Search Results (47)

This study takes the dual-channel fresh product supply chain involving the participation of third-party logistics (3PL) as the background to explore how 3PL makes choices between homogeneous and differentiated logistics service strategies and how the supply chain formulates optimal decisions under different logistics service strategies to achieve maximum benefits. This paper constructs a sequential game model of the three-tier supply chain composed of 3PL, a supplier, and a retailer; uses the consumer utility function to describe market demand; and considers different logistics service strategies adopted by 3PL. It compares and analyzes the equilibrium strategies under the traditional retail channel (O Model), the homogeneous cold-chain service dual-channel model (D1 Model), and the differentiated cold-chain service dual-channel model (D2 Model). The results show the following: (1) The D1 Model reduces the transportation cost of the supply chain through economies of scale. Under the D2 Model, the transportation and sales prices of the offline channels are higher than those of the online channels, while the online marketing effort is higher than that of the offline channels. (2) The profits generated by the dual-channel models (D1 Model and D2 Model) are both higher than those of O Model. In most cases, the D1 Model generates the highest system profit. However, in scenarios where consumers are highly sensitive to freshness and marketing efforts, the system profit of the D2 Model is higher than that of the D1 Model. (3) The supply chain has lower pricing and effort input when consumers are more sensitive to prices and higher pricing and effort input when consumers are more sensitive to freshness. These findings contribute valuable insights to the field of supply chain management, particularly in the context of fresh product supply chains involving 3PL. They underscore the importance of considering consumer behavior and logistics service strategies in optimizing supply chain performance and highlight the potential trade-offs between standardization and differentiation in logistics services. Full article

Background: This study introduces a novel supply chain management (SCM) model tailored for the hospital industry in Thailand. The model emphasises the integration of third-party logistics (3PL) providers to streamline supply-processing-distribution (SPD) functions. By outsourcing non-core activities like SPD to 3PL providers, hospitals can enhance their operational efficiency, allowing healthcare professionals to focus on core tasks and ultimately improving service delivery. Methods: This research employed a dual methodology, combining an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with a Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS). These approaches evaluated various SCM models based on multiple hospital logistics performance attributes. Results: The AHP results highlighted on-time delivery, patient safety, utilisation rate, and emergency procurement as critical criteria for selecting the optimal model. Fuzzy TOPSIS analysis identified the SCIII: W-G-H model as the most suitable for implementation in Thai hospitals. This model incorporates a centralised warehouse for negotiation leverage, a Group Purchasing Organisation (GPO) for cost efficiency, and regional SPD hubs for effective inventory management and rapid responses to demand fluctuations or emergencies. Conclusions: Adopting this SCM model is expected to significantly enhance supply chain performance, reduce operational costs, and improve the quality and safety of patient care in Thai hospitals. Full article

Although the adoption of green innovation has been explored in various contexts, there is still a lack of research on the determinants of green technology innovation adoption (GTIA) in the third-party logistics (3PL) industry of emerging economies and the resulting economic, environmental, operational, and intangible outcomes. This study aims to investigate the influence of different determinants of technological, organizational, and environmental factors in the TOE-DOI framework on the adoption of green technology innovation, as well as the outcomes of such adoption. The study utilizes sample data from 544 Chinese 3PL firms and employs two-stage structural equation modeling and artificial neural network analysis. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) explains 85.4% of the variance in green technology innovation adoption, 21% in environmental outcomes, 18.5% in economic outcomes, 20.8% in operational outcomes, and 22.3% in intangible outcomes. The artificial neural network (ANN) model ranks the standardized importance of each predictive variable. The results indicate that institutional pressure is the most significant determinant of GTIA. Additionally, 3PL firms should consider the positive impact of green supplier integration and relative advantage. Complexity does not have a positive impact on GTIA. The longer a company has been established, the more experience and resources it accumulates, and the more opportunities it has to adopt green technology innovation. This study contributes to the existing research on emerging economies and other regions. Furthermore, this is the first study to successfully validate the nonlinear relationship within the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework and diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory, namely the TOE-DOI framework. The research findings further enhance the current understanding of green technology innovation adoption and its impact. This study provides valuable insights for managers and policymakers in the 3PL industry to achieve various effects, such as environmental, economic, operational, and intangible outcomes. Full article

Animal husbandry is an important industry related to the national economy and people’s livelihood, and its coordinated development can continuously enhance the quality, efficiency, and competitiveness of the livestock industry, and better meet the people’s diversified consumption demand for livestock and poultry products. In this paper, considering the government’s green subsidy to the leading enterprises in the green supply chain of livestock products, the article uses the stackelberg game method to establish the decision-making models of the green supply chain of livestock products led by the co-operatives and the slaughtering and processing enterprises, respectively, and measures the optimal greenness of the livestock products. Different from the previous optimal decision-making and coordination of interests in the case of only considering economic benefits, this paper combines economic and ecological benefits to construct a coordination mechanism of interests in the green supply chain of livestock products in line with the concept of ecological priority and green development. The conclusions showed that: (1) Under the background of considering economic and ecological benefits, the influence of greenness sensitivity factor, freshness sensitivity factor, and government subsidy factor on the decision-making of green supply chain of livestock products is not affected by the operation mode and decision-making scenario, with the increase in the three factors, the greenness, freshness, and total benefits of the green supply chain of livestock products. (2) The greenness, freshness, and total benefits of green supply chain of livestock products are higher in the operation mode led by slaughtering and processing enterprises, which is more favorable to the development of green supply chain of livestock products from the perspective of supply chain development. (3) Compared with decentralized decision-making mode, both benefit-sharing and cost-sharing contracts increase the greenness and freshness of livestock products, significantly reduce the retail price of livestock products, which improves the benefits of the co-operatives, slaughtering and processing enterprises, 3PL (third-party logistics) service providers, and retailers as well as the entire green supply chain of livestock products. Based on the research findings, this article proposes relevant management insights to better promote the coordination of interests in the green supply chain of livestock products. Full article

This paper identifies and empirically validates the potential risks in overseas third-party logistics services that support sustainable cross-border e-commerce logistics in China. This research addresses a significant gap in the current literature by conducting a comprehensive literature review and case study, primarily focusing on third-party logistics services’ benefits without adequately discussing the associated risks. Our study highlights the medium and high risks in forwarding and contracting processes, such as cost uncertainty, quality issues, and cultural and language differences. The findings contribute to academic research and practical applications by providing a theoretical foundation and practical guidance for enhancing logistics management in China’s sustainable cross-border e-commerce. This research promotes the resilience and sustainability of cross-border e-commerce supply chains and offers valuable insights for overseas 3PL service providers looking to expand their operations in China. Full article

Carbon emission reduction is an important issue for sustainable development. The logistics industry is a key area for carbon emission reduction. The modern logistics supply chain includes logistics parks (fourth-party logistics, 4PL) and small, medium and micro logistics enterprises settled in the parks (third-party logistics, 3PL). Facing the pressure of the need for sustainable development, 3PL enterprises need to invest a lot of money in green transformation. However, 3PL enterprises are subject to serious financial constraints. In order to break the capital constraints, 3PL enterprises can raise funds from banks or from 4PL financing. Under the carbon quota policy, the government can regulate the 4PL or the 3PL. Therefore, this paper uses the Stackelberg game model to build a green financing strategy model of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises considering different supervision methods under carbon quotas, explores the optimal emission reduction decision-making process of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises, and provides solutions to the financing problems of small and medium-sized logistics enterprises in realizing sustainable development. The study found that the decisions of enterprises under different governmental supervision methods are affected by carbon quotas, and the government’s supervision of 3PL is more conducive to carbon emission reduction; in this scenario, the 4PL financing strategy is more likely to be adopted compared with bank financing, because 4PL charge lower service fees, thus encouraging 3PL to increase their low-carbon investment. Finally, this paper puts forward two different carbon emission supervision methods and considers the green financing services of 4PL; this provides references for government supervision and the sustainable development strategies of logistics enterprises. Full article

With the rapid development of the sharing economy, the distribution in third-party logistics (3PL) can be modeled as a variant of the open vehicle routing problem (OVRP). However, very few papers have studied 3PL with loading constraints. In this work, a two-dimensional loading open vehicle routing problem with time windows (2L-OVRPTW) is described, and a multi-objective learning whale optimization algorithm (MLWOA) is proposed to solve it. As the 2L-OVRPTW is integrated by the routing subproblem and the loading subproblem, the MLWOA is designed as a two-phase algorithm to deal with these subproblems. In the routing phase, the exploration mechanisms and learning strategy in the MLWOA are used to search the population globally. Then, a local search method based on four neighborhood operations is designed for the exploitation of the non-dominant solutions. In the loading phase, in order to avoid discarding non-dominant solutions due to loading failure, a skyline-based loading strategy with a scoring method is designed to reasonably adjust the loading scheme. From the simulation analysis of different instances, it can be seen that the MLWOA algorithm has an absolute advantage in comparison with the standard WOA and other heuristic algorithms, regardless of the running results at the scale of 25, 50, or 100 datasets. Full article

This article addresses the key and current issues of smart cities in the context of last-mile supply management. Specifically, it explores how third-party logistics (3PL) activities impact last-mile delivery management in smart cities. It examines how 3PL affects delivery volumes, expanding the predictive capabilities of logistics operators. A research question included in the Introduction of this paper is also posed to explore the problem in depth. The research conducted focuses mainly on a case study conducted on the operations of an international 3PL logistics operator. In addition, predictive methods are used to analyse the shipment volume data for individual barcodes in the two analysed cities in Poland. Currently, the concept of a smart city assumes the limited participation of logistics operators in creating improvements for cities. The case study analysis shows that in the cities studied, 3PL companies, through predictive actions, can regulate the flow of vehicles out of the logistics centre and into the city, thus influencing the traffic volume in the city. The research is limited to two cities in Poland implementing smart city solutions and one logistics operator. The research also does not include e-commerce. The authors acknowledge that the results obtained cannot be generalised to a larger scale. This paper bridges the research gap on 3PL activities for last-mile logistics improvements. In addition, the paper proposes the first concept related to the implementation of a 3PL company’s predictive activities associated with the operator’s ability to control the impact on urban traffic. Full article

Due to the rapid development of the internet, cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) is gaining popularity. With CBEC, consumers from different countries can overcome the limits of languages and currencies to buy desired products directly. However, compared to domestic e-commerce, CBEC confronts significant challenges, such as risky distribution channels, dependency on third-party logistics, customs clearance, etc. Therefore, multi-faceted efforts are needed to promote CBEC. Traditional studies probe CBEC through a logistics and operational perspective; this study bridges a research gap by stressing a human–computer interaction perspective. Under the premise that technical infrastructure keeps improving, consumers’ expectations of switching to CBEC has been an essential issue. Specifically, this study develops a theoretical model that emphasizes website cues as experienced utility and the perceived effectiveness of e-commerce institutional mechanisms (PEEIM) as decision utility to investigate their effects on the purchase intention of CBEC. This study applied Smart PLS 3.0 to verify the research model with 300 valid responses from online questionnaires. Research findings confirmed the proposed model. Practical strategies for promoting CEBC were suggested accordingly. Full article

This study aims to efficiently assist decision makers in evaluating global third-party logistics (3PL) providers from the perspectives of economic, social, and environmental sustainability and explore the determinants of the 3PL providers’ performance. In doing so, an integrated framework for an MCDM-based entropy objective weighting method is proposed for the first time in a logistics industry assessment. In the first stage, the entropy method defines the weight of the decision criteria based on real data collected from the top 15 global 3PL providers. This study lists the prominent quantitative evaluation criteria, taking into consideration the sustainability perspective. The advantage of the entropy method is that it reduces the subjective impact of decision makers and increases objectivity. In the second stage, the measurement of alternatives and ranking according to compromise solution (MARCOS) method is used to rank the 3PL providers according to their performance on the basis of these criteria. Sensitivity analysis and comparative analysis are implemented to validate the results. The current research work is devoted to the emerging research topic of sustainable development in the logistics industry and supply chain management. The proposed model identifies key performance indicators in the logistics industry and determines the most efficient 3PL providers. Consequently, the results show that the carbon dioxide emissions (20.50%) factor is the most important criterion for the competitiveness of global logistics companies. The results of this study can help inefficient 3PL providers make strategic decisions to improve their performance. However, this study only focuses on 15 companies due to a lack of data. The integration of these two techniques provides a novel way to evaluate global 3PL providers which has not been addressed in the logistics industry to date and as such remains a gap that needs to be investigated. Full article

This paper considers a pickup and delivery problem in automobile logistics. In the daily operations of a third-party logistics company (3PL), decisions must be made for two kinds of demands: delivering finished automobiles from an outbound warehouse to distribution centers (DCs) and transferring automobiles among the DCs according to specific customer orders. The problem is to assign a set of automobiles to a set of heterogeneous auto-carriers and deliver them to their destinations considering the outbound and transfer demands. Each automobile is assigned a value indicating its urgency level to be handled and a car type: small, medium, or large. Each of the auto-carriers has a specific number of slots with different types indicating the largest size of an automobile that can be loaded into the slot. An integer programming (IP) model is formulated for the problem to maximize the total loaded value and minimize the total transportation cost depending on the routing of the carriers. An improved adaptive large neighborhood search algorithm is developed to solve the problem efficiently, where a heuristic generates an initial solution, and a series of operators update the solution iteratively. Experimental results based on multi-scale instances show that the proposed algorithm can generate near-optimal solutions in an acceptable amount of time, and outperforms solving the IP model directly by CPLEX to a large extent. The algorithm can help 3PL companies make efficient and economical decisions in daily operations. Full article

The recent trends in logistics outsourcing have led to the need to investigate the 3PL (third-party logistics) industry better. However, the attention has always been focused on operative performance, and the role of the warehouse has been skimmed over. This research aims to define the relationship between warehouse features and the performance indicators of 3PLs, filling the literature gap. This research provides insight into 3PLs’ way of thinking, helping 3PLs identify the right warehouse features to improve their performance and providing guidance for real estate companies in designing warehouses meeting 3PLs’ needs. The analysis uses a case study approach, carried out by interviewing 3PLs that provided data coded according to the dimensions of the Kano model. This methodology was used to generate an in-depth understanding of how 3PLs evaluate the different warehouse features that are able to drive their performance. The “perfect warehouse” is placed in an accessible location; it has loading bays, a standard layout, and a height suitable to optimize the flow of goods, and it utilises the spaces to make the service flexible and responsive. In addition, the warehouse should have internal areas, such as mezzanines, to deliver value-added services. Full article

As competition in the cross-border logistics-service market intensifies and demand rises, enterprises with third-party logistics (3PL) combine logistical and financial services to provide comprehensive services. This study considers a secondary supply chain consisting of a cross-border e-commerce enterprise and a 3PL enterprise. When cross-border e-commerce enterprises lack funds, 3PL enterprises can provide them with inventory pledge loans. Thus, we establish a Stackelberg game model between the abovementioned parties. We consider the stochastic fluctuation of exchange rate and demand, establish a combined decision model of the logistics-service level and financial service pledge rate of the 3PL enterprise when logistics services affect offshore market demand, and prove the existence of an optimal solution. Studies have shown that the optimal logistics-service level and pledge rate increase with an increase in import tariffs and logistics sensitivity coefficients in offshore markets. Meanwhile, they decrease with an increase in the capability coefficient of 3PL enterprises, exchange rate fluctuation, default rate, and price sensitivity factor in offshore markets. In addition, the more capable 3PL enterprises are, the greater the expected profitability of the entire supply chain. We also utilize authentic data to verify the abovementioned inference and establish its validity. Full article

Since third-party logistics (3PL) offers discounted prices for booking containers in advance, the container booking decisions are preferably made prior to the realization of customer demand by the companies with international trade business. When facing uncertain customer demand influenced by various factors, it is significant for companies to make proper container booking decisions and order fulfillment plans to minimize the total cost, including the container booking cost and the penalty cost of an unfulfilled order. In this paper, a two-stage robust liner container booking problem (2-RLCBP) was investigated, and an exact algorithm with high efficiency was designed to solve the problem based on the column-and-constraint generation (C&CG) framework. Compared to other methods with gaps of more than 70% existing after 3600 s, the proposed algorithm can get the optimal solution of the real case instance in 700 s. Furthermore, compared to the deterministic model, the two-stage robust optimization model can reduce more than 10% of the worst-case total cost when the budget level and demand deviation level are greater than 0.6, which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed robust approach. Furthermore, our work is the first to adopt a two-stage robust optimization approach for the problem of booking a liner container. Full article

The study aims to analyse warehouse value-added services (VAS) data for a third-party logistics (3PL) service provider, which leads to identifying service improvements and cost-cutting opportunities in performing VAS for clients using Pareto analysis as a quality tool. Using a case study approach, qualitative and quantitative data were collected from a leading 3PL firm in Belgium. The approach is conducted by applying major steps of Pareto analysis. Two pharmaceutical products were analysed according to medical general classification, namely narcotic analgesics (NA) and ophthalmic antihistamines and decongestants (OAD). The results showed that the Pareto principle is proven in the NA—ticketing case, and five activities consumed 83.3 percent of the total time of VAS operations. Furthermore, in the OAD—display case, the Pareto principle is proven and six activities were validated as they accounted for 81.26 percent of the total time of primary VAS operations. The study recommended a solution to each of the four causes of delay, including lack of training/best practices, inefficient space utilization, lack of automation, and lack of cohesiveness and planning. Despite the recognized importance of avoiding warehouse operation inefficiencies, the literature lacks studies applied to practice, and few contributions exist regarding analysing 3PL service providers’ warehousing VAS operations data. This study identified all VAS activities for temperature-controlled pharmaceutical products. Moreover, the study proposes a warehouse operations improvement framework for non-automated 3PL warehouses and guides managers through Pareto analysis to cut costs and improve service level. Full article