Third party logistics : an analysis of the feasibility and contexts of strategic relationships

An important topic in the Third Party Logistics (3PL) industry is the extent to which customers view 3PL services as pure-commodities to be re-bid. The trend towards commoditization has been one of the causes for current pricing pressures on the 3PLs. The 3PLs gearing towards "strategic partnerships" and the addition of Value-Added Services to their portfolio could decelerate the trend towards commoditization and could also otherwise differentiate them from their competitors. This study investigates the categories of relationships that 3PLs have and specifically the presence of strategic relationships in the 3PL industry. The study also examines the contexts in which they exist and highlights the factors that have contributed to the formation of the strategic relationships. The study concludes by proposing steps that 3PLs can take to better position themselves as candidates for strategic relationships.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Authors dc:creator

• Ranjan, Madhu, 1972-
• Tonui, Richard, 1975-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• .Christopher Caplice

• Engineering Systems Division.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29528

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/29528