<p>Competition in the logistics service industry has constantly increased over the last decades which has lead to the traditional services offered by third-party logistics (TPL) providers becoming commodities and no longer offering attractive profit margins. When the company’s core product becomes a commodity, the company’s performance of supplementary services becomes vital for competitive advantage. The term “value-added service” is defined as a service adding extra feature, form or functions to the basic service and stands for all types of activities which are not directly based on services traditionally offered by TPL providers, i.e., transportation and warehousing. The term value-added service is mainly used in the logistics literature while supplementary service is used in the service management literature. Although value-added services can offer obvious advantages in form of customer lock-in and improved competitive advantage, such services are still offered at a low level and there is much space for development.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to analyse how TPL firms develop value-added services and to investigate what the driving forces and barriers for developing and providing such services are. In the frame of reference, literature within service management, outsourcing, third-party logistics, value-added services, innovation and learning have been used.</p><p>In the thesis, an inductive research approach is used and qualitative study has been carried out by applying multiple case studies as a research strategy. The empirical material is gathered from three TPL providers: Bring Logistics Solutions, Aditro Logistics and Schenker Logistics. Data was collected through several interviews conducted at the three target companies and the findings have been analysed using the existing theory stated in the frame of reference.</p><p>The main conclusions from analysing the development process of value-added services are that this process in most cases is initiated by customer request and that development of value-added service can occur both in the beginning or during an ongoing relationship, though a lack of information about a customer’s business in the beginning of the relationship can hinder the TPL provider to develop value-added services. Apart from the TPL provider and the customer, firms such as IT companies, transport suppliers and other companies can be involved in the development process. No formal innovation process is applied for developing value-added services. The main driving force behind value-added services is meeting customer demands. Lack of proactiveness from the TPL provider’s side can be a barrier for developing value-added services, as well as problems with achieving successful organizational learning. The difficulty for the TPL firm to coordinate offering so many different services can be also seen as a barrier.</p>

<p>With the changes in the business environment, there has been an increasing dependence on the skills of companies to deliver customer adapted products quickly and on time around the world. Therefore, instead of being caught in the high cost and unsatisfactory result of managing logistics operation by themselves, many companies have chosen to outsource some or all of their logistics and supply chain activities to specialist third party logistics companies (TPL). Hence, the TPL companies are managing and integrating their customers’ supply chains to increase the competitiveness and profitability.  It is argued, that knowledge is becoming the only resource capable of offering competitive advantage and continued growth and prosperity for supply chain partners. Therefore, the effective transfer and creation of knowledge has become a top priority in a supply chain. Since third party logistics companies have taken on the major responsibility of managing customers’ supply chains, effective knowledge management has become a top priority for them as well.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to describe the knowledge transfer and creation processes within the third party logistics dyadic relationships in the context of supply chain integration.</p><p>The thesis has been carried out by using inductive and conductive research approaches and the qualitative study has been carried out by applying multiple case studies as a research strategy. The empirical material is gathered from four companies in two third party logistics relationships. Data was collected through several interviews conducted at the target companies and the findings have been analysed using the existing theory stated in the frame of reference.</p><p>The main conclusions from this study are that the buyer-seller context determines the way knowledge is transferred and created in the dyadic third party relationships, and the companies did not have any specific strategies or governance structures for managing knowledge although considered important. How the companies in the dyadic TPL relationships transfer and create knowledge changes with the evolvement of the relationship. Knowledge transfer must penetrate all companies and all organizational levels to increase a holistic and integrated understating of the whole supply chain to achieve value created. How TPL companies create and utilize knowledge internally vary due to company size and the practices used. In addition, the customer company using multiple TPL providers is able to transfer and create knowledge from all TPL relationships to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of its supply chain. Due to the buyer-seller characteristic, however, there are no or very little barriers for knowledge creation and transfer in a dyadic TPL relationship.</p>

This research studies the relationship between car manufacturers (CM) and third party logistics providers (TPLP), also known as the logistics partnership, in the outbound delivery channel in the Malaysian automotive industry. It focuses specifically on the dyad perspective, and demonstrates that several critical success factors are required for a successful relationship between these two parties. Five such factors emanate from the operational dimension and eight from the relational dimension. The five operational factors are: logistics service performance, investment, information sharing, information technology and communication, and price of the logistics service; and the eight relational factors are: trust, commitment, power, conflict, dependency, co-operation, informal activity, and understanding. The study also reveals that five outcomes are identified that benefit both the CM and the TPLP as a result of the win-win situation accruing to both parties. These are: renewal of the contract, company profitability, improved logistics service performance, knowledge transfer, and company branding. Such benefits enhance the supply chain relationship, and knowledge of these advantages improves current TPLP theory by deepening the understanding of how logistics partnership can succeed. In order to obtain rich data concerning the CM-TPLP relationship, the researcher adopted a different methodology from that used by previous scholars, who have concentrated on quantitative techniques. In this study, multiple case studies (seven in total) in one industry, the automotive industry, in the non-western context of Malaysia, were conducted. Three main steps in the case study protocol were followed. The first involved a review of the literature pertaining to the themes that required further exploration, together with the development of the interview questions. In the second step, data were collected using semi-structured interviews, observations, document reviews, photographs and also archival records. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data. The third stage involved exploring the data until it was found that nothing new was emerging from the interviews, and hence theoretical saturation had occurred. At this point the factors in question were confirmed, and the initial model revised. Additionally, confidentiality was maintained in all respects to protect the participating organisations and individuals. The findings contribute to the understanding of the CM-TPLP relationship which enhance supply chain relationship and TPLP theory, since they shed light on the operational and relational factors in one specific industry, from a dyadic perspective, and in a non-Western context, thereby adding new dimensions to the existing body of knowledge in this field. The findings benefit practitioners via the novel LPS (logistics partnership success) model generated by the researcher. This indicates the key contributory factors to the CM-TPLP relationship success. Moreover, the study may have the capacity to generalise to other culturally-similar environments.

With the strong support from the government and investors, Chinese healthcare sector is developed rapidly. Also, the demand for healthcare logistics has also gradually increased. Currently, most Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturing are using traditional healthcare logistics, and due to the late start of Chinese healthcare logistics, there are many problems within the field. Therefore,there is a strong demand for professional 3PL providers involving Chinese healthcare sectors. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the status of Chinese healthcare sectors, to indicate the predictable contribution of Chinese 3PL providers after entering. And also, to analyze how different types of Chinese 3PL providers can better adapt themselves to healthcare logistics sectors. Additionally, different opportunities and challenges faced by the Chinese 3PL providers in the field of healthcare logistics has been analyzed.

Nas últimas décadas a atividade logística vem recebendo status estratégico como sendo uma variável importante para a obtenção de vantagem competitiva por parte das empresas. Dessa forma, as organizações vêm investindo significativamente no desenvolvimento de sistemas logísticos ágeis e na coordenação eficiente das cadeias de abastecimento nas quais estão inseridas. No entanto, para não perderem competitividade e realmente agregar valor ao seu negócio, muitas dessas empresas estão se focando cada vez mais em seu core business e, consequentemente, transferindo para terceiros algumas ou todas as suas atividades logísticas como forma de reduzir custos e aumentar a eficiência de sua operação. Assim, este trabalho trata do problema de tomada de decisão de terceirização das atividades logísticas e de como viabilizar a seleção de um provedor de serviços logísticos (PSLs). Para isto, foi elaborada e proposta uma sistemática de apoio à análise e seleção de um PSL que agrega conceitos gerais de gestão de projetos e de análise multicriterial para embasar a escolha pelo PSL mais adequado. Nesse particular, foi utilizado o método AHP – Analytic Hierarchy Process - que permite tratar aspectos qualitativos e quantitativos, tendo sido aplicado a problemas que envolvem a tomada de decisão em segmentos distintos. Como forma de validação da sistemática proposta, ela foi aplicada parcialmente em uma empresa fabricante de motores diesel com forte viés na logística de abastecimento e que estava em processo de terceirização de parte de suas atividades logísticas. Como principais resultados, encontrou-se que a sistemática foi aderente ao ambiente empresarial encontrado, auxiliando a análise e compreensão das oportunidades e riscos relativos à terceirização das atividades logísticas e dos atributos importantes a serem considerados no processo de seleção e escolha do PSL que mais esteja adequado à realidade da empresa contratante; e mostrando adicionalmente que o preço não é o fator mais importante no momento da decisão. / In recent decades the logistics activity has received strategic status as an important factor for gaining competitive advantages for businesses. Thus companies have been investing significantly in the development of agile logistics systems and efficient coordination of the supply chains, in which they operate. However, to avoid losing competitiveness and really add value to their business, many of these companies are increasingly focusing on their core business and thus transferring to others some or all of their logistics activities as a way to reduce costs and increase efficiency of their operation. This work addresses the problem of decision-making on outsourcing of logistics activities and how to facilitate the selection of a Third-Party Logistics (3PL). For this, it was developed and proposed a system to support the analysis and selection of a 3PL that combines general concepts of project management and multicriteria analysis to base the choice of the 3PL that better fits the current needs. In particular, we used the AHP - Analytic Hierarchy Process - which could handle qualitative and quantitative aspects, since it has been applied to many decision-making problems in different segments. As a way of validating the proposed methodology, it was partially applied to a manufacturer of diesel engines with a strong bias in its supply chain logistics, which was in process of outsourcing part of their logistics activities. As the most important results, it was found that this methodology adhered to the business environment, supporting the analysis and understanding of the opportunities and risks for the outsourcing of logistics activities, as well as important attributes to be considered in the selection process and choice of a 3PL that is more appropriate to the reality of the contracting company. In addition, it showed that the price is not the most important factor for this decision.

Nas últimas décadas a atividade logística vem recebendo status estratégico como sendo uma variável importante para a obtenção de vantagem competitiva por parte das empresas. Dessa forma, as organizações vêm investindo significativamente no desenvolvimento de sistemas logísticos ágeis e na coordenação eficiente das cadeias de abastecimento nas quais estão inseridas. No entanto, para não perderem competitividade e realmente agregar valor ao seu negócio, muitas dessas empresas estão se focando cada vez mais em seu core business e, consequentemente, transferindo para terceiros algumas ou todas as suas atividades logísticas como forma de reduzir custos e aumentar a eficiência de sua operação. Assim, este trabalho trata do problema de tomada de decisão de terceirização das atividades logísticas e de como viabilizar a seleção de um provedor de serviços logísticos (PSLs). Para isto, foi elaborada e proposta uma sistemática de apoio à análise e seleção de um PSL que agrega conceitos gerais de gestão de projetos e de análise multicriterial para embasar a escolha pelo PSL mais adequado. Nesse particular, foi utilizado o método AHP – Analytic Hierarchy Process - que permite tratar aspectos qualitativos e quantitativos, tendo sido aplicado a problemas que envolvem a tomada de decisão em segmentos distintos. Como forma de validação da sistemática proposta, ela foi aplicada parcialmente em uma empresa fabricante de motores diesel com forte viés na logística de abastecimento e que estava em processo de terceirização de parte de suas atividades logísticas. Como principais resultados, encontrou-se que a sistemática foi aderente ao ambiente empresarial encontrado, auxiliando a análise e compreensão das oportunidades e riscos relativos à terceirização das atividades logísticas e dos atributos importantes a serem considerados no processo de seleção e escolha do PSL que mais esteja adequado à realidade da empresa contratante; e mostrando adicionalmente que o preço não é o fator mais importante no momento da decisão. / In recent decades the logistics activity has received strategic status as an important factor for gaining competitive advantages for businesses. Thus companies have been investing significantly in the development of agile logistics systems and efficient coordination of the supply chains, in which they operate. However, to avoid losing competitiveness and really add value to their business, many of these companies are increasingly focusing on their core business and thus transferring to others some or all of their logistics activities as a way to reduce costs and increase efficiency of their operation. This work addresses the problem of decision-making on outsourcing of logistics activities and how to facilitate the selection of a Third-Party Logistics (3PL). For this, it was developed and proposed a system to support the analysis and selection of a 3PL that combines general concepts of project management and multicriteria analysis to base the choice of the 3PL that better fits the current needs. In particular, we used the AHP - Analytic Hierarchy Process - which could handle qualitative and quantitative aspects, since it has been applied to many decision-making problems in different segments. As a way of validating the proposed methodology, it was partially applied to a manufacturer of diesel engines with a strong bias in its supply chain logistics, which was in process of outsourcing part of their logistics activities. As the most important results, it was found that this methodology adhered to the business environment, supporting the analysis and understanding of the opportunities and risks for the outsourcing of logistics activities, as well as important attributes to be considered in the selection process and choice of a 3PL that is more appropriate to the reality of the contracting company. In addition, it showed that the price is not the most important factor for this decision.

Nas últimas décadas a atividade logística vem recebendo status estratégico como sendo uma variável importante para a obtenção de vantagem competitiva por parte das empresas. Dessa forma, as organizações vêm investindo significativamente no desenvolvimento de sistemas logísticos ágeis e na coordenação eficiente das cadeias de abastecimento nas quais estão inseridas. No entanto, para não perderem competitividade e realmente agregar valor ao seu negócio, muitas dessas empresas estão se focando cada vez mais em seu core business e, consequentemente, transferindo para terceiros algumas ou todas as suas atividades logísticas como forma de reduzir custos e aumentar a eficiência de sua operação. Assim, este trabalho trata do problema de tomada de decisão de terceirização das atividades logísticas e de como viabilizar a seleção de um provedor de serviços logísticos (PSLs). Para isto, foi elaborada e proposta uma sistemática de apoio à análise e seleção de um PSL que agrega conceitos gerais de gestão de projetos e de análise multicriterial para embasar a escolha pelo PSL mais adequado. Nesse particular, foi utilizado o método AHP – Analytic Hierarchy Process - que permite tratar aspectos qualitativos e quantitativos, tendo sido aplicado a problemas que envolvem a tomada de decisão em segmentos distintos. Como forma de validação da sistemática proposta, ela foi aplicada parcialmente em uma empresa fabricante de motores diesel com forte viés na logística de abastecimento e que estava em processo de terceirização de parte de suas atividades logísticas. Como principais resultados, encontrou-se que a sistemática foi aderente ao ambiente empresarial encontrado, auxiliando a análise e compreensão das oportunidades e riscos relativos à terceirização das atividades logísticas e dos atributos importantes a serem considerados no processo de seleção e escolha do PSL que mais esteja adequado à realidade da empresa contratante; e mostrando adicionalmente que o preço não é o fator mais importante no momento da decisão. / In recent decades the logistics activity has received strategic status as an important factor for gaining competitive advantages for businesses. Thus companies have been investing significantly in the development of agile logistics systems and efficient coordination of the supply chains, in which they operate. However, to avoid losing competitiveness and really add value to their business, many of these companies are increasingly focusing on their core business and thus transferring to others some or all of their logistics activities as a way to reduce costs and increase efficiency of their operation. This work addresses the problem of decision-making on outsourcing of logistics activities and how to facilitate the selection of a Third-Party Logistics (3PL). For this, it was developed and proposed a system to support the analysis and selection of a 3PL that combines general concepts of project management and multicriteria analysis to base the choice of the 3PL that better fits the current needs. In particular, we used the AHP - Analytic Hierarchy Process - which could handle qualitative and quantitative aspects, since it has been applied to many decision-making problems in different segments. As a way of validating the proposed methodology, it was partially applied to a manufacturer of diesel engines with a strong bias in its supply chain logistics, which was in process of outsourcing part of their logistics activities. As the most important results, it was found that this methodology adhered to the business environment, supporting the analysis and understanding of the opportunities and risks for the outsourcing of logistics activities, as well as important attributes to be considered in the selection process and choice of a 3PL that is more appropriate to the reality of the contracting company. In addition, it showed that the price is not the most important factor for this decision.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how an efficient freight flow and a surface utilization of a warehouse layout can be achieved in non-manufacturing third party logistics companies. In addition to that the aim is to provide an analysis of how logistics costs are affected by existing wastes. Based on this three research questions have been formulated:   1. What factors are decisive for how efficient a freight flow can be in a nonmanufacturing business?  2. How can the layout of a terminal be streamlined based on prioritizations of freight?   3. What logistics costs arise in a non-manufacturing business and how can these be linked to specific processes and activities?  Methodology: In order to answer the study´s research questions and fulfill the purpose a case study and a literature review were used as the method. Identification of waste, layout prioritization and logistics costs are the investigated areas in the literature review. The case study was conducted at a company where interviews, observations and data collection have taken place in order to answer the research questions and provide a clear picture of the problem area. The collected data is subsequently analyzed against the processed theory in the selected areas.     Findings: By applying the processed theory several wastes have been identified which underpin potential improvements. Among others the layout prioritization and the retrieval process of the case company have been identified as wastes and focused on in this study. The layout prioritizations have resulted in two restructured layout proposals in which the case company´s delivery destinations were relocated based on factors such as physical proximity and zone division. Through the proposal the efficiency of the internal freight flow of the case company can be increased and thereby cost and complexity be reduced. The retrieval process has been analyzed with the aim to identify all the affected activities and processes. By doing this each activity can be linked to the arising logistics cost. The result of this part of the study is an established calculation of the cost generated by the retrieval process.    Recommendations: For further studies in the selected area, an extended analysis of the entire freight flow from vendor to end customer is recommended to provide a deeper understanding of the entire work process. Also further studies in the logistics costs area in a non-manufacturing business is recommended. / Syfte: Studiens syfte är att studera hur ett effektivt godsflöde och ett ökat ytutnyttjande av lagerlayouten i en icke-producerande tredjepartslogistiks verksamhet kan uppnås. Dessutom är målet att ge en analys av hur logistikkostnader påverkas av slöseri. Baserad på detta har tre forskningsfrågor formulerats:   1. Vilka faktorer är avgörande för hur effektivt ett godsflöde i en icke-tillverkande verksamhet kan vara?  2. Hur kan layouten i en terminal effektiviseras baserat på prioritering av gods?  3. Vilka logistikkostnader uppstår i en icke-tillverkande verksamhet och hur kan dessa kopplas till specifika processer och aktiviteter?  Metod och genomförande: För att kunna besvara studiens forskningsfrågor och uppfylla studiens syfte användes en fallstudie och en litteraturstudie som metod. Till litteraturstudien har teori inom områdena identifiering av slöseri, layoutprioriteringar och logistikkostnader studerats. En fallstudie hos ett fallföretag genomfördes där intervjuer, observationer och insamling av data har skett för att kunna besvara studiens forskningsfrågor och ge en tydlig bild av problemområdet. Den insamlade datan analyseras senare mot vad den befintliga teorin säger inom området.   Studiens resultat: Genom tillämpning av den behandlade teorin har slöseri kunnat identifieras vilket ligger till grund för potentiella förbättringar. Bland annat har layoutprioriteringen och återtagsprocessen hos fallföretaget identifierats som slöseri och fokuserats på i studien. Layoutprioritering har resulterat i ett framtagande av förbättringsförslag där fallföretagets leveransdestinationer omsorterats baserad på faktorer som fysisk närhet och zonindelning. Genom förslagen kan effektiviteten av det interna godsflödet på fallföretags terminal ökas och därmed kostnader och komplexitet minskas. Återtagsprocessen har analyserats med mål att identifiera alla aktiviteter och processer som inverkar. Detta med mål att kunna analysera varje aktivitet och sedan kunna göra en koppling till kostnaderna som uppstår. Genom detta har en beräkning av logistikkostnaderna för återtagsprocessen etablerats i studien.  Rekommendationer: För vidare studier inom det valda området rekommenderas en utvidgad analys av hela godsflödet från försäljare till slutkunden för att ge en ännu djupare förståelse av arbetsprocesserna. Även en fördjupning av de logistikkostnader bundna till en icke- tillverkande verksamhet rekommenderas som ett område att studera vidare.

“Property owners who start to understand the new demands from the e--‐commerce companies and start handling the risks it implies can probably have a lot to win.” Johan Franzén, Catena The e--‐commerce sector is growing rapidly as a result of the current digitalization,changing the society's day--‐to--‐day consuming patterns. E--‐commerce companies have a unique set of  characteristics, creating new demands within the warehouse and logistics segment in the leasing market. Leases with durations between 10--‐15 years have traditionally been  common for warehouse and logistics properties. However the current trend is towards lease agreements with shorter lease duration. This report intends to analyze how the e--‐ commerce expansion affects the warehouse and logistics market, and to  determine if the statement regarding if there is a gap between different players in the market holds. The selection of participants in the study consists of e--‐ commerce companies, property owners and third--‐party logistics companies. In addition to this, interviews have been held with a variety of property consultants as well as with a professor in retail and logistics. Using a Qualitative method, the aim to examine the different market participants’ views and perceptions on the subject. The result of the study clearly shows there is an asymmetry between the different participants active within the segment.  The e--‐commerce companies demand lease agreements with shorter lease duration, whilst the property owners prefer longer lease durations in order to decrease the risk. Furthermore, shorter lease duration affects the transaction market and property value considerably. The demand for city logistics is increasing and the demand for central warehousing will remain. Finally,  it becomes more common with automation in the warehouse and logistics  space.

Under slutet av 1900-talet började producerande företag fokusera på sina kärntjänster och valde därför att lägga ut de aktiviteter som kunde genomföras billigare av någon annan på en tredje part. Då antalet aktörer inom branschen för tredjepartslogistik sedan tilltagit har konkurrensen på marknaden skapat ett behov för ökad förståelse vad gäller relationer och samarbete som en del i innovation- och utvecklingsarbetet. Syftet med denna studie har därför varit att ur fyra olika TPL-aktörers perspektiv undersöka hur relationer och samarbeten påverkar innovation- och utvecklingsmöjligheter inom TPL-verksamheten. För att kunna besvara studiens syfte består den teoretiska referensramen av vetenskapliga artiklar som behandlar det studerade ämnet. Artiklarna som använts är hämtade från flera olika databaser och de specifika sökningarna innefattar sökord som: TPL, LSP, 3PL, relationship, customer adaption, innovation, network theory samt strategic development. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom kvalitativa intervjuer med representanter från de studerade företagen. Med hjälp av den teoretiska referensramen samt det empiriska materialet har företagen sedan kategoriserats utefter roller och interaktionsgrad. Företagens nuvarande relationer har studerats för att sedan undersöka hur de kan utvecklas för att öka innovations- och utvecklingsmöjligheterna, genom nära interaktion med kunderna. Utifrån studiens resultat kan det konstateras att TPL-aktörernas roller varierar beroende på hur de agerar på marknaden. De studerade företagen kan även agera som dirigent på marknaden oavsett vilken roll företagen besitter. Vidare konstaterar studien även att avtalslängden hindrar företagen att skapa ömsesidiga och varaktiga relationer. För att skapa dessa viktiga relationer fastställs det att företagen inom TPL-verksamheten bör agera som en aktör vars relationer stämmer in på kategorierna integrated service agreements och in- house logistics solutions. Företagen kan därefter, med hjälp av tre tillvägagångssätt, arbeta med sina relationer för att utveckla sin egen innovationsförmåga. Studien konstaterar slutligen att företagens innovationsförmåga hindras av den stora prisfokuseringen som finns inom TPL- verksamheten. / In the late 1900s, producing companies began to focus on their core services and therefore chose to outsource the activities that could be carried out cheaper by someone else to a third party. As the number of companies in the third-party logistics industry has increased, the competition in the market has created a need for increased understanding of relationships and collaboration as part of the innovation and development work. The purpose of this study has therefore been to examine, from the perspective of four different TPL companies, how relationships and collaboration affect innovation and developmental opportunities within the TPL business. To answer the purpose of the study, the theoretical frame of reference consists of scientific articles based on the studied subject. The articles used was taken from several different databases and the specific searches include keywords such as: TPL, LSP, 3PL, relationship, customer adaptation, innovation, network theory and strategic development. The empirical material has been collected through qualitative interviews with representatives from the studied companies. With the help of the theoretical frame of reference and the empirical material, the companies have since been categorized according to roles and degree of interaction. The company’s current relationships have been studied to explore how they can be developed to increase innovation and development opportunities, through close interaction with customers. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that the roles of the TPL companies vary depending on how they act in the market. The studied companies can also act as orchestrators in the market regardless of the role of the companies. Furthermore, the study also finds that the contract length prevents companies from creating reciprocal and lasting relationships. To create these important relationships, it is stipulated that companies within the TPL business should act as an actor whose relationships fall into the categories of integrated service agreements and in-house logistics solutions. The companies can then, with the help of three approaches, work with their relationships to develop their own innovation capacity. Finally, the study finds that companies’ innovational ability is hindered by the large price focus that exists within the TPL business.