Christine Roussat

Supply chain integration: the role of logistics service providers

Purpose – Considering the importance of supply chain integration (SCI) in literature and the increasing outsourcing of logistics, this paper aims to study the role of logistics service providers (LSPs) in supporting SCI and clients’ performance. Design/methodology/approach – This research is based on a two-step approach: a literature review on supply chain integration (SCI) and performance regarding how LSPs are taken into account; and an analysis of web sites of LSPs concerning how they communicate their role and whether they themselves consider they have a role in improving the SCI and performance of their clients. Results are then discussed in view of some major works on third party logistics. Findings – Some surprising conclusions are drawn. Among the analysed articles very few take LSPs into consideration. The web site analysis shows LSPs varying in their communication. Some do not consider SCI as part of their job, others balance between being pure “resource providers” and taking the riskier role of “supply chain designers”. The analysis of the roles LSPs can play in supply chains enriches the understanding of the SCI phenomenon. Research limitations/implications – In this paper SCI performance papers are analysed. A review of papers on LSPs could be another relevant starting point. The web site analysis concerns LSPs’ communication. Further research could complement with the shippers’ perspectives. Practical implications – Results suggest different dimensions to structure LSPs’ strategies vis-a` -vis clients’ SCI and performance. Originality/value – The main contributions of this paper are questioning and analysing what role LSPs play in SCI and performance, and expanding the framework for SCI studies.

Humanitarian logistics: the role of logistics service providers

Purpose – In recent years, logistics service providers (LSPs) have become important players in the humanitarian field, providing support for NGOs and governments when they respond to major disasters. However, the academic literature on humanitarian logistics has not really explored the roles that LSPs play in relief supply chains. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of LSPs in humanitarian relief. Design/methodology/approach – The research uses a two-stage exploratory approach: first, it systematically reviews the humanitarian logistics literature to see the extent to which LSPs are taken into account. Then it analyses the web sites of leading LSPs to examine how they communicate about their role in humanitarian relief. Findings – This research produces some surprising findings. While the academic literature seems to neglect the roles of LSPs in humanitarian logistics, some major third-party firms highlight their roles in relief networks. A number of research propositions are presented de...

Supply Chain Integration: Views from a Logistics Service Provider

Integration of supply chains is considered to be of strategic and operational importance but the role(s) of logistics service providers (LSPs) in supply chain integration (SCI) remain(s) unclear. Results from previous research form the foundation for this empirical research: an embedded single-case quantitative study within a European leading logistics company claiming to be a “logistics integrator.” Our research gives support to a composite approach to map LSPs’ roles in supply chain integration and confirms that LSPs play a plurality of roles in SCI. The field material also provides puzzling results that call for further research in this area.

Toward a typology of the roles of Logistics Service Providers as ‘Supply Chain Integrators’

Increased logistics outsourcing and importance of supply chain integration (SCI) have attracted our interest in studying how logistics service providers (LSPs) are viewed as contributors to SCI and to their clients′ performance. On the basis of LSPs′ roles as they emerge from a review of SCI-performance literature and from an analysis of LSP-websites on how they communicate their role(s), we discuss how these results differ from roles as presented in previous literature on third party logistics (TPL). Some surprising conclusions are drawn. Few SCI articles take LSPs into consideration. From the websites, we find LSPs vary in how they communicate about the role they play in the SCI. The roles emerging from these two analyses are quite convergent. In comparison with roles identified in TPL literature, greater differences were identified. This paper contributes to existing body of knowledge by 1) questioning and analysing roles LSPs play in SCI; 2) developing different dimensions of LSPs′ strategies for SCI and, 3) providing an enriched understanding of the SCI phenomenon taking LSPs′ contribution into account, 4) and providing a typology for the roles of LSPs as integrators. Particularly interesting is with whom the LSP should/could be integrated and whether it is the LSP or the shipper who is the integrator. For the purpose of understanding these questions, we suggest further studies on the roles of LSPs based on the resources they possess more than activities they undertake, and to link this new research with relationship theories.

Les pratiques de veille technologique en logistique : le cas des prestataires de service logistiques

La tendance à l’externalisation des opérations logistiques par les sociétés industrielles et commerciales fait des prestataires de services logistiques (PSL) des professionnels désormais reconnus. L’essor des technologies utilisées dans les activités de pilotage des flux conduit les donneurs d’ordre à rechercher auprès des prestataires une expertise et un savoir-faire, en même temps qu’une maîtrise des technologies. Ces technologies (tant pour le flux physique que pour le flux informationnel) se caractérisent par des innovations permanentes et constituent aujourd’hui un facteur clé de succès majeur en logistique. Par conséquent, la pratique d’une veille technologique nous semble, pour les prestataires, une composante indispensable d’un management proactif. Ces entreprises ont-elles une pratique de veille ? Quelles en sont les composantes ? Quels sont les dispositifs organisationnels et les processus développés ? Telles sont les questions qui nous ont conduites à engager un programme de recherche sur les pratiques de veille technologique chez les prestataires de services logistiques. Notre article présente les principaux résultats de la première phase de notre programme de recherche qui a consisté en une revue de littérature, un examen de la presse professionnelle logistique, quelques entretiens exploratoires et une enquête par questionnaire visant àmieux connaître les pratiques de veille des PSL. L’état des lieux que nous avons ainsi réalisé apporte des réponses quand aux composantes du processus de veille des PSL, à leurs dispositions structurelles de veille et enfin aux facteurs potentiellement explicatifs de ces pratiques.

Qu’est-ce que la logistique durable ? Analyse des discours d’acteurs en France

Les travaux en logistique ou Supply Chain Management durables sont nombreux mais souffrent de fragmentation et d’absence de définition opératoire. Dans ce contexte, notre recherche poursuit deux objectifs : mieux définirla logistique durable et appréhender les initiatives de logistique durable dans les organisations. Elle s’appuie sur une revue de littérature et 46 entretiens semi directifs qui ont fait l’objet d’un double traitement qualitatif (analyse thématique de contenu et analyse de données textuelles (ADT)). L’article dresse un bilan critique de la logistique durable en croisant approches théoriques et terrain, formule une définition et ouvre sur des perspectives de recherche réinvestissant une heuristique théorique plus large.

A typology of logistics at work in collaborative consumption

The growth of collaborative consumption is beginning to stimulate management research on this phenomenon. However, so far, few scholars have studied the logistics aspects related to these developments. The purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptual approach to the logistics at work in collaborative consumption.,The authors adopt an inductive, exploratory research method, based on a content analysis involving 32 collaborative consumption initiatives screened through their websites and other secondary sources.,Based on the way logistics is organized in these initiatives, the authors identify and describe four types of logistics: peer to peer, business, crowd, and open logistics.,The paper makes recommendations for improving the management of collaborative consumption logistics.,Our results enrich the literature about crowd practices and collaborative consumption by conceptualizing alternative roles played by logistics and revealing its specific organizational forms.