Environmental sustainability in the service industry of transportation and logistics service providers: Systematic literature review and research directions

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 454-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piera Centobelli ◽  
Roberto Cerchione ◽  
Emilio Esposito
VINE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 509-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pietro Evangelista ◽  
Susanne Durst

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a structured literature review on knowledge management (KM) and KM strategy in environmental sustainability practices of logistics service providers. The paper highlights the nature and scope of existing research and identifies areas for future research. Design/methodology/approach – The study consists of a systematic review of existing research regarding KM in sustainable logistics. In all, 38 refereed research papers formed the basis of analysis. This methodology allows for the minimization of researcher bias and the maximization of reliability and replicability. Findings – The literature review made possible the identification of three basic elements through which building-up appropriate KM approaches and KM strategies in the area of environmental sustainability by third-party logistics service companies will be enhanced: customer relationship management, quality of human resources and the adoption of information and communication technology tools and systems. Research limitations/implications – This study may not have enabled a complete coverage of all articles in the field of KM in the context of environmental sustainability practices of logistics service companies. Yet, it seems reasonable to assume that the review process covered a large share of studies available. The main research implications deriving from the study concern research methods, analysis of factors hampering/supporting the implementation of KM in practices related to environmental sustainability, development of measures to demonstrate the impact of KM on sustainability practices and role of different stakeholders in the implementation of KM in environmental sustainability practices. Originality/value – To the best of the authors ' knowledge, no systematic literature review on this topic has previously been published in academic journals.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 5488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ülgen ◽  
Björklund ◽  
Simm ◽  
Forslund

Research on inter-organizational supply chain interaction (IOSCI) for sustainability can be described as fast-growing and fragmented. It is uncertain to what extent logistics and supply chain management (SCM) literature has been able to close research gaps regarding e.g., empirical scope and sustainability dimensions addressed. A systematic literature review (SLR) is carried out to synthesize the existing knowledge and ongoing trends, and to propose a research agenda. The trend analysis shows that the gap between the environmental and social dimension is increasing, that Asian studies grow nearly exponentially, and that the focal firm perspective gains more ground. The research agenda calls for participatory studies of multiple actors and for studies addressing, e.g., the invisible logistics service providers. This study provides an important complement to existing literature reviews on sustainable supply chain interaction, primarily by its focus on the development over time, the empirical scope, the focus on publications in logistics/SCM journals, and its narrow focus on the interaction among firms in supply chains.


Author(s):  
Marcus Thiell ◽  
Sergio Hernandez

Due the cross-functional character of logistics tasks and the cross-organizational structure of most logistics chains, the logistics service industry is strongly affected by business dynamics. Since the 1950s, this industry has experienced a variety of changes; While logistics was traditionally concerned with the fulfilment of functions like transportation and warehousing, modern logistics service offerings also encompass services like network design and carbon footprint assessment. But not just the scope of logistics services has changed. Additionally logistics business models developed from 1PL to 4PL, indicating a shift from the provision of execution tasks to tactical tasks and from fragmented logistics solutions to integrative logistics solutions for complete logistics chains. As a consequence, logistics service providers at the beginning of the 21st century have many options to configure their service offerings. But which options exist to comply with the requirements in a modern competition being fought supply chain versus supply chain rather than firm versus firm? After analyzing the dynamics in the logistics service industry and the importance of logistics for an effective and efficient supply chain management, this chapter will focus on options how logistics service providers can construct single logistics services (service architecture), their logistics service program (service program architecture) and their appearance on the market (service provider architecture) in order to fulfil their role within today’s supply chains and to improve supply chain performance.


Author(s):  
Papadopoulou Eleni-Maria

Supply chain complexity is reflected through the existence of multiple logistics service providers (LSPs). The decision on the appropriate logistics partner is considered significant for the chain efficiency. The managerial problem relies in the providers’ efforts to broaden their service portfolio, thus erasing controversies concerning the identification of their core competences. This issue mainly lies in the selection among an International Freight Forwarder (IFF), a Third Party Logistics Provider (3PL), and a Fourth Party Logistics Provider (4PL). The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of the characteristics and services offered by the LSPs, present the benefits and drawbacks from the collaboration with each entity, and finally form a framework regarding their representative features. The framework is articulated based on literature review and aims to provide a guideline to the interested chain members, enabling them to assess their needs against the LSPs’ characteristics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-50
Author(s):  
Nazlı Gülfem Gidener ◽  
Durmuş Ali Deveci

Service literature indicates that both service failure and service recovery have a strong impact on the business relationships between service providers and their customers. The purpose of this research is twofold: to explore and analyze the most common service failures and implemented recovery strategies in Turkish third party logistics service industry and examine their impact on business relationships. Critical Incident Technique (CIT) was used. Thus, information on critical incidents were collected from both third party logistics service providers (3PLs) and their customers, failures and recovery strategies were categorized and the impact of service failures and recovery strategies on future relationships between customers and 3PLs examined. The findings indicate that service failures are most frequently encountered in customer services and port operations and that symbolic service recovery is the most common recovery strategy implemented by third party logistics service providers. The findings also show that third party logistics service providers and carriers are the most common sources of failure in third party logistics services.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Wehner ◽  
Naghmeh Taghavi Nejad Deilami ◽  
Ceren Altuntas Vural ◽  
Árni Halldórsson

PurposeThis paper discusses logistics service providers' (LSPs’) energy efficiency initiatives for sustainable development, both from an evolutionary perspective and based on a framework consisting of actions, processes (i.e. at the operations interface) and services (i.e. at the customer interface).Design/methodology/approachFollowing a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with sustainability managers at LSPs and the data were analysed via inductive coding. Based on the results and the literature, the authors developed a maturity model for LSPs' transitions to environmental sustainability.FindingsLSPs' sustainable development occurs via operational processes, services at the customer interface, and actions that support those processes and services. Energy efficiency efforts are characterised by process depth that helps LSPs to align with their customers' energy efficiency improvement processes. While services related to energy efficiency connect LSPs and their customers, actions in support vary depending on the logistics activities in which LSPs participate.Research limitations/implicationsFurther research is needed to test and verify the maturity model and to clarify the interdependency of its three dimensions.Practical implicationsBy categorising energy efficiency initiatives and proposing a maturity model for LSPs' sustainable development via energy efficiency, the authors have developed a tool for logistics actors to assess their progress towards improved sustainability.Originality/valueThe paper contributes to the literature by providing a three-pillar framework to understand the sustainability transitions of LSPs through energy efficiency. Developing a maturity model using this framework also contributes to the literature with an approach to assess sustainability advancement in the logistics industry.


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