Abstract
Purpose - The collaboration between profit and nonprofit entities has become a burning topic in
supply chain management studies and corporate strategies. The world’s largest logistics service
providers (LSPs) have been developing several practices improving social responsibility while
collaborating with nonprofit actors. In particular, their core competences and offered services
become extremely relevant in the context of humanitarian logistics initiatives. A key purpose of
this article is to examine the projects currently undertaken by LSPs in humanitarian logistics.
Methodology/Approach - This research follows a qualitative approach based on multiple case
studies.
Findings - The paper provides an overview of the leading LSPs’ involvement in humanitarian
logistics and presents an analysis of their current “best practices” services in disaster relief with
high impact in terms of social responsibility.
Research Limitations/implications - There has been increased interest on the part of international
academic and professional communities in humanitarian logistics. This study constitutes
a platform for benchmarking analysis of logistics services to assure effective implementation of
social responsibility principles.
Originality/Value of paper - Humanitarian logistics is a rather new field in logistics management.
This paper addresses the innovative socially responsible initiatives undertaken by the
main international LSPs in the area of humanitarian logistics.
Keywords - logistics services, logistics service providers, humanitarian logistics and supply
chain management, disaster relief, social responsibility, profit/nonprofit collaboration
Type of paper - Research pape
