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According to the author¡¦s professional observations of the 3PL industrial situations and problems, the main issue of this paper is to present real cases providing solutions on 3PL industrial pitfalls. In this paper, the pitfalls of ¡§Third party logistics¡¨ industry actually focus on the ¡§NVOCC¡¨ services, which indicate the vicious competitions of price for these decades. Due to the low entry barrier and low cost requirements; 3PL industry originally is under a keen competitive environment. Plus, because of the different price structure of underlying carrier during the recent decades, for 3PLs, the vicious cycle of NVOCC becomes more and more serious. Therefore, in this paper, author analyzes two practical cases based on existing literature review. The main purpose here is finding out the efficient suggestions of solutions on breaking this vicious cycle of competition by improving the core competitiveness from both internal services offering and external logistic network.

Purpose - The purpose of the bachelor thesis is to describe the relationship between Third-party logistics (3PL) suppliers and car assemblers under Just-in-sequence (JIS). The paper refers to a case in the Spanish automotive industry and the main target is to identify and analyse the potential problems between both parts and explain how they work together. Methodology – The paper is based on a case study research, with the aid of interviews with people of the industry and participant-observations, to explain how this part of the supply chain works, the relationships along the chain and the difficulties of sequencing. Results – The paper identifies and analyses the potential problems between both parts and relates how a mistake from one of them can affect the other one. Then, the results are discussed and associated with some concepts of the theoretical framework. Limitations - The results of this case study can only be related to the Spanish automotive industry, for car assemblers that work under a JIS context with several 3PL suppliers. The case study only identifies and analyses the problems, solutions and measures for managing them are not provided.

Braathens Regional Airlines is a result of a merger between multiple smaller, domestic airlines. As a result, the company has a large supply base for logistics services. This has lead to difficulties following up the operation and a complex supply structure. Therefore, in order to improve the overall logistics operations, the aim was to evaluate the current external transportation solution for the distribution of spare parts. The evaluation was accomplished through a comparison with two alternative scenarios: Supply base reduction and Third-party logistics (TPL). Supply base reduction meant removing suppliers from the current supply base, and Third-party logistics entailed outsourcing all external transportation to a single company. The comparison was based on five criteria: Transportation cost, Administrative workload, Delivery precision, Lead time and Flexibility. To be able to carry out a comparison, data regarding all the criteria was collected for all cases. This was done through extractions from enterprise systems from four of the case company's largest carriers, as well as through interviews with employees and a representative from a Third-party logistics service provider. After analyzing the provided data, the main conclusion was that both supply base reduction and TPL would improve the operation, where the case of TPL was expected to be slightly better. In order to further strengthen the analysis, the company has to develop its data collection procedures. In addition to the exact transportation solution, changes within the organization and its routines can improve the operations further.

Syftet med arbetet har varit att studera hemtagningen av varor ifrån Asien till Sverige, och ta fram olika förbättringsförslag på hur importföretag inom klädindustrin kan minska lagerhållna volymer samt genomflöde i sina centrallager. Detta har gjorts med hjälp av ett textilföretag i, Borås, som tillverkar och importera alla sina produkter ifrån Asien. Textilföretaget vill vara anonyma, därför har författaren av rapporten valt att kalla det för Företag X. Företag X omsätter cirka 500 miljoner, och i dagsläget mellanlandar allt gods i deras centrallagret i Borås. Delar av godset är redan vid produktion öronmärkt till specifik återförsäljare, därför har författaren valt att koncentrera sig på just dessa flöden i rapporten för att avgränsa arbetet något. Rapportens syfte är med andra ord att ta fram olika scenarier som visar på hur detta gods kan levereras direkt ut till respektive återförsäljare, utan att behöva ta omvägen via Borås.För att hitta för- och nackdelar med de olika scenarier gjordes det inledningsvis en litteraturstudie för att skapa en gedigen informationsgrund att utgå ifrån. Sedan genomfördes ett flertal studiebesök och semistrukturerade intervjuer med inblandade parter i försörjningskedjan. Respondenterna var många och från flera olika företag och positioner, allt för att få resultatet så gynnsamt som möjligt för alla inblandade.Analysen visar på tre olika scenarier, utifrån Företag X’s förutsättningar och arbetets avgränsningar, som alla bidrar till att Företag X kan minska sina lagerhållna volymer samt genomflöde i sitt centrallager.Scenario 1 innebär att återförsäljaren tar över ansvaret av godset redan i en hub i Asien. Godset sorteras ut till respektive återförsäljare redan i fabriken alternativt i en hub/terminal i Asien, innan återförsäljaren möter upp och tar över ansvaret vid hubben. Det är då upp till återförsäljaren hur den vill frakta godset från Asien till Sverige, och Företag X släpper där med allt ansvar. Detta scenario innebär att försörjningskedjan är kort och kostnadsfokuserad och Företag X kommer kunna minska de kostnader som uppstår kring frakt och hemtagning av godset.Scenario 2 innebär att återförsäljaren tar över ansvaret för godset vid en terminal/hub i Göteborg. Godset har då cross-dockats (sorterats upp till respektive återförsäljare) antingen i en hub/terminal i Asien eller så görs det i terminalen/hubben i Göteborg. Från hubben i Göteborg är det sedan återförsäljarens ansvar att sköta frakten till sitt eget lager.Scenario 3 är likvärdigt hur det ser ut för Företag X idag, att återförsäljaren tar över ansvaret för godset först när det anlänt till deras lastbrygga. Skillnaden är dock att det gods som redan är öronmärkt till återförsäljare inte mellanlandar i centrallagret i Borås. Istället cross-dockas godset i en hub i Asien, alternativt i en hub i Göteborg.Författaren anser dock att Företag X själva ska göra en djupare efterforskning innan ett scenario eventuellt implementeras, då författaren av rapporten inte hade tillgång till all inköp- och försäljningsdata.vEn slutsats som har dragits och som presenteras i resultatet är att scenario 3 bör vara mest gynnsamt för Företag X i dagsläget och även på lång sikt. De behåller då maximal kontroll av leveransen, vilket innebär att pris- och tillverkningsinformation inte riskerar att hamna i fel händer, vilket skulle kunna resultera i kundbortfall och nya starka konkurrenter. / The purpose of this report was to study the imports of goods from Asia to Sweden, and to present improvements on how companies in the textile industry can reduce their inventory volumes and goods flow in their central warehouse. The study has been done with a little help from a textile company in Borås, which manufactures and imports all their products from Asia. The textile company wants to be anonymous, therefore the author of this report has chosen to entitle it as Company X. Company X has a turnover of approximately 500 million SEK, and they currently interlining all their goods in their central warehouse in Borås. Parts of the goods are already earmarked for specific retailers, therefore the author has chosen to concentrate on these flows only, to delimit the work a bit. In other words, the purpose of the report is to provide different scenarios that show how the goods can be delivered directly to their retailers, without having to take the route through Borås.In order to find the pros and cons of the different scenarios, a literature study was initially made to create a solid information base. Then several visits at Company X and semi structured interviews were conducted with different stakeholders in the supply chain. There were several respondents from different companies and positions, all to make the results of the study as beneficial as possible for all involved.The analysis shows three different scenarios, based on Company X's prerequisites and work delimitations, which all contributes to a reduce of Company X stored volumes and goods flow in its central warehouse.Scenario 1: The retailer takes over the responsibility of the goods already in a hub in Asia. The goods are sorted out to respective retailer already in the factory or in a hub/terminal in Asia, before the retailer meets up and take over the responsibility of the goods at the hub. Then it is up to the retailer how they want to ship the goods from Asia to Sweden, and at that time Company X releases all the responsibility. This scenario means that the supply chain is short and cost-focused, and Company X will be able to reduce their costs that arise from shipping the goods.Scenario 2: The retailer takes over the responsibility for the goods at a terminal/hub in Gothenburg. Before that, the goods have been cross-docked (sorted out to respective retailers) either in a hub/terminal in Asia or in the terminal/hub in Gothenburg. From the hub in Gothenburg it is the retailer’s responsibility to handle the freight to their own warehouse.Scenario 3: Is equivalent to what it looks like for Company X today, where the retailer takes over the responsibility for the goods when it arrives at their own warehouse. The difference is that the goods do not pass at the central warehouse in Borås. Instead, the goods are cross-docked in a hub in Asia, alternatively in a hub in Gothenburg, before it delivers to the retailers.The author of this report believes that Company X must do a deeper investigation before a scenario may be implemented, as the author of the report did not have access to all purchase- and sales data.viiOne conclusion that has been drawn is that scenario 3 should be most favourable to Company X both at the present and at a long term. They retain the maximum control of delivery, which means that information about price and manufacturing does not end up in wrong hands, which could lead to a loss of customer and new stong competitors.

The construction industry’s world is very complex, competitive and challenging. That means that everyone who is involved needs to be constantly updated and follow the latest technological trends and ideas to be able to work on a viable project by minimizing the problems.  Nevertheless, there are always different complications that arise mainly because there is not much attention given to logistics and logistics solutions. The purpose of this thesis is to identify the major problems in the Swedish construction industry as well as their corresponding logistics solutions applied by different companies. Moreover, this research will try to investigate how the use of the fairly new concept of Construction Consolidation Centers can improve the situation primarily with the material transportation. The current thesis was conducted by investigating the relevant literature and arranging interviews with a few of the many consultant companies working in the construction industry. The outcomes from both investigations are analyzed and compared showing that there are important differences between the theory (literature review) and the reality (interviews) as some of the main problems in real projects do not appear in the current literature. It is also clearly exposed that Construction Consolidation Centers are a game changer to this kind of projects and such a solution is suggested from both sides, while there is high necessity from the companies to emphasize on the logistics and invest more on their logistics solutions.

[pt] A terceirização das atividades logísticas é uma prática crescente no contexto atual e constitui uma estratégia de gestão para gerar vantagens competitivas. Apesar do aumento do interesse acadêmico sobre prestadores de serviços logísticos (PSL), são poucos os estudos que dedicam especial ênfase a sintetizar o estado da arte sobre PSL, sendo que as revisões de literatura na área existem apenas em língua inglesa. Assim, como objetivo desta dissertação é apresentada uma revisão sistemática da literatura em português sobre prestadores de serviços logísticos, comparando os resultados obtidos com revisões sistemáticas da literatura sobre PSLs disponíveis em língua inglesa. As publicações de interesse foram localizadas nas bases eletrônicas de dados Emeraldinsight, ScienceDirect, Scielo (Scientific Electronic Library Online), Google Acadêmico, e periódicos da CAPES. Utilizou-se o modelo (framework) de Marasco (2007) e o modelo de Maloni e Carter (2006) para organizar as informações da literatura sobre PSL. O modelo de Marasco (2007) inclui o contexto, a estrutura, o processo e os resultados do relacionamento Cliente- PSL. O modelo de Maloni e Carter (2006), também utilizado para guiar a revisão, forneceu as bases para estabelecer as variáveis de análise das informações, sendo elas: 1) definições sobre PSL, 2) motivadores para se terceirizar a logística, 3) inibidores, 4) processo de terceirização de serviços logísticos, 5) critérios de seleção e/ou avaliação de PSLs, 6) indicadores de desempenho, 7) atividades terceirizadas e 8) pesquisas futuras. Os resultados indicam que os modelos permitem identificar e organizar de forma eficiente os principais assuntos sobre PSLs, bem como as limitações das investigações existentes, oferecendo possibilidades de pesquisas futuras. Ao comparar os resultados obtidos com revisões sistemáticas da literatura sobre PSL em língua inglesa, são identificados vários aspectos em comum, mas também assuntos que diferem, e que são característicos dos PSLs do Brasil. Isso evidencia o fato de que a análise da terceirização da logística pode variar de acordo com a região e são necessários estudos que continuem ampliando o escopo geográfico da pesquisa sobre PSLs. / [en] The outsourcing of logistics activities is a growing practice in the current context, and it’s a management strategy to promote competitive advantages. Despite the increased academic interest in logistics service providers (LSP), there are few studies in literature that devote special emphasis to synthesize the state of the art on LSP, and the few literature reviews in the area exist only in English. Thus, the objective of this dissertation is to present a systematic review of the literature in Portuguese on logistics service providers, and to compare the results obtained to the systematic reviews available in English. The publications of interest were located by querying the electronics databases Emeraldinsight, ScienceDirect, Scielo (Scientific Electronic Library Online), Google Scholar, and periodicals by CAPES. The frameworks of Marasco (2007) and Maloni and Carter (2006) were used to organize the information of the literature on LSP. The framework of Marasco (2007) includes the context, structure, process and outcomes of the LSP-client relationship. The framework of Maloni and Carter (2006), also used to guide the review provided the basis to establish the variables of analysis of information, namely: 1) definitions of LSP, 2) motivations to outsource logistics, 3) inhibitors, 4) the process of outsourcing of logistics services, 5) selection criteria and / or evaluation of LSPs, 6) performance indicators, 7) outsourcing activities and 8) future research. The results indicate that the models allow to identify and to organize efficiently LSPs on the main issues, as well as the limitations of existing research, offering possibilities for future research. By comparing the results obtained with systematic reviews of the LSPs literature in English, several common aspects are identified, but also different issues characteristic of LSPs in Brazil. This confirms the fact that the logistics outsourcing analysis can vary by region and further studies are needed to continue expanding the geographical scope of the investigation of LSPs.

[pt] A prática de terceirização das atividades logísticas pelas empresas é bastante comum no cenário atual de mercado, onde as empresas buscam, cada vez mais, novas estratégias de auxílio no gerenciamento de seus negócios, bem como redução de custos, agilidade na solução de seus problemas, aumento do nível de serviço prestado a seus clientes e melhorias no desempenho. Através desta estratégia de terceirização, entram em cena os chamados Prestadores de Serviços Logísticos (PSL). Sendo assim, este estudo tem como objetivo avaliar o nível de utilização de conceitos básicos e de iniciativas e práticas relacionadas ao tema Gerenciamento da Cadeia de Suprimentos (SCM), pelos Prestadores de Serviços Logísticos atuantes no estado do Pará. Para isso, desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa survey de cunho quantitativo junto aos PSL, utilizando como instrumento de coleta de dados um questionário dotado de uma escala Likert de quatro pontos, onde, através de suas respostas, os entrevistados foram responsáveis por expressar qual o nível de uso dos conceitos básicos e das iniciativas e práticas, abordadas neste estudo, nos seus processos logísticos. Visto que a pesquisa se enquadra como quantitativa, para o tratamento e avaliação dos dados, foi utilizado um software estatístico e realizada uma análise estatística descritiva. Com os resultados, concluiu-se que, no que se refere ao uso tanto de conceitos básicos quanto de iniciativas e práticas de SCM, os PSL considerados na amostra estudada não possuem um nível de utilização muito bem definido, dada a grande variação observada entre as respostas. / [en] The practice of outsourcing logistics activities by companies is quite common in the current market, where companies seek increasingly new support strategies to manage their business, as well as cost savings, agility in solving their problems, increasing level service and improving performance. Through this outsourcing strategy, Logistics Services Providers (LSP) come into play. Thus, the objective of this study is evaluate the usage level of basic concepts and initiatives and practices related to the theme Supply Chain Management (SCM) by the logistics services providers operating in the state of Pará. For this, a survey research of quantitative nature was developed with these LSP, using a four-point scale Likert questionnaire, where the respondents were responsible for expressing what is the usage level of the basic concepts and of the initiatives and practices, exposed on this study, on their logistics processes. As the research is quantitative, a statistic software were used and a descriptive statistical analysis were made to evaluate the collected data. From the results, it was concluded that the LSP considered in the study sample don’t have a well- defined usage level, due to the large variations observed among the answers.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate how companies in third-party logistics operate within customized warehouse solutions to identify which factors affect the work processes.  Method – To fulfil the purpose of the study, a literature study was conducted to create a theoretical framework to obtain an understanding of the subject TPL. Furthermore, to fulfil the purpose, a case study was conducted at a TPL company. The case study consisted of interviews and observations in which generated the empirical data for the analysis. The outcome of the data was interpreted and analysed by triangulation in order to detect patterns from different perspectives.  Findings – It can be stated that the work conducted in TPL-companies with customized warehousing solutions varies, due to the fact that different customers, with different products are handled in different ways. Furthermore, it emerged that there are at least 11 factors, both external and internal, that are estimated to have a direct impact on the work process in TPL- companies with customized warehousing solutions.  Implications – The results of the study have contributed to increasing the understanding of how TPL-companies work with customized warehousing solutions and also contributed to identify a number of factors that affect the work processes. With the result obtained, the study has contributed to supplementing the lack of research concerning TPL from a TPL perspective.  By visualizing the work process in TPL companies with customized warehouse solutions and highlighting factors that affect the work process in customized warehouses, this study can contribute to support the internal work in TPL companies. Furthermore, the improvement measures presented for seven of the factors can be used as a tool for TPL companies.  Limitations – The limitations of the study are that only one TPL company was included in the case study and three of the case company’s employees participated in the empirical collection. If multiple TPL companies and respondents with different areas of responsibility, one could assume that more factors than the 11 found in this study, could have been identified. Thus, the generalizability is limited for the study.

Det är vanligt förekommande att företag outsourcar logistiska aktiviteter genom samarbete med TPL-företag. Studien är baserad på företaget OBH Nordica som outsourcar lager- och transportlösningar till företaget Aditro Logistics. För att den interorganisatoriska relationen mellan leverantör och TPL-företag ska fungera på ett effektivt sätt är det viktigt att ha välfungerande koordineringsmekanismer mellan företagen. Den här studien fokuserar på claimshanteringen och hur den fungerar inom och mellan företagen. Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur olika koordineringsmekanismer kan användas för att ta fram ett beslutsstödsunderlag för claimshanteringen mellan en leverantör och ett TPL-företag. Fokus ligger på att ta fram förbättringsförslag och skapa tydliga riktlinjer över hur arbetet bör gå tillväga innan ett beslut kring claimshanteringen tas. Resulterat bygger på den studerande relationen runt claimshantering mellan företagen och visar vikten av att ha en välfungerande koordinering. Studien har identifierat följande koordineringsmekanismer; kommunikations- och informationsflöde, relationer, kontrakt och betalningsmekanismer samt standardisering. Det har identifierats brister gällande relationen och kommunikationen mellan företagen på operativ nivå. Överflödig information i formuläret där claims registreras anses även det som ett problem eftersom det leder till misskommunikation och onödig mailkontakt med negativ ton. Ytterligare problem handlar om att OBH Nordica godkänner betydligt fler claims än Aditro Logistics och att Aditro inte använder sig av standardiserade svar. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>