Strategic development of third party logistics providers

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

Third-party logistics: A literature review

Purpose – The purpose of this study is twofold. The first is to provide a structured review of the vast amount of outsourcing literature that has accumulated in the past two decades using a decision support framework. The second purpose is to statistically analyze the contents of the studies to identify commonalities as well as gaps, in order to suggest directions for future research.Design/methodology/approach – The contents of more than 200 publications are analyzed using a variety of approaches. A decision support framework is used to first classify whether the studies address outsourcing benefits, risks, motivations or factors. Next, each classification is further described by the type of benefits, risks, etc. Additional relevant contents such as type of organization, and the location of the outsourcing practice are also considered. Multivariate analyses consisting of cross tabulations, chi‐square testing and cluster analysis are used for categorizing the studies with the aim of identifying relationsh...

Outsourcing decision support: a survey of benefits, risks, and decision factors

Purpose – The paper seeks to discuss and develop SCM as a scientific discipline using different theories from non-logistics areas to explain interorganizational
phenomena. It also attempts to establish a frame of reference that allows us to mitigate the gap between the current SCM research and
practice and the theoretical explanations of how to structure and manage supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper introduces three different perspectives that together will contribute to a broader understanding of SCM
in practice: an economic perspective; a socio-economic perspective; and a strategic perspective. The theoretical framework is applied to two important
research topics within SCM: third party logistics (TPL); and new product development (NPD).
Findings – There is no such thing as “a unified theory of SCM”. Depending on the concrete situation, one can choose one theory as the dominant
explanatory theory, and then complement it with one or several of the other theoretical perspectives.
Research limitations/implications – The way the four theories complement one another is explored on a conceptual basis, but further research into
this direction may explore more deeply how these alleged complementarities occur in practice, and how managers mould their decisions by these ideas.
Practical implications – The four theories can provide normative support to important management decisions in supply chains, such as outsourcing,
safeguards against opportunism, and alignment of incentives.
Originality/value – The main contribution is that one cannot rely on one theoretical explanation when analyzing phenomena in SCM. It is neccessary
to consider several theories and how they may complement one another in order to provide a more comprehensive view of SCM.

/pdf/complementary-theories-to-supply-chain-management-askv3zpytx.pdf

Complementary theories to supply chain management

In this article, the authors describe the results of a study on strategies of third‐party logistics (TPL) providers. The size of the TPL industry and the different requirements placed on logistics as opposed to basic services, such as transportation or public warehousing, justify the need to treat TPL as a separate industry. The authors describe three waves of entrants into the TPL industry and a taxonomy for value creation by logistics providers. Empirical findings for a strategic segmentation of the industry are presented. The strategic segmentation is connected to the waves of entrants and the taxonomy by an evaluation of required skills of TPL players. The TPL industry will soon reach an initial stage of maturity, but further changes are to be expected.

Third‐Party Logistics: Is There a Future?

Discusses the results of a survey among shippers in several European countries involved in outsourcing their transport, warehousing and other logistics activities. The survey, which is a joint initiative of the universities of Cranfield, Eindhoven, Linkoping and Rotterdam (Erasmus) and of ManDat GmbH, is a sequel to a similar survey carried out five years ago and has led to a renewed insight into the characteristics of logistics partnerships, the key success factors for making partnerships work, the concerns that shippers have about outsourcing and the benefits they expect to receive from it. The survey has led to two major observations: first, that the scope and level of sophistication of the partnerships has increased over the last five years, be it very gradually, and second, that the perception of outsourcing by shippers has not changed over the last five years.

Third‐party logistics in Europe – five years later

Tramanufaktur- och mobelbranscherna har under perioden 2001-2007 gatt fran en omsattning pa ca 45 till 60 miljarder SEK. Tramanufaktur har haft en imponerande tillvaxt, fran 28 till 40 miljarder, m ...

Magnus Berglund

Papers

Third‐Party Logistics: Is There a Future?

Third‐party logistics in Europe – five years later

Trämanufaktur och möbler - en strukturbild