Title: Outsourcing logistics to third-party providers: practitioners perspectives

Authors: Batoul Modarress, A. Ansari, Diane Lockwood

Addresses: College of Business Sciences, Zayed University, P.O. Box 4783, Abu Dhabi, UAE. ' Albers School of Business and Economics, Department of Management, Seattle University, Seattle, WA 98122, USA. ' Albers School of Business and Economics, Department of Management, Seattle University, Seattle, WA 98122, USA

Abstract: As a result of globalisation, companies have been forced to shift their operations from internal provisioning to outsourcing to Third-Party Logistics (TPL) providers. To date, no field surveys have been conducted to validate various assertions regarding the reported outcomes of using TPL providers. To address this research gap, this study employed surveys with executives of both shippers (customers) and TPL providers. Findings indicated that the major benefits of outsourcing logistics included achieving reductions in fixed assets, lower inventory, reduced logistics costs, and improved customer service. However, four major challenges were also cited.

Keywords: outsourcing transportation; logistics management; globalisation; third-party logistics; TPL providers; fixed assets; inventories; customer service; shippers; haulage industry; logistics outsourcing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSM.2010.029719

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 2010 Vol.6 No.1, pp.23 - 38

Published online: 01 Dec 2009 *

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