Sustainable supply chain management needs sustainable logistics services. The strategic role played by logistics service providers

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to examine the concept of sustainable service co-creation in triadic business relationships in logistics and supply chain management. More companies seek to develop sustainable solutions that would not be sustainable exclusively for themselves but for the supply chain they belong to. In doing that – especially when dealing with services – they may need the external support from logistics service providers (LSPs). This paper aims to explore the innovative initiatives undertaken by LSPs in triadic relationship management with their customers and suppliers while co-creating sustainable services along the supply chain. Design/methodology/approach – To investigate the research question, a systematic literature review and empirical exploratory investigation through case study will be conducted adopting the qualitative methodology, to explore trends and evolving paradigms. Findings – A literature review conducted in this paper enriches existing literature through an integration of sustainability in a viable system approach and logistics service provision, in particular, it investigates the ways in which sustainability is achieved. It is assumed that the triadic relationship among an LSP and its customers and suppliers requires significant modifications in collaboration and an innovative approach in operating procedures. Research limitations/implications – This paper is an exploratory study and limited in its scope to an example of a relationship that focuses mainly on three actors: the supplier, the LSP and the customer. However, it could be extended in terms of numbers of case studies investigated. Practical implications – The implications arising from the literature and the empirical research offer a range of current sustainable practices in the services sector. This could be a starting point for other research and company activities. Originality/value – There is little research that addresses the issue of sustainability and logistics service providers simultaneously, hence the present paper is meant to fill the gap by providing a foundation which actors of different supply chains could use as a benchmark. This study gives evidence of how logistics services may contribute to sustainable development. Key words – sustainable supply chain management, logistics service providers, viable system approach, co-creation, business relationship managemen

Internal report cluster 1: Urban freight innovations and solutions for sustainable deliveries (1/4)

Technical report about sustainable urban freight solutions, part 1 of

PARCEL DELIVERY AND URBAN LOGISTICS- CHANGES IN URBAN COURIER, EXPRESS AND PARCEL SERVICES: THE FRENCH CASE

Urban freight transport takes an increasingly important place in the urban mobility strategy. Experiments to optimize the movement of goods inside the city do not miss. Many relate to traditional goods, without being concerned with an activity in particular, others on the contrary target a precise sector i.e. fresh products, spare parts, etc. Since few years, new actors based on innovative scheme of distribution for the last-miles are merging, in the urban parcel distribution in particular. The whole actors and theirs strategies are changing to be nearer to the customer demand, shaping new logistic organisations. The purpose of this paper is to give an updated overview of the urban parcel delivery sector in France and some elements to discuss about the changes and new opportunities in this particular sector

UPS, I did it again : Panalpina

This thesis intends to study a cross-border transaction in the Transportation & Logistics industry. This industry is being subject to a strong consolidation trend over the last years, as a response to the current sector’s challenges and the intense competition level. In this sense and as a major study, I propose that United Parcel Service (UPS), one of the biggest package delivery companies in the world and based in the United States, acquires the Swiss-based company, Panalpina World Transport (Panalpina), a top 5 European Freight Forwarding and Logistics company. I suggest a bid price of ₣123.84 ($127.00) per share, reflecting a premium of 18$839Mn, while the expected gain for UPS is $346Mn. After the acquisition, it is proposed that Panalpina operates as a subsidiary of the major company, UPS.A tese apresentada pretende estudar uma transação internacional na indústria dos Transportes e Logística. Esta mesma indústria tem sido sujeita a uma forte tendência de consolidação nos últimos anos, como resposta aos desafios correntes do setor e do alto nível concorrencial existente no mesmo. Neste âmbito e como estudo central, proponho que a United Parcel Service (UPS), uma das maiores empresas na área de distribuição de embalagens do mundo com sede nos EUA, adquira uma empresa Suíça, a Panalpina World Transport (Panalpina), sendo esta uma empresa de distribuição e logística presente no top 5 Europeu. Como preço de oferta sugiro ₣123.84 ($127.00) por ação, representando um prémio de 18% sobre o valor de mercado do dia anterior à avaliação. Com este negócio, o qual se planeia que seja realizado completamente em dinheiro, espera-se criar um valor líquido de sinergias de $839 milhões, sendo que o ganho para UPS é estimado em$346 milhões. Após a transação, é proposto que a Panalpina opere como uma subsidiária da empresa principal, a UPS

Korean Domestic Third Party Logistics Providers: Research for a Global Market

The objective of this thesis is to contribute to the globalization of Korean domestic third party logistics companies. This is accomplished through a benchmarking model for globalization based on a comparative analysis of domestic and global third party logistics provider (3PLs) companies. The research performed a SWOT analysis to identify the capabilities required by Korean domestic 3PLs to become global 3PLs. The research investigated the following areas: 1) global service, 2) infrastructure, 3) supply chain management (SCM) services, and 4) information technology (promptness, visibility). This was accomplished by an extensive literature review, case analysis of logistics companies, and telephone interviews with individuals in charge of logistics. Four areas for improvement were identified: 1) Construction of SCM for one-stop service, 2) Utilization of the advanced IT systems for e-SCM, and consolidating communication network, 3) Expansion of logistics infra-structure by analyzing each region of the world for return on investment opportunities and competition, 4) Enlargement of scale in which Korean 3PLs must enlarge their scale of operations as soon as possible by strategic methods such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) with local companies. There is potential growth for Korean 3PLs if they strive to enhance competitiveness as noted above and have government supports. These improvement areas provide a foundation for global competitiveness

iFloW: an integrated logistics software system for inbound supply chain traceability

Visibility plays an important role in supply chain management. Such visibility is not only important for better planning, but especially for real-time execution related with the traceability of goods. In inbound supply chain management, logistics planners need to trace raw materials from their requests in order to properly plan a plant’s production. The iFloW (Inbound Logistics Tracking System) integrates logistics providers IT applications and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to track and trace incoming freights. The Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) is updated in real-time allowing an improved materials planning process. This paper presents the iFloW project and describes how these issues are addressed and validated in a real pilot project.This research is sponsored by the Portugal Incentive System for Research and technological Development PEst-UID/CEC/00319/2013 and by project in co-promotion no 36265/2013 (Project HMIExcel—2013–2015)

Ecosystem Approach to the Formation of Goods Express Delivery Supply Chains in Aviation Logistics

The article shows that in the context of accelerating the processes of economic integration in aviation logistics at the micro, meso and macro levels, complicating the forms of business organization, the emergence of new forms of cooperation between companies and new ways of jointly creating added value, many organizational boundaries in the economy are becoming more blurred and dynamic. The use of the concept of "ecosystem" in research is growing. An attempt is made to consider the possibility of using the “ecosystem” design for economic analysis at the aggregated level and to highlight the elements of the aviation logistics ecosystem on which the attention of researchers will be focused. From the authors point of view, the aviation logistics ecosystem is a combination of aviation, logistics, transport and postal organizations, were provide goods express delivery supply chains with system of interconnected technologies use. In the framework of article analysis of air cargo industry framework, synchronization and digitization of service operations in air cargo service supply chain, express delivery supply chains were represented. The authors proposed a mathematical model that allows logisticians to optimize the supply chain of special categories of goods, which is one of the priority tasks of the aviation logistics ecosystem

Sustainability analysis of the CITYLAB solutions

The objective of the CITYLAB project is to develop knowledge and solutions that result in roll-out, upscaling and further uptake of cost effective strategies, measures and tools for emission free city logistics. CITYLAB includes a set of Living Laboratories where promising logistic concepts are implemented related to emissions free city logistics. The objective of this report is to assess the impact that would occur when the CITYLAB implementations would be scaled up. The main challenge that has to be overcome is the difference in type, availability and detail of data from different CITYLAB implementations. This assessment of the impacts of upscaling is done by integrating all stakeholders’ opinions in the evaluation process and taking into account the costs and benefits for society as well as the financial viability for industry partners

M&A : Deutsche Post DHL and Austrian Post

The goal of this thesis is to assess how would a potential deal between Deutsche Post DHL (also referred to as DPDHL or simply DHL) and Austrian Post (also referred to as Österreichische Post or simply OP) result in terms of value creation for both companies. In an era of abrupt economical and technological changes, the Transportation and Logistics sector is one of the more affected, and thus the urge to constantly adapt. The top capabilities of DHL as well as geographic proximity with OP could leverage very important efficiencies of many kinds. Common practices on valuations are used to assess the individual value of both companies, which serve as basis to project future trends based in case a merger would take place. Decreasing traditional Mail volume and opportunities in Express deliveries due to e-commerce are found to be the main factors affecting the value of these companies. Following the cautious estimation of resulting synergies, an all-cash offer of €39.2 per share was proposed, resulting in a premium on average share price of 25.1% to OP’s shareholders