The importance of warehouses in logistics outsourcing: benchmarking the perspectives of 3PL providers and shippers

IF 4.5 Q1 MANAGEMENT
Martina Baglio, Claudia Colicchia, Alessandro Creazza, Fabrizio Dallari
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Purpose An ever-increasing number of companies outsource logistics activities to third-party logistics (3PL) providers to beat the competition. From the buyer's (shippers') perspective, selecting the right 3PL provider is crucial, and from the 3PL provider's perspective, it is imperative to be attractive and to retain clients. To this aim, a potential lever can be physical assets, such as warehouses, which the literature has traditionally neglected. The objective is to benchmark the importance of warehouses for 3PL providers to attract/retain clients and for shippers to select the right 3PL provider. Design/methodology/approach The authors performed an empirical investigation through interviews on dyads (3PL providers/shippers) and utilized the Best-Worst Method (BWM) to rank the criteria used in the 3PL buying process and allow the warehouse's role to emerge. Findings Results show that the 3PL buying process consists of four phases and three evaluation steps. The selection criteria are classified into three groups: order qualifiers, order winners and retention factors. The warehouse has different levels of importance throughout the process. It appears that it can indirectly enhance the attractiveness and retention capability of 3PL providers through other selection criteria. Originality/value By combining the resource-based view and the customer value theory, this research extends the theory on logistics outsourcing by studying the phases of the 3PL buying process and scrutinizing the criteria used in different evaluation steps. The research adds a double perspective of analysis (3PL providers and shippers), which is missing in the literature, and focuses on the importance of warehouses.
仓库在物流外包中的重要性:对第三方物流供应商和托运人的观点进行基准测试
越来越多的公司将物流活动外包给第三方物流(3PL)提供商以赢得竞争。从买方(托运人)的角度来看,选择合适的第三方物流提供商至关重要,而从第三方物流提供商的角度来看,必须具有吸引力并留住客户。为了达到这个目的,一个潜在的杠杆可以是实物资产,比如仓库,这是文献中传统上被忽视的。目的是衡量仓库对第三方物流供应商吸引/留住客户的重要性,以及托运人选择合适的第三方物流供应商的重要性。设计/方法/方法作者通过对第三方物流供应商/托运人的访谈进行了实证调查,并利用最佳最差方法(BWM)对第三方物流购买过程中使用的标准进行排名,并允许仓库的角色出现。研究结果表明,第三方物流采购过程包括四个阶段和三个评估步骤。选择标准分为三组:订单限定词、订单赢家和保留因素。仓库在整个过程中具有不同级别的重要性。这似乎可以通过其他选择标准间接提高第三方物流提供商的吸引力和保留能力。本研究将资源基础观点与顾客价值理论相结合,通过研究第三方物流采购过程的各个阶段,并仔细研究不同评估步骤中使用的标准,扩展了物流外包理论。该研究增加了双重分析视角(第三方物流提供商和托运人),这在文献中是缺失的,并侧重于仓库的重要性。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
10.40
自引率
16.10%
发文量
154
期刊介绍: Benchmarking is big news for companies committed to total quality programmes. Its enthusiastic reception by many prominent business figures has created high levels of interest in a technique which promises big rewards for co-operating partners. Yet, like total quality itself, it must be understood in its proper context, and implemented single mindedly if it is to be effective - this journal helps companies to decide if benchmarking is right for them, and shows them how to go about it successfully.
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