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Service development and outsourcing are growing trends in humanitarian logistics (HL). Humanitarian organizations (HOs) have developed specialized units to perform logistics activities on behalf of other aid organizations, as a commercial logistics service provider (LSP) would do. The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics of HOs acting as LSPs and the differences with their commercial counterparts.

This research uses a two-level content analysis of 149 annual reports from 50 local and international HOs, performed with the help of qualitative data analysis software. First, a manifest content analysis identified the number of occurrences of logistics-related words and later, a latent content analysis studies the use in context of such words to characterize the nature of HOs as LSPs.

Evidence shows that some international HOs – in some cases through specialized logistics units – perform the same activities as commercial LSPs, providing similar services. However, due to the characteristics of the humanitarian context, HOs acting as LSPs can offer a wider range of value-added and dedicated services to clients (other HOs) than commercial LSPs.

Exploring the activities performed by HOs on behalf of other aid organizations and characterizing them as service providers constitutes a first attempt to grasp the unique features of these particular humanitarian LSPs. The results open the discussion about the services HOs offer, thus contributing to theory development in HL.

The identification of HOs acting as LSPs introduces a new actor to the humanitarian network, which the authors refer to as humanitarian service provider (HSP). This supposes two main managerial implications. First, the results support the idea of seeing servitization as a competitive difference, having a substantial impact on the way HOs build their strategies and achieve competitive advantage. Second, HSPs can push their commercial equivalents to identify new activities or services to offer and maintain their competitive advantage with regard to the newcomers.

This paper furthers the discussion on the concept of HSPs and demonstrates its uniqueness, thus contributing to the ever-growing body of knowledge of HL research.

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.

Over the last decade, a “new” sharing economy has emerged. So far, the supply chain literature has focused on platforms delivering crowd-logistics services that connect businesses and consumers (B2C). The literature has paid little attention to platforms that facilitate products exchanges between consumers. This article aims to develop a first supply chain conceptualization for consumer-to-consumer (C2C) product exchanges stimulated by the sharing economy. How to conceptualize C2C product exchanges from an Supply Chain (SC) perspective? Do such C2C product exchanges form what might be called “sharing supply chains”? What are the characteristics of these sharing supply chains?

The authors rely on a single case study of Vestiaire Collective (VC), a C2C platform that links consumers buying and selling second-hand luxury goods. This case was not selected because it is a typical C2C product platform, but because it is an “extreme” case (Yin, 2014) meeting Siggelkow's “talking pig” criterion (2007).

The authors demonstrate that VC intermediates a “sharing supply chain”, whose features differ from forward and reverse supply chains. The authors stress that strong physical intermediation is crucial in this extreme case. The authors then contrast this extreme case with other forms of sharing supply chains to identify the variables leading to these alternative configurations. Finally, the authors develop theoretical propositions regarding the physical intermediation role that these platforms may play.

The authors' article extends the scope of the supply chain concept by identifying sharing supply chains alongside other types of chains. The article also points to the strategic role of SC dimensions in the sharing economy. The authors hope that this article will lead to further research on sharing supply chains.

Companies that try to build sustainable supply chains or that have to reengineer their supply chains to face sustainable development issues are confronted with such a complex and uncertain context that scanning their environment becomes more than ever necessary. This paper makes up the first stage of a research program. It aims to find an adequate scanning approach for sustainable supply chain design.

The research follows a two‐steps methodology. First, it looks for appropriate scanning frameworks by reviewing the dedicated literature. Second, it gathers ideas and knowledge combining an analysis of sustainable supply chain empirical studies with the collection of experts' scanning know‐how, by means of semi‐structured interviews.

This first stage of the research program suggests use of a multi‐and interrelated levels scope for sustainable scanning with a network perspective. The renewed target approach it promotes results in modifying scanning priorities. The overall findings shape up the first draft of a sustainable scanning framework, including a multi‐levels scope of analysis, a list of sustainable targets and a first contribution concerning scanning methods and attitudes.

The relevance of our scanning framework needs further testing to validate its usefulness and provide recommendations for managers.

The paper proposes a scanning framework and a list of targets that could be implemented by professionals.

The contribution in this paper is to link environmental scanning and sustainable development adding a supply chain orientation, and to propose a conceptual “sustainable scanning framework”. It is hoped that further research will prove that it has interesting managerial implications for companies challenged by sustainable development issues.

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.

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.

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 describing emerging roles for LSPs in relief supply chains.

This paper focuses on academic humanitarian logistics literature; a review of practitioner articles and the LSP literature might also be relevant. The web site analysis is based on corporate communication which may contain bias. Further research should add to this work with NGO/government perspectives and produce primary data in order to demonstrate the external validity of the research propositions.

The research identifies different roles LSPs could play in humanitarian supply chains, suggesting opportunities for new business lines.

The main contributions of this paper are to explore the roles LSPs could play in humanitarian logistics and to bring a new perspective to humanitarian logistics research.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Results suggest different dimensions to structure LSPs' strategies vis‐à‐vis clients' SCI and performance.

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.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the empirical reality of environmental scanning (ES) practices in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) contexts. In particular it tests a conceptual framework proposed in 2011 by Fabbe-Costes et al.

The empirical data for this research were obtained from 45 semi-structured interviews with key informants, combined with a discussion of the main results with a focus group of supply chain experts. These data are compared with the literature and brought to bear on the framework.

The research finds both breadth and depth in the scope of sustainability scanning practices of the respondent group and provides evidence of multi-level scanning, with all respondents describing scanning activity at the societal level. It further demonstrates the adoption of multiple and diverse scanning targets at all levels in the conceptual framework. The articulation and ranking of scanning targets for SSCM at all levels informs the development of priorities for practice. The paper also makes some observations about the boundaries of the scanning process.

The results provide managers with concrete guidance about what to scan in sustainable supply chain contexts. The validated framework can serve as a practical tool to assist managers with the organization and prioritization of their ES activities.

The paper is among the first to address the role of ES in sustainable supply chain contexts. It highlights the need for a multi-level framework for such scanning activities and opens up a debate about their implementation.

The majority of studies on supply chain management (SCM) emphasize the importance of cooperative relationships for improving the integration of business processes into a supply chain. It seems accepted that SCM will be a source of competitive advantage if, and only if, firms that participate in it formalize a strategic partnership between each other beforehand. This article questions whether this really is the case, given that the corporate cultures currently in place are largely founded on a tradition of adversarial relationships, the creation of large groups and the development of vertical concentrations. SCM could, in contrast, in such a case be the catalyst for powerful future strategic partnerships that could gently break arm’s‐length competition.