Abstract
Societal, economic and ecological prosperity will be highly affected in the next decades due to socio-demographic developments and climate change. The design of more sustainable logistics business types can address such challenges to build more resilient supply chains. Therefore, the discussion with regard to transformational potentials of logistics businesses provides valuable information to shape business strategies according to future sustainability requirements. Within the framework of this paper, a mixed-methods approach has been applied to explore and analyze drivers and barriers for sustainability transformations of logistics service providers (LSPs) and to evaluate related business strategies with optimization and simulation methods in a concrete regional context. So far, LSPs’ main obstacles are competitive pressure, focal firm orientation, and dependence on other supply chain members, while supply chain collaboration and integration, as well as the integration of sharing economy solutions and new digital technologies, have been identified as promising for sustainability transitions. Accordingly, this paper suggests a roadmap for the logistics sector while defining retention strategies such as growth, replication, mimicry, and mergence to meet future societal and environmental requirements. By doing so, this study contributes to theory by constructing the Lead Sustainability Service Provider (6PL) business model (arche)type and its role in societal transitions.
Highlights
Several supply chains are likely to drastically change due to regional impacts of climate change, rapid urbanization, demographic developments, and a dynamic shift in demand patterns
Most of the factors combined into the scenarios lie outside the control of the organization itself, and describe the current trends from an economic or technological point of view, and cover social aspects, e.g., consumer awareness or new sharing models. Taking into account these factors, the present study focuses on potential pathways for the diffusion of sustainable logistics businesses
In contrast to the previous studies, the present study focuses on the application of exploratory modeling and analysis (EMA)-based techniques for analyzing potential pathways for logistics service providers (LSPs) in a specific regional setting based on a more general, qualitative exploration
Summary
Several supply chains are likely to drastically change due to regional impacts of climate change, rapid urbanization, demographic developments, and a dynamic shift in demand patterns. For the logistics industry as such, which is strongly affected by rising fuel prices, more sustainable business activities mean a reduction of CO2 emissions and cost savings in economic terms, and opportunities to highlight the value creation logic of logistics businesses and to allow for new governance forms in the supply chain [2]. In this context, transformational management along the entire supply chain requires integrated solutions considering the main characteristics of business strategies to discuss promising avenues for sustainability transformations [3]. A better understanding of transformation potentials in the logistics industry will promote the development of innovative, integrative business models based on a strategic roadmap.
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