: implications for the trucking industry

The state of edi usage in the motor carrier industry

Shipper edi, carrier reduction, and contracting strategies -- impacts on the motor carrier industry