It is well-recognised that companies are under pressure to take responsibility for the environmental impact of their operations. Logistics service providers (LSPs), who through their transport and logistics operations have a large negative impact on the environment, are one type of supply chain actor that is under such pressure. However, in order for LSPs to be able to lower their environmental impact sufficiently, their customers, the shippers, also need to take responsibility. This thesis takes its starting point in the relationships between LSPs and shippers and argues that in order for LSPs’ environmental activities to reach their full potential, the shippers must be included in the activities. The purpose of this thesis is to describe and explain how supply chain actors, with a specific focus on logistics service providers and shippers, can include environmental activities in their relationships with each other. This comprises identifying those environmental activities that are relevant for relationships between LSPs and shippers, as well as describing the extent to which environmental activities are included in such relationships. By means of the theoretical perspective of power between supply chain actors, the thesis also sets out to further understand how power balances between LSPs and shippers can influence the extent to which they include environmental activities in their relationships with each other. Finally, the use of the theoretical perspective of coordination aims, through the analysis of coordination mechanisms, to shed light on how environmental activities are included in LSP-shipper relationships. The research in this thesis has mainly descriptive and explanatory aims, although due to the novelty of research into LSPshipper relationships in an environmental context, the research process as such is mainly exploratory. Following an abductive approach, the insights from literature are combined with empirical data from two cases studies, a homepage scan, a survey and a study of city logistics projects. Most of the applied research methods take a dual perspective of relationships between supply chain actors and thus include both LSPs and shippers. One conclusion from the research conducted for this thesis comprises the identification of environmental activities as well as a suggestion for a classification based on the activities’ role in the business between LSPs and shippers. With a starting point in the identified activities, a comparison of a market perspective and a relationship perspective of environmental activities in LSP-shipper relationships indicates that LSPs are able to fulfil the requirements set by shippers and that shippers’ requirement thus are met. The research does, however, point to a passiveness among LSPs in their relationships with shippers, who in turn would like the LSPs to be more proactive. Further, based on an analysis of power balances in LSP-shipper relationships, it is suggested that in an LSP-shipper relationship in which the shipper has a power advantage, the shipper’s environmental ambitions for logistics sets the agenda for the environmental activities in that relationship. An analysis of coordination of environmental activities in LSP-shipper relationships indicates that the mechanisms of direct supervision, which is when one actor tells the other actor in the relationship what to do, and mutual adjustment can be chosen to be used in order to include environmental activities in LSP-shipper relationships. While direct supervision is suggested to be a coordination mechanism that is easy for shippers to apply, mutual adjustment appears to hold greater potential for the development of environmental activities. Finally, these findings in combination are suggested to have implications for the coordination of environmental activities in LSP-shipper relationships. More specifically, this thesis offers a categorisation of different types of LSP-shipper relationships and the involved actors’ environmental ambition. Depending on whether the environmental ambition of the LSP and shipper in a specific relationship is high or low appears to have implications for the possibility to work towards greener supply chains for each type of relationship. / Många företag känner av pressen av agera för att minska sin miljöpåverkan. Flera företag har också insett att ett sådant agerande även har affärsmässiga fördelar. När det gäller miljöpåverkan så tillhör logistikföretagen, till stor del på grund av sina transporter, de företag som insett att något måste göras. Möjligheten för dessa företag att göra olika miljöåtgärder påverkas av varuägarna som köper logistikföretagens tjänster. Som en följd av detta blir länken mellan dessa företag – relationen – viktig för att möjliggöra förbättringar när det gäller påverkan från logistiken. Denna avhandling har som syfte att beskriva och förklara hur aktörer i försörjningskedjan, med ett speciellt fokus på relationer mellan logistikföretag och varuägare, kan inkludera miljöåtgärder i sina relationer med varandra. För att över huvud taget kunna diskutera miljöåtgärder i relationer mellan logistikföretag och varuägare så är det viktigt att veta vad för typer av miljöåtgärder detta kan röra sig om. Första forskningsfrågan i avhandlingen behandlar detta och i avhandlingen identifieras ett antal sådana åtgärder. Det kan röra sig om relativt tekniska åtgärder så som alternativa bränslen, olika typer av fordon och energieffektiv körning, till åtgärder som handlar om styrning av logistiken, så som design av logistiksystemen, till åtgärder som är väldigt relationsspecifika som exempelvis specifika projekt eller miljögrupper. Med avstamp i de identifierade åtgärderna analyseras sedan relationerna mellan logistikföretag och varuägare i några olika steg. En jämförelse mellan logistikföretagens och varuägarnas perspektiv på de miljöåtgärder som erbjuds, efterfrågas samt ingår i relationerna dem emellan visar att logistikföretagen ofta kan tillgodose sina kunders önskemål. Samtidigt som detta visar att varuägarnas önskemål verkar vara uppfyllda, så finns det en frustration från varuägarnas sida över att logistikföretagen inte är mer proaktiva. En av anledningarna till detta kan vara maktbalansen mellan logistikföretag och varuägare. Resultaten i avhandlingen pekar nämligen på att varuägarna oftast har makten över logistikföretagen, vilket verkar leda till att varuägarens ambitioner gällande miljö ofta är det som sätter agendan för vilka miljöåtgärder som inkluderas i relationen mellan dessa företag. Vidare så kan de miljöåtgärder som ingår i en relation mellan logistikföretag och varuägare koordineras på olika sätt och flera sådana tas upp i avhandlingen. Resultaten pekar även på att maktbalansen i relationerna påverkar i vilken grad miljöåtgärder inkluderas i relationer mellan logistikföretag och varuägare samt hur dessa koordineras. En matris, som bygger på logistikföretagets och varuägarens ambitioner gällande miljö för en specifik relation, sammanfattar resultaten i avhandlingen. Beroende på om denna ambition är hög eller låg för de båda aktörerna påverkar i sin tur möjligheten för varje typ av relation att arbeta mot gröna försörjningskedjor.

Abstract Purpose: is to identify the challenges of multimodal transport service of ESLSE in the Europe trade routes operation from origin up to destination and to analyze the contribution of network partners to ESLSE solving these challenges.   Design\Data collection\Approach: This thesis relied on qualitative research design in order to identify the key challenges of multimodal transport services and to show how the network partners contribute to solving these challenges. Moreover, to achieve the objective of the study, semi structure interviews were used, and the responses from 14 experts were analyzed.   Theoretical framework: The theoretical base and concepts are used to determine the theoretical boundaries of the research. It provides an overview of the literature that exists in the challenges of multimodal transport services. The theoretical framework firstly encompassed the logistics performance and personnel, followed by the description of multimodal transport services, customs facilitation, ICT, infrastructure, network partner integration and port administration. Lastly, theoretical synthesis is developed that are identified from the theory to demonstrate the interrelationship between individual concepts.   Findings: The findings of this study revealed that multimodal transport service was impacted by a number of challenges even if the network partners contributed some solutions. The results of the study showed that the lack of skilled logistics personnel; poor ICT system; lack of integration between network partners; lack of effective infrastructure; inadequate and ineffective capacity of trucks; material theft; corruption; security risk; lack of prompt response in the operation between network partners; monopoly of the operation by ESLSE; and lack of quality of transported cargo are the main challenges for multimodal transport services. Managerial implication: For managers of network partners, it is recommended that they should be aware that the challenge of multimodal transport service is the result of poor ICT systems; lack of integration between network partners; lack of effective infrastructure; lack of skilled logistic personnel; inadequate and ineffective capacity of trucks; material theft; corruption; security risk; lack of quality of transported cargo; and lack of prompt response in the operation between the network partners Hence, they should take action to solve the problems by integrating with shipping agents and steering committees such as customers office, transport minister, and maritime authority. Moreover, the shipping agents managers can use the results of the study to enhance their contribution in order to solve the challenges of multimodal transport services by communicating with the ESLSE.   Limitations: The small sample size without adequately diverse geographical spread and sample of shipping agents and dry ports since the study is only limited to Europe trade routes and it did not take in to consideration other continents like Africa and Asia which could have given additional information on the topic. The sample of shipping agent and dry ports was limited with 3 out of 11 and 3 out of 7 respectively.   Originality\Value: This thesis is one of the first to analyze the challenges of multimodal transport in the case of Ethiopia to Europe trade operation by interviewing both the ESLSE and shipping agents.

This study is designed to gain a better understanding of the decision process of freight shippers who use commercial truckers. Pursuant to this study, it is possible to gather some insights into the phenomenon of the selection of a trucking company to transport goods. Planning is essential to the attainment of goals in any type of firm, and that is especially true in the volatile environment of commercial trucking. Development of the external environment of trucking is prerequisite to the planning process and essential to the attainment of goals. The external environment of a trucking firm is generally represented by economic, social, and political influences, which extend specifically to the nature and tendencies of its markets, i.e., the shippers.

Today’s logistics practices are moving from inventory-based push supply chains to replenishment-based pull supply chains, leading to a lower and less centralized inventory, smaller shipment sizes, and more just-in-time deliveries. As a result, industries are now demanding greater reliability in freight transportation. Delays and uncertainty in freight transportation translate directly into additional inventory, higher manufacturing costs, less economic competitiveness for businesses, and higher costs of goods that are being passed on to the consumers. Given the growing demand in freight transportation, the emerging needs to better understand freight behavior for better policy and investment decisions, and the increasing role of reliability in freight transportation, this research aims at providing a) better understanding of how the freight system users value travel time reliability in their transportation decisions, and b) advanced methods in quantifying the user’s willingness to pay for the improvement of transportation related attributes, particularly travel time reliability. To understand how the freight industry values travel time reliability in their transportation decisions, and particularly the presence of user heterogeneity, this research designed and conducted a stated preference (SP) survey for freight users in road transportation. Based on the feedback received during the pilot stage, reliability was measured as the standard deviation of travel time and presented as a frequency of on-time and late delivery in the choice scenarios. The survey collected 1,226 responses from 159 firms in Florida between January and May 2016 via online and paper methods. Various modeling approaches were explored to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) measures among freight users, including multinomial logit (MNL) and mixed logit model. Market segmentation and interaction modeling techniques were employed to investigate preference variations among user groups, commodity groups, product type, and various other shipment characteristics, including shipping distance and weight. In general, across all groups in the sample, values of $37.00 per shipment-hour ($1.53 per ton-hour) for travel time savings and $55.00 per shipment-hour ($3.81 per ton- hour) for improvements of reliability were found in this research. Furthermore, while investigating the effects of shipping characteristics on the user’s preference in WTP, the results suggested that shipping distance and weight were the two most important variables. The results of the study help advance the understanding of the impact of the performance of transportation systems on freight transportation, which will lead to policy and investment decisions that better serve the needs of the freight community.

Detta är en kvalitativ undersökning om vilken roll MARPOL-konventionen spelar för transportköpare. Vilken miljöhänsyn de tar vid val av transportör och till vilken grad de känner till MARPOL-konventionen och det arbete som besättningen ombord på fartygen utför för att leva upp till dess krav. Det studerade problemet behandlarförståelsen för att miljöarbete, inte bara inom sin egen arbetssektor, utan även inom andra arbetssektorer, är en viktig förståelse för att uppnå ett stort samarbete för miljön.Undersökningen är baserad på en semi-strukturerade metod av öppna intervjuer med fem svenska företag som handlar med varor internationellt och är transportköpare. Undersökningen visar på att transportkostnad på lång sikt, miljöarbete inom transportbolaget och pålitligheten gällande de avsatta leveranstiderna samt den tidigare arbetsrelationen mellan transportköpare och transportbolag, är de faktorer som spelar störst roll vid val av transportör för transportköpare. Samt att ett företag av fem intervjuade, känner till MARPOL-Konventionen och lite av dess arbetskrav som ställs på besättningen ombord på fartygen. Allt arbete med denna undersökning och utvecklingen av dess rapport är genomfört av arbetets författare. / A qualitative study regarding what role the MARPOL-Convention plays for the costumers of transport service. What regard of environment they take in consideration for their choice of carrier and to what degree they are aware of the MARPOL-Convention and the work the crew put in on board vessels, in order to live up to the requirements of the MARPOL-Convention. The problem deals with the understanding of the environmental work, not only within their own labor sector, but also in other labor sectors, is an important understanding to achieve a great partnership for the environment. The survey is based on a semi-structured method of open interviews with five Swedish companies that are dealing in goods internationally and are costumers of transport services. This survey shows that; long term transport costs, environmental work within the transport company, the reliability regarding the assigned delivery times and the earlier working relationship between shippers and carriers, play the greatest role for the choice of carrier. And that one out of five respondents are aware of the MARPOL-Convention, and some of the work it requires of the crew on board the vessels.