Title: Outsourcing purchasing services by Third Party Logistics providers: a conceptual model

Authors: Yangyan Shi; Tiru S. Arthanari

Addresses: Department of Information Systems and Operations Management, University of Auckland Business School, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand. ' Department of Information Systems and Operations Management, University of Auckland Business School, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142, New Zealand

Abstract: The international markets of third party logistics (3PL) are quite competitive. Most 3PL providers offer the basic services, but rarely perform value-added activities. The primary focus of this research is on third party purchase as value-added services that can be beneficially offered by 3PL providers. This paper mainly discusses transaction cost theory, third party logistics, and group purchasing organisation. A proposed framework for evaluating third party purchase offered by 3PL providers is given based on transaction cost theory.

Keywords: 3PL; TPL; third-party logistics; value-added services; supply chain management; SCM; transaction cost analysis; group purchasing organisations; outsourcing; purchasing services; conceptual models; China; New Zealand; international markets; value-added activities; third party purchases; logistics systems; logistics management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJLSM.2011.043102

International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, 2011 Vol.10 No.4, pp.398 - 419

Published online: 09 May 2015 *

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