Logistics Service Providers Research Articles

Logistical outsourcing in a virtual digital world: the dilemma for logistics service providers

Logistical outsourcing in a virtual digital world: the dilemma for logistics service providers

Blockchain adoption decision analysis of fresh supply chain considering 3PL's misreporting behavior

In fresh supply chain, the third-party logistics service provider (3PL) has incentive to misreport its private information such as preservation service effort level and logistics transportation cost for the sake of gaining competitive advantage in the market. A tamper-proof and traceability system supported by blockchain technology (BCT) can prevent 3PL from misreporting. In this paper, we investigate the BCT adoption decision of a fresh supply chain consisting of a manufacturer, a retailer, and a 3PL when the 3PL misreports its private information. Specifically, we conduct four models: without BCT adoption and 3PL misreports its preservation service effort level (Model NE), without BCT adoption and 3PL misreports its logistics transportation cost (Model NC), without BCT adoption and 3PL misreports both preservation service effort level and logistics transportation cost (Model ND) and with BCT adoption and no misrepresentation (Model AB). By calculating the models, our study indicates that when the 3PL underreports its fresh-keeping service effort level and the degree of underreporting is high or when the 3PL overreports its logistics transportation cost and the degree of overreporting is high, all fresh supply chain members will reach an agreement on implementing BCT. However, when the 3PL misreports its fresh-keeping service effort and logistics transportation cost simultaneously, the BCT adoption decision is influenced not only by the misreporting coefficient of logistics transportation cost and preservation service effort, but also by logistics transportation cost. Finally, as logistics transportation cost increases, the manufacturer and retailer are reluctant to adopt BCT, while the 3PL is willing to adopt BCT.

Inventory financing service: an approach to the role of the logistics service provider

Inventory financing service: an approach to the role of the logistics service provider

Decision-making and sub-coordination in a newsvendor model with a third party logistics service provider

Decision-making and sub-coordination in a newsvendor model with a third party logistics service provider

Decision Model for Prioritising Logistics Service Provider Selection Criteria with Sustainability Consideration in Manufacturing Industry

Decision Model for Prioritising Logistics Service Provider Selection Criteria with Sustainability Consideration in Manufacturing Industry

Decision model for prioritising logistics service provider selection criteria with sustainability consideration in the manufacturing industry

Decision model for prioritising logistics service provider selection criteria with sustainability consideration in the manufacturing industry

Logistics service provider performance evaluation based on different perceptions in the reverse supply chain

Logistics service provider performance evaluation based on different perceptions in the reverse supply chain

Green Logistics Service Potential to Enhance Competitive Advantage of Logistics Service Provider in Nakhon Ratchasima Province of Thailand

Green Logistics Service Potential to Enhance Competitive Advantage of Logistics Service Provider in Nakhon Ratchasima Province of Thailand

Green logistics service potential to enhance competitive advantage of logistics service provider in Nakhon Ratchasima Province of Thailand

Green logistics service potential to enhance competitive advantage of logistics service provider in Nakhon Ratchasima Province of Thailand

Transport Service Optimization by Bin Packing Problem Implementation

This paper presents the applicability of software based on bin packing problems in logistics companies. To optimize the transport service, several activities must be carried out that affect its quality and competitiveness. Considering that the transport service is directly linked to the distribution of goods, it is important to define and analyze each of its activities and identify the key elements that offer a proposal for optimization solutions. To evaluate the benefits of a software solution based on the Best Fit Decreasing algorithm, a user-friendly application was developed for allocating resources, providing basic transport costs, and generating a report to track all transport orders, proving that the software does not have to be complex or expensive. The developed application was tested on a case study of a small logistics service provider. The results obtained in allocating pallets and dispatch ramp, and booking time slots are presented, explained, and analyzed.

Comparative Financial Performance and Firm Valuation Analysis: A Malaysian Logistics Service Provider Case Study

This study examines the financial performance of Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Berhad (TNLHB) in the past five financial years (FY2018 to FY2022) ending on 31st March 2022. Data from the audited annual reports were used to conduct financial analysis, covering profitability performance, capital structure and solvency analysis, working capital and liquidity analysis, risk assessment, and firm’s valuation. Peer comparison is used to provide benchmarking analysis. Comparatively, TNLHB has lower profitability ratios, lower solvency ratios, and lower liquidity ratios. The lower profitability was a result of weaker revenue generation and less operational efficiency in profit generation. The lower solvency ratios and liquidity ratios connote a weaker financial position. The top three risk exposures are market and competitive risks, operational risks, and financial risks. Based on a three-method approach, TNLHB is valued between RM0.78 to RM0.93. This paper contributes to the extant literature on performance analysis and firm valuation.

Transport features of logistics

One of the most essential core services affecting logistic service providers has been documented as globalization expansion. The efficiency of moving products is determined by the transportation method. The advancement of techniques and organizational norms enhances freight movement, delivery speed, service quality, procedure prices, facility usage, and energy conservation. Transportation plays an important role in logistics management. In light of the current situation, a strong system requires an intelligible logistics border as well as appropriate transport implements and strategies to connect the fabrication procedures. The goal of this study is to identify the critical elements that influence the logistics and transportation sectors as a result of globalization processes in the global economy. In this articlewe intend to solve the problems of effective management of the market of transport and logistics services have been studied in a number of countries around the world, especially in countries where market relations are being formed.

Breaking truck dominance in supply chains: Proactive freight consolidation and modal split transport

Environmental concerns and a shortage of truck drivers motivate a paradigm shift in truck-dominated supply chains. To alleviate the pressure on truck transport, one can consolidate freight with other companies. Freight consolidation can be facilitated by third-party logistics service providers, who combine shipments that require delivery to the same destination on the same day. More gains can be realized through “proactive freight consolidation”, by proactively synchronizing the timing of shipments prior to placing orders. This is facilitated by a joint replenishment policy. The truck intensity of supply chains can be further reduced by shifting freight from road towards alternative transport modes, such as train. Modal split transport combines two complementary transport modes by using both modes in parallel. We analyze how proactive freight consolidation can be combined with modal split transport. We propose a heuristic that combines a can-order joint replenishment policy to consolidate freight orders proactively via truck, with a tailored base-surge policy to coordinate shipments via train. We develop a lower bound on the optimal cost to validate our heuristic. By comparing the truck usage and cost performance of our policy against alternative replenishment strategies, we show how the combination of proactive freight consolidation and modal split transport can shift freight towards alternative transport modes, without negatively impacting costs or service.

제3자 물류 서비스공급자의 역량을 통한 우간다 식품 가공업체의 물류 아웃소싱 성공에 대한 영향 분석

최근 급속한 세계화로 인해 물류 아웃소싱이 전 세계적으로 확대되고 있으며, 이것은 견고한 물류시스템을 구축하는 수단으로 간주되고 있다. 그러나 많은 기업이 물류 아웃소싱 계약에 어려움을 겪고 있어 기업의 내부 관리를 위해 물류 기능을 회복해야 하는 어려움이 계속되고 있다. 본 연구는 유연성, 통합, 혁신 및 기술 역량과 같은 물류 서비스 제공자(LSP)의 조직 역량이 우간다 식품 가공 회사의 물류 아웃소싱 성공에 어떤 영향을 미치는지 평가하는 것을 목표로 한다. 구조화된 설문조사를 이용하여 우간다 캄팔라에 있는 211개 식품 가공 회사에서 수집한 횡단면 데이터를 SmartPLS 3.3.7 소프트웨어를 통한 PLS-SEM(부분 최소제곱-구조방정식 모형화)으로 분석하여 이론적 관계를 검토하였다. 연구 결과에 따르면 기술 및 혁신 역량은 물류 아웃소싱 성공에 긍정적이고 상당한 영향을 미치지만, 유연성 및 통합 역량의 효과는 미미한 것으로 나타났다. 또한 중요도성과분석(IPMA) 결과 물류 아웃소싱 성공을 위해서는 기술 역량이 우선순위가 가장 높고 그다음이 혁신 역량인 것으로 나타났다. 그러나 유연성과 통합 역량은 우선순위가 낮았다.

A Hybrid Multi-Criteria Decision Framework for Selecting Fourth-Party Logistics Service Providers in Fleet Transportation Management: A Case Study in Plastic Resin Manufacturing

Since the selection of the fourth-party logistics service providers (4PLs) has become a crucial strategic decision to innovatively enhance the logistics processes and to reduce logistics costs. Despite a growing interest among practitioners and academicians in shifting the outsourcing of the logistics service to 4PLs, few studies have focused on developing a framework for selection and evaluation. This paper contributes to the literature in proposing a hybrid multi-criteria decision framework to select the best 4PLs in fleet transport management service. The proposed framework is divided into four phases. First, the 4PLs selection criteria are identified through literature review and industrial experts in the field. Second, Decision Evaluation and Experimental Laboratory (DEMATEL) is employed to explore the inter-relationship among selection criteria as well as to analyze the relative importance weights of criteria. Next, a multi-objective optimization model based on ratio analysis (MOORA) is utilized to rank and select the best 4PLs applicant. Finally, the sensitivity analysis is performed to validate the robustness of the proposed framework. One of the major plastic resin manufacturers in Thailand is used as a case study. This study provides the useful insights for selecting and evaluating 4PLs to practitioners and academicians working on this subject.

К надежности выбора аутсорсинговой компании на рынке транспортно-логистических услуг

The article considers the reliability criteria when choosing a supplier of transport and logistics services. There has been conducted analysis of modern scientific literature by Russian and foreign authors, studied the statistical reports of transport and logistics companies. Two main problems in the activities of transport and logistics service providers are highlighted: the impact of transport and logistics outsourcing on vulnerability of the supply chain and the achievement of acceptable financial performance. It has been inferred that choosing the transport and logistics services supplier is a complex multi-criteria task including the use of both quantitative and qualitative criteria for decision-making. At the same time, when using different methods, the conclusions may contradict each other. Choosing the right third party logistics (3PL) provider logistics managers may not be sure that their choice will meet the needs of the company. Therefore, the decision to use a third-party logistics service provider depends on many factors that may vary from company to company, with the final choice depending on future goals, product lines, company plans, expansion, etc. Factors indicating success in choosing an outsourcing company include: cost reduction, maximum on-time delivery, minimum order lead time, increase in the number of alternative solutions, increase the efficiency of logistics activities, reduce logistics management costs, improve customer relationships and create mutually beneficial relationships in the supply chain. The criteria for selecting third-party transport and logistics companies are given (in descending order): price, reliability, location, timeliness of the order, cost reduction, management flexibility and innovation, quality of management, quality of service, personalized service, reputation of the supplier, technical competence, good communication, variety of services available.

Loyalty Benefits as the Relational benefits for The Logistics Services Providers

In the last decade, the emergence of global supply chain has reshaped the role of logistics service in both scale and scope in the automotive industry. Outsourcing logistics functions have become a compelling choice of many automotive companies. In the automotive industry these days, many companies are looking at strategic advantages in logistics to reduce costs. For some, it is a near life-or-death proposition for their survival. The battle zone for these companies is in reducing inventory and supply chain costs at each transaction and for their customers in the field, on the ground and in the trenches. As the global supply chain becomes more and more complex, manufacturing companies try to ensure reliable and efficient deliveries from their suppliers as well as to their markets and customers. The success of the order fulfil goal relies very much on the services provided by Logistics Service Providers (LSPs). One of the enormous challenges facing by the LSP in automotive industry Malaysia is related to the preservation of successful relationship with car manufacturers in terms of continuation of business contract renewal. The criteria perceived by manufacturers in automotive industry might be different with perceived by other industries. For example, automotive manufacturers might focus on cost reduction to maintain their relationship with their LSP while other industries, they might consider special benefit provided by LSP as their vital point to preserve the successful relationship. Therefore, it is of utmost important, to evaluate which the most perceived criteria by manufacturers in the automobile business. In fact, there is still a void in respect of how does the manufacturer or part suppliers for automotive industries in Malaysia and LSPs work together in order to achieve mutual benefit. Keywords: Loyalty Benefits, Logistics Service Provider, Linear Regression

Integrating operational and human factors to predict daily productivity of warehouse employees using extreme gradient boosting

The majority of warehouse expenses is driven by labour cost. Therefore, efficient management of labour resources is required. To do so, workforce planning is used to match the workforce capacity with the incoming workload. While doing so, it is often wrongly assumed that each worker has the same and constant capacity or performance. Addressing this, we build a model to predict the employee-based productivity of newly hired warehouse personnel that will support workforce planning by incorporating multiple data sources. To this end, we develop a framework to identify relevant variables in four categories: warehouse, operator, shift and product. We demonstrate that Extreme Gradient Boosting, using these variables may reduce the root mean squared error of the prediction by more than 50%. A comprehensive scenario analysis shows that improving productivity predictions translates into substantial cost savings. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis identifies which variable categories should be favoured in the data collection process to achieve the best prediction results. Abbreviations: CMA: Cumulative Moving Averages; EGB: Extreme Gradient Boosting; GB: Gradient Boosting; LSP: Logistics Service Provider; MAE: Mean Absolute Error; RF: Random Forest; RMSE: Root Mean Squared Error; SMA: Simple Moving Averages

DIVERSIFICATION STRATEGY AS A WAY TO INCREASE THE COMPETITIVENESS OF A FREIGHT FORWARDING COMPANY

Topicality. The need of introducing new strategies and services to the activities of freight forwarding companies in order to increase their own competitiveness and maintain their positions in the market in due to the growing number of logistics service providers such as NVOCC (Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier) the services of traditional freight forwarders and their functional differences become unclear.Aim and tasks. The systematization of diversification`s types of the activities made by freight forwarding companies as a strategic direction of increasing competitiveness in the market of relevant services, determination of diversification strategy`s types and relevant areas of activity made by freight forwarding companies, development of an algorithm for implementing the diversification`s strategy of freight forwarding companies, formation of a management decisions’ list that should accompany the process of diversification freight forwarding companies.Materials and Methods. This scientific research was conducted in accordance with the logic and methodology of system analysis, the theory of transport processes and systems, as well as with the application of operations research methods. The theoretical basis of the study was the works of leading experts in strategic management, diversification of the activities of enterprises and the work of freight forwarding companies. The morphological method was used to substantiate the development directions of transport and forwarding services. Methods of analysis and synthesis were used to structure the process of development of freight forwarding services and to structure the process of development of a transport and forwarding company.Research results. Today freight forwarding companies are the first among all integrators of various transport services, which form certain delivery systems both for single shipments and for long-term transport services of regular deliveries, therefore the need of implementing a diversification strategy in the activities of enterprises is increasing so that the integration processes pass in a fully satisfactory manner. Since freight forwarding companies simply do not provide additional services to the transportation process, but are organizers and coordinators of cargo delivery, the main task of the freight forwarder is to free the cargo owner from solving issues related to cargo transportation. That is why there is a dependency between the range of services that freight forwarding companies can offer and the client's problems that these services can cause. Of course, it is more convenient and profitable for the client to transfer all types of cargo-related work to one company, which will completely take over the organization and implementation of the process without the involvement of third companies. In order for the implemented diversification strategy to bring only competitive advantages and positive consequences to the freight forwarding company, it is necessary to study and analyze the market, the behaviour of competitors, consumers and suppliers when developing a strategy and planning new areas of activity. It is no less important to distinguish the directions the diversification strategy in order for better understanding what goals should be aimed. Only with proper analysis, development of the goals and plans, understanding trends and taking into account possible risks, it is possible to accept the proper and desired results of the implementation of the diversification strategy of freight forwarding companies.Conclusion. Due to the fact that freight forwarding companies today are organizers and coordinators of freight transportation, they need to diversify their activities and range of services to fully satisfy the needs of consumers, which consist in acquiring a complete package of services that could free the cargo owner from solving any kind of issues, related to the transportation of goods. In order for the implemented diversification strategy to bring only competitive advantages and positive consequences to the freight forwarding company, it is necessary to study and analyze the market, the behaviour of competitors, consumers and suppliers when developing a strategy and planning new areas of activity.

Analythical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method in the selection of logistics service provider in Jakarta

E-commerce is a system of buying and selling through applications that are supported by the Internet system. Buying and selling on E-commerce relies on logistics services for shipping goods to customer locations. The logistics used to send goods to locations in one area or surroundings is known as city logistics or urban logistics, while the delivery service is called a logistics service provider. This study aims to enable customers to choose which logistics service provider is suitable for customer needs. The analytical method that can be used for the selection of city logistics companies is the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. This study aims to select the best online-based logistics service provider by selecting the logistics service provider based on criteria and sub-criteria. The results of this study indicate the importance of the criteria in the selection of logistics service providers, resulting in the following priority/weighting scale: the first priority is price, followed by company image, delivery reliability, service features, and finally, employee competence. From the results of the assessment of the level of alternative importance in the selection of logistics service providers, the priority/weighting scale is as follows: the first priority is Gojek, Grab is followed, and the last is Lalamove.