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Warehousing remains the most frequently outsourced logistics activity, but empirical research on the third‐party selection process for warehousing remains scarce. The main goals of this research were to identify the most critical factors to customers during third‐party warehousing selection and to compare the perceived performance levels of national and regional third‐party firms on each of the selection criteria. Surveys were sent to warehousing customers in several industries. Responsiveness to service needs, quality of management, and track record of ethical importance were rated by customers as the most important selection criteria. Results indicate that respondents also rated the performance of the typical regional third‐party warehousing firm as significantly better than national firms on six different criteria while national firms were rated significantly higher on only one criterion. It is hoped that this research can provide guidance to logistics managers as they evaluate third‐party warehousing options.

One strategy for dealing with the increasing problem of cross‐border movement is to involve third‐party specialists. Reports on an investigation of third‐party use in maquiladora or twin‐plant logistics across the US‐Mexico border. A mail survey of 250 companies operating in the El Paso‐Juarex area was carried out. Results showed that the surveyed firms used third parties more than US firms in general.

Provides a comparison of third‐party logistics services utilization between large manufacturing firms in the USA and Western Europe. All these firms had been utilizing third‐party providers for at least three years, although many had been doing so for five years or longer. The group of Western European firms is more committed to outsourcing, as evidenced by the substantially greater percentage of their total corporate logistics budget allocated to third‐party firms. The strategic decision to utilize third‐party companies is more often made at the corporate level and includes input more frequently from other functional areas in Western European firms. However, many of the findings indicate that the issues faced by both groups of executives are very similar, such as their reservations to outsourcing and their experiences with implementation. Almost all the executives indicated that they are satisfied with the performance of third‐party providers, and would, at least moderately, increase their use of such firms.

The adoption of third party logistics is becoming widespread in the industry. Discusses various definitions of third party logistics and the theoretical background for the development of third party arrangements, including both transaction cost theory and network theory. A theoretical framework is then developed to explain the role and motivation for this development. Transaction cost analysis (TCA) explains the conditions under which third party agreements become preferable to the classical choice between market and hierarchy. Network theory explains the dynamics in third party cooperations. Three specific cases of third party logistics are included and analyzed on the bases of the theoretical framework. Concludes that third party logistics are not merely a means to cost efficiency, but also as a strategic tool for creating competitive advantage through increased service and flexibility. Furthermore, the discussion points to the importance of investment in human resources and change in attitudes as part of the success of third party arrangements.

Outsourcing of logistics has become a key element of corporate strategy in a growing number of firms. For a variety of reasons, the market for these services is expanding rapidly. Represents the first phase of a triangulated research design formulated to investigate empirically the buying and selling of third‐party logistics services in the USA. A focus group, composed of senior managers personally involved in the evaluation and/or purchase of third‐party logistics services, was convened to explore buyer attitudes and generate concepts related to the contract logistics market. The study investigated the definition of third‐party logistics from the buyer’s perspective, the pros and cons of contract logistics, the necessary attributes of services and suppliers, the impetus for logistics outsourcing and the methods employed to select suppliers. Findings from the research are presented as five propositions.

This paper aims to derive and verify a collaborative framework that specifies the role of different parties in contemporary logistics setups.

To prepare this paper, a study of the logistics literature has been conducted together with several case studies. The empirical evidence has been collected in Europe as well as in the USA. Different aspects of collaboration between organizations in logistics setups have been studied where the services and the activities have been analyzed to understand the characteristics of the role of third‐party service providers.

The results from the work cluster the different third‐party service providers in three different groups: carriers, logistics service providers (LSPs) and logistics service intermediaries (LSIs). All of these parties have different roles and provide various services in outsourced logistics setups. A collaborative logistics management (CLM) model has been derived that embraces the role of the different parties, the information and material flows between them, the interface attributes and the information systems architecture. In this paper, a focus is mainly on the part of the model that reveals the role of the third‐party service providers.

The practical implications of the work has its foundation in that activities, performed by two parties, can be adapted to each other so that their combined efficiency is improved. The CLM model can be applied when designing and negotiating third‐party services for specific logistics assignments.

The paper offers a model of logistics collaboration between the different parties in contemporary, outsourced logistics setups.

To investigate the evolutionary process of the retail logistics network formation, and to propose a relationship framework between the logistics asset buyer (the retailer) and the logistics asset supplier (the third‐party logistics firm).

The evolutionary process is based on the way the asset specificity element of transaction costs theory can be perceived by the logistics asset buyer and the logistics asset supplier. The asset specificity element is linked to both network and buyer‐supplier relationship theories with the aim of conceptualising a buyer‐supplier relationship framework. Secondary data for the UK food retail chain are also employed.

A new relationship framework is developed based on the buyers’‐suppliers’ perceptions in relation to logistics asset specificity, and the conditions required for the formation of the retail logistics network are illustrated. If transaction costs are perceived as high by both the buyer and the supplier of a logistics asset, the retailer will engage into a fourth‐party logistics network formation where the use of information technology systems is of critical importance. At this stage, these systems will become the primary co‐ordination device for the reduction and absorption of complexity in the retail chain.

The paper offers a unique buyer‐supplier partnership framework by proposing that the formation of a fourth‐party logistics network will decrease the complexity of modern retail logistics operations. The paper will assist retail managers responsible for the development of logistics strategies and will be beneficial to researchers examining logistics and supply chain management operations.

Focusses on three constructs that we believe are the primary determinants of the future usage of third party logistics services. These constructs are: extent of use of the third party logistics services; decision making process for choosing contract logistics services provider; and impact of the usage of contract logistics services on the organisation. An empirical research was carried out in Singapore to study the impact of these three factors on the future usage of third party logistics services in Singapore. Results based on an analysis of data relating to 126 Singapore‐based firms indicate that most users of these services are satisfied with their providers and believe that this has led to positive developments within the organisation. With a high current level of satisfaction, a large number of these firms are likely to increase their usage of contract logistics services moderately or substantially.

The purpose of this article was to identify the steps that need to be taken when choosing an effective third party logistics provider. Based on the research completed, it was determined that third party logistics are beneficial to many companies. The use of third party logistics provides a competitive advantage in today’s business world. The optimal solution for a company choosing a third party logistic provider would be a five‐step process.

This paper provides a comparison of users and providers of third‐party logistics (3PL) services with respect to relationship marketing elements, such as trust and communication, as well as relationship marketing outcomes, such as retention and recovery.

Constructs for the relationship marketing elements and outcomes were derived from the extant literature and modified to reflect the nature of 3PL arrangements. The relevant data were collected from separate, but consistent, mail surveys that were sent to users of 3PL services as well as providers of 3PL services.

The results indicate statistically significant differences between 3PL users and providers across eight of nine relationship marketing elements, with the lone non‐significant comparison involving the communication construct. There are also statistically significant differences between 3PL users and providers for each of the four relationship marketing outcomes.

Although the present study utilized previously validated relationship marketing elements and outcomes, future research could examine other relationship marketing elements and outcomes. Future research could also investigate relationship marketing issues through dyads/matched pairs of 3PL users and providers.

This manuscript examines 3PL with respect to theories and/or frameworks that comes from outside the logistics discipline, an approach advocated by Stock. Moreover, the paper adds to Moore's 3PL/relationship marketing research by investigating relationship elements and outcomes. The current paper adds to the rather limited literature that incorporates both 3PL user and provider perspectives.