Despite growing interest in logistics across the social sciences, there is still a persistent gap in relation to work that explores the organizational and competitive dynamics of the independent logistics industry, a sector worth almost US$1tn a year. This paper explores the nature, causes and consequences of commoditization in the third-party logistics (3PL) industry, using evidence derived from over 30 corporate interviews with the leading 3PL providers in the Asia-Pacific region. Commoditization captures a mature stage of industry and market development in which goods and services are widely available and interchangeable with those provided by other companies, and hence price-based competition predominates. The paper profiles the strategic responses of 3PL firms to the challenges of commoditization, which are associated with accruing scale, offsetting risk and seeking to deepen relationships with clients, arguing that they are variegated due to the different geographical and sectoral origins of the firms. Overall, it offers a profile of 3PL as a maturing industry heavily conditioned by its intersections with client global production networks.
