Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to establish criteria for evaluating strategic partners in a network of logistics service providers (LSPs) to show how analytical network process (ANP) can be used to identify the weights of these criteria on a case-specific basis, and to investigate whether the ANP model can be used as a starting point to evaluate strategic partners for other LSP networks.Design/methodology/approachBased on a literature review of vertical cooperation, the authors develop an overview of criteria for the evaluation of partners in a network of LSPs. The authors then apply ANP at LSP1 to validate the criteria, identify weights for these criteria and to validate model outcomes. Furthermore, the authors investigate whether the ANP model developed for LSP1 can be applied to another LSP with similar characteristics (LSP2). In-depth interviews are used to draw conclusions on the modeling approach and the model outcomes.FindingsThe research shows that evaluation criteria for partners in vertical partnerships between shippers and LSPs are applicable to LSP partners in horizontal partnership networks. The ANP model with criteria weights provides a good starting point for LSPs to customize the evaluation framework according to their specific needs or operating environments.Originality/valueLimited research is available on evaluating LSP partners in horizontal partnerships. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to bring forward horizontal LSP partner evaluation criteria to develop an ANP model for LSP partner evaluation and to apply this to two cases, and to provide a starting point for evaluating partners in similar horizontal LSP networks.
Highlights
In recent years, many companies have been active in developing cooperative networks of firms
We identified 18 criteria, which we grouped into four categories similar to the work of Liou (2012) on horizontal partnerships in the airline industry: financial criteria, organizational criteria, operational performance criteria and strategic criteria
We noted that criteria from vertical cooperation research are useful to evaluate horizontal cooperation based on the conducted interviews
Summary
Many companies have been active in developing cooperative networks of firms. We examine the literature on vertical logistics cooperation in logistics networks These criteria are used to develop a framework for horizontal LSP partner evaluation. The third purpose of this paper is to investigate to what extent our ANP model can be used as a starting point for cases that are similar in scope To this end, we used the ANP results of LSP1 to evaluate five horizontal partnerships of another LSP (LSP2, a large internationally operating family-owned German LSP) and to discuss the extent to which the criteria as well as their relative importance as proposed by the ANP model based on LSP1 apply to other situations. Know-How (KH) Because one organization is performing on behalf of another Lambert (2008), having the technical expertise to perform the service is Büyüközkan et al (2008)
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