Integration of sustainable criteria into a logistics service provider selection process


Master's Thesis, 2013

158 Pages


Excerpt


Table of content

List of figures

List of tables

List of abbreviations

1Introduction
1.1 Background and problem definition
1.2 Purpose and research questions
1.3 Thesis outline

2 Conceptual framework
2.1 Sustainability
2.1.1 History and definition
2.1.2 Triple-Bottom-Line
2.1.3 The economic dimension
2.1.4 The environmental dimension
2.1.5 The social dimension
2.2 Supply Chain Management
2.2.1 Definition
2.2.2 Performance objectives
2.2.3 Sustainability as new goal of SCM
2.2.4 Latest developments of sustainability in the SCM industry
2.2.5 Logistics Service Providers (LSP)
2.3 Procurement
2.3.1 Definition
2.3.2 Integration of procurement in SCM and its relevance
2.3.3 Categories of procurement decisions
2.3.4 Trends and recent developments in procurement
2.3.5 Procurement of services
2.3.6 Procurement of transport and logistics services
2.4 Combination of Sustainability, SCM and Procurement - a gap in research

3 Theoretical Foundation
3.1 New Institutional Economics
3.2 Transaction Cost Theory
3.3 Agency theory
3.4 Coordination
3.5 Behavior science and the S-O-R model
3.6 Stakeholder Theory

4 Integration of sustainability in LSP procurement: research directions
4.1 Motivation for an extensive review and LSR as starting point
4.2 Sustainable procurement of LSP
4.3 Environmental procurement of transportation services
4.4 Environmental procurement of logistics services
4.5 Design of sustainable LSP-shipper relationships
4.6 Tools and methodologies for LSP selection
4.7 Further contributions broaching the topic
4.8. List of most important contributions

5 Development of a comprehensive model of sustainable selection criteria
5.1 The importance of sustainable criteria in LSP selection processes
5.2 A multi-dimensional framework for classification of sustainable criteria
5.2.1 Dimension: Sustainability
5.2.2 Dimension: Field of (SCM) activity
5.2.3 Dimension: Field of action
5.2.4 Dimension: Time/ planning horizon
5.3 Building an overall criteria catalogue
5.3.1 Sources of data collection
5.3.2 Findings of sustainable criteria from analyzed contributions
5.3.3 Further enlargement of the criteria catalogue by other relevant references
5.4 Statistical Findings
5.4.1. Single dimension analysis
5.4.2. Cross-dimensional analysis
5.4.3. Analysis of ranked criteria

6 Development of an expert guidance for sustainable procurement of LSPs
6.1 Limitations of the long list of sustainable LSP selection criteria
6.2 An expert guidance for procurement of transportation or warehousing services
6.3 An expert guidance to evaluate sustainable certifications of LSPs

7 Conclusion and outlook
7.1 Aggregation of research results
7.2 Limitations and future research

References

Appendices

Appendix I: Traditional selection criteria for Logistics Service Providers

Appendix II: Long list of sustainable LSP selection criteria

Appendix III: Selection criteria of sustainable certification standards

Appendix IV: Distribution of contributions in Chapter

Appendix V: Chinese summary ѝ᮷ᙫ㔃

Abstract

The need for the integration of sustainability into Supply Chain Management has constantly increased over the last years. The simultaneous rise of the relevance of outsourcing of logistics activities emphasizes the need to put strong attention to sustainable aspects in the relationship between shippers and their logistics service providers (LSP). This thesis strives to answer the question how sustainability can be integrated into the LSP procurement process.

Thereto, a broad literature review is compiled by applying all relevant references into a comprehensive framework. One of the main revealed challenges of sustainable LSP procurement is the lack of overview on sustainable selection criteria.

In order to overcome this gap, a multi-dimensional model will be presented to improve comparability and organization of criteria by assigning them to a sustainable dimension, field of activity, field of action and time/ planning horizon. The following research on existing sustainable selection criteria results in a long list with 123 criteria. The statistical analyses of this list provide insights into current research directions on sustainability and both approve assumptions and unveil mismatches from the existing body of literature.

The development of an expert guidance based on the catalogue of sustainable selection criteria offers practical applications to foster the integration of sustainability into LSP- shipper relationships. It provides assistance for LSP procurement decisions of transportation and warehousing as well as for evaluation of sustainable certification standards.

Although the presented criteria catalogue offers an opportunity to compare different selection criteria by counting the number of contributions mentioning a specific criterion, quantitative measurability of sustainable selection criteria remains one of the most important open challenges.

Key words: Supply Chain Management, logistics service providers (LSP), sustainability, procurement of LSPs, sustainable selection criteria

Zusammenfassung

Die wachsende wirtschaftliche Bedeutung von Logistik in unserer globalisierten Welt und das gleichzeitig gesteigerte gesellschaftliche Bewusstsein für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung haben in den letzten Jahren zu einem zunehmenden Trend der Integration von Nachhaltigkeitsaspekten in den Logistiksektor geführt. Da immer mehr Logistikdienstleistungen extern beschafft werden, ist es wichtig den Fokus nachhaltiger Aspekte besonders auf die Beziehung zwischen Verladern und Logistikdienstleistern zu legen. Diese Arbeit untersucht daher wie Nachhaltigkeit in den Beschaffungsprozess für Logistikdienstleister integriert werden kann.

Durch die Entwicklung eines umfassenden Bezugsrahmens, ist es möglich alle existierenden relevanten Beiträge zum Thema zu ordnen, auszuwerten und zu vergleichen. Dabei erscheint eine Vielzahl von offenen Problemen, unter anderem gibt es bisher noch keine umfassende Übersicht darüber, welche nachhaltigen Auswahlkriterien für Logistikdienstleister existieren.

Um dieses Problem zu lösen, wird ein Modell entwickelt, welches eine Einordnung von Kriterien in die vier Dimensionen Nachhaltigkeitsbereich, Betätigungsfeld, Gestaltungs- bereich und Zeit-/ Planungshorizont ermöglicht. Dadurch kann jedem Kriterium eine Reihe von Eigenschaften für eine genauere Beschreibung zugewiesen werden. Die Auswertung zahlreicher Quellen führt dann zu einer Liste von 123 nachhaltigen Auswahlkriterien für Logistikdienstleister, welche statistisch untersucht werden, um Tendenzen und Ungleichgewichte in der aktuellen Forschung belegen zu können.

Aus dem umfassenden Kriterienkatalog können praktische Handlungsempfehlungen für Verlader und Logistikdienstleister abgeleitet werden. Ein Modell zur Generierung von relevanten Kriterien für die Beschaffung von Transport- und Lagerdienstleistungen, sowie zur Bewertung von nachhaltigen Zertifizierungsstandards, wird vorgestellt.

Obwohl nachhaltige Kriterien durch die Anzahl der Nennungen untereinander verglichen werden können, bleibt die Messbarkeit von Nachhaltigkeit noch immer eine der größten Herausforderungen bei der Logistikdienstleisterauswahl.

Stichwörter: Supply Chain Management, Logistik, Nachhaltigkeit, Logistikdienstleister, Beschaffung von Logistikdienstleistungen, nachhaltige Auswahlkriterien

List of figures

Figure 1: Thesis outline

Figure 2: Triple-Bottom-Line approach

Figure 3: Shift of logistics key success factors

Figure 4: Share of transport on global mode greenhouse gas emission

Figure 5: Sustainable Supply Chain framework

Figure 6: Modified system of performance objectives in SCM

Figure 7: Global 3PL Market size

Figure 8: Supplier Management Processes

Figure 9: Outsourcing of different logistic processes

Figure 10: Combination of Sustainability, SCM and Procurement - a gap in research

Figure 11: Framework of literature review

Figure 12: Areas affected by sustainable procurement of LSP

Figure 13: Areas affected by environmental procurement of transportation services

Figure 14: Areas affected by environmental procurement of logistics services

Figure 15: Areas affected by design of sustainable LSP-shipper relationship

Figure 16: Areas affected by tools and methodologies for LSP selection

Figure 17: Distribution of sustainability dimensions of sustainable selection criteria

Figure 18: Distribution of fields of activity of sustainable selection criteria

Figure 19: Distribution of fields of action beyond sustainable selection criteria

Figure 20: Distribution of time/ planning horizon of sustainable selection criteria

Figure 21: Distribution of sustainability dimensions of the top 26 selection criteria

Figure 22: Interface of the expert guidance for sustainable procurement of transportation services

Figure 23: Interface of the expert guidance to evaluate sustainable certifications

Figure 24: Time distribution of publications referring to the integration of sustainability into procurement of logistics services providers

Figure 25: Distribution by country of origin of publications referring to the integration of sustainability into procurement of logistics services providers

Figure 26: Time distribution of contributions referring to sustainable criteria

List of tables

Table 1: Drivers and requirements of Sustainable Supply Chain Management

Table 2: Services provided by 3PLs

Table 3: Systematization of strategic procurement decisions

Table 4: Summary of agency theory characteristics

Table 5: List of most important contributions

Table 6: Morphological summary of the four dimensions

Table 7: Quantity of sustainable selection criteria from contributions of Chapter

Table 8: Number of criteria from other references

Table 9: Top 26- most mentioned criteria of the long list

Table 10: Traditional selection criteria for Logistics Service Providers

Table 11: Long list of sustainable LSP selection criteria

Table 12: Selection criteria of sustainable certification standards

List of abbreviations

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1 Introduction

1.1 Background and problem definition

Within the last two decades, sustainability has grown to become one of the most important topics in research and practice. This resulted from humanity’s realization that the current pattern of economic growth and resource consumption conflicts with the ecological constraints of our planet and will lead to disastrous consequences if nothing will be changed in the future.1 One of the topics that has gained enormous attention in recent years, is the threat to the environment posed by global warming, due to man- made emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Furthermore, globalization and the increased importance of global value chains have generated extensive awareness within media and society concerning international working conditions and the social impacts of business activities.2

The beginning of the 21st century saw Supply Chain Management (SCM) gain more importance than ever before. Logistics activities today connect markets and people worldwide and foster international trade. Hence, modern Supply Chain Management is one of the most important competitive factors and a driver of global economic growth, wealth creation, and employment.3

However, the rise of Supply Chain Management also implied negative side effects, first and foremost increasing environmental pollution caused by logistics. Supply Chain Management activities are responsible for 18% of total global greenhouse gas emissions.4 Its impact is likely to grow even more in the next years with the ongoing increasing relevance of globalization. In addition, Supply Chain Management activities have a strong impact on social issues, such as safety or working conditions, due to its increased economic importance. In Germany for example 2.6 million people, around 7% of the national workforce is employed in the Supply Chain Management industry.5 That is why it is crucial to focus strongly on SCM-related activities towards sustainability to reduce their impacts on the environment and society.

There has been a growing trend of outsourcing logistics activities in many industries in recent years. Therefore procurement activities from logistics service providers (LSP) play a significant role in the development towards a more sustainable Supply Chain Management. The selection process of the LSP is crucial to set demands and requirements of sustainability by defining and applying sustainable selection criteria. However, little research has been conducted in this field of science.6

1.2 Purpose and research questions

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate which sustainable aspects can be considered by shippers when buying logistics services from LSPs, and how these sustainable selection criteria can be integrated into procurement process. This leads to the following primary and secondary research questions.

Primary research question:

What are sustainable criteria of logistics services and how can they be integrated into the procurement process of a logistics service provider?

Secondary research questions:

1. What is the state of art of the three major scientific topics (sustainability, Supply Chain Management and procurement) which are related to the primary research?
2. How can these topics be integrated into a scientific framework and to what extend have they already been combined?
3. What scientific theories and trends have to be considered in order to provide theoretical and practical solutions?
4. What kinds of contributions have already been made to solve the primary research question and what kind of issues do they deal with?
5. What kind of sustainable criteria in procurement LSPs exist and how can they be organized?
6. How can the collected long list of criteria and their dimensions be used to render assistance for the inclusion of sustainability in the logistics services procurement process?

1.3 Thesis outline

The outline of the thesis and the procedure of investigation of the research questions is shown in figure 1.

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Figure 1: Thesis outline7

After this introduction, chapter 2 will set the ground for the further research by examining the three underlying topics of this thesis. Firstly, the relevance of sustainability and its three related dimensions will be discussed. Secondly, the development of Supply Chain Management as well as its impacts on the environment and society will be analyzed. The third topic deals with procurement and its relevance for buying of logistics services from LSPs.

Chapter 3 will explain scientific theories which are related to the topic. This theoretical foundation is necessary to understand the theoretical economic background of many phenomena in the LSP-shipper relationship and can be used to solve current problems and gaps in research.

Based on the results of the previous two chapters, chapter 4 will investigate current research directions of sustainability in LSP procurement. The findings of the most important contributions will be presented. A comprehensive framework will be developed to allow categorization of the contributions for a better understanding and distinction.

In chapter 5, a multi-dimensional model will be developed in order to organize and classify sustainable LSP selection criteria. The collection of these criteria from various references leads to the generation of a long list of sustainable LSP selection criteria. The assignment of each criterion into the four deployed dimensions allows for a statistical analysis of the criteria catalogue, which will approve assumptions as well as reveal mismatches. Furthermore, a method to rank criteria and the evaluation of the top 26 ranked criteria will be presented.

Possible practical applications of the developed catalogue of criteria for shippers and LSPs will be shown in chapter 6 by developing an expert guidance for the inclusion of sustainability into LSP procurement.

Chapter 7 will provide a conclusion of the findings of this thesis as well as point out limitations and further research needed.

2 Conceptual framework

Following the research objectives, this chapter is meant to conceptualize the framework of this thesis. Three general scientific research fields, namely sustainability, Supply Chain Management and particular procurement, correlate with the topic. This chapter will firstly analyze each of these fields individually followed by their respective combinations.8 Accordingly, a holistic literature review will be conducted to answer secondary research questions 1 and 2. Finally the findings will emphasize a major research gap when combining all three aspects together.

2.1 Sustainability

2.1.1 History and definition

The origins of the term sustainability date back to forestry. As early as 1713 Hans Carl von Carlowitz demanded in his paper “Sylvicultura oeconomica ”, that there should only be logged as many trees as grow back.9

By the end of the 20th century, the industrial nations slowly realized the long-run limitations of their current pattern of economic growth by the natural resources of the earth.10 That is why in 1980 the International Union for Conversation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) introduced the term of sustainable development in its “World Conservation Strategy (WCS)”.11

The most important contribution for the breakthrough of the term sustainability was made by the report “Our Common Future”, also known as the Brundtland Report,12 published by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in 1987. From that time onward its definition of sustainability has been the most-well adapted and most often quoted: “ Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. ” 13

However, this macro-economic, societal definition has often been criticized for being too far reaching and abstract,14 which led to the emergence of hundreds of different definitions of sustainability over the last 25 years.15 But until today there is still no standardized valid definition of sustainability.16

2.1.2 Triple-Bottom-Line

Despite the remaining unclear definition of sustainability, there is a broad agreement among politicians, scientists, and people from industry about the critical necessity of the integration of economic, environmental and social aspects into sustainable development.17

Elkington has developed a concept of combining these three dimensions into a framework, called the Triple-Bottom-Line.18 His concept simultaneously considers and balances economic, environmental and social goals from a microeconomic standpoint. He also introduced the 3P formulation: Profit, Planet and People, as a synonym for the three dimensions.19

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Figure 2: Triple-Bottom-Line approach20

The overall integrative and intertwining character of the three dimensions in general is one of the main advantages of the Triple-Bottom-Line approach.21 That is why the concept demands that companies rather apply stakeholder than shareholder responsibility.22

The concept also emphasizes the necessary application of an appropriate balance between the three areas of sustainability.23 However, in practice there is still no such equivalence of the three dimensions.24 Furthermore, most companies regard each of the three dimensions as a fragmented and independent part of their sustainability strategy, which is one of the most serious problems of the implementation of the Triple-Bottom- Line in practice.25

2.1.3 The economic dimension

The overall objective of the economic dimension is welfare maximization of all relevant groups in a society by generating long-term economic prosperity and therewith to ensure the maintenance of a society’s quality of living over time.26

In the concept of sustainability at the Triple-Bottom-Line, the economic dimension describes the idea of achieving traditional economic goals, like profit maximization or economic growth, but with consideration of restrictions and requirements of environmental and social aspects.27 Exemplary objectives are improvement of quality and efficiency, cost reductions and enhancement of responsiveness.28 Innovations in technology as well as new management strategies at all company levels and maintenance of the capital stock are crucial to achieve economic sustainability.29

Carter and Rogers emphasize the special integrative character of the economic dimension and claim that in the area of sustainability “at the intersection of social, environmental, and economic performance, there are activities that organizations can engage in which not only positively affect the natural environment and society, but which also result in long-term economic benefits and competitive advantage for the firm ” . 30

Large supports their view as he confirms a partial positive correlation between social or environmental initiatives and traditional economic performance objectives. But he also adds that sustainable targets have to be defined and pursued because of ethical principles and values, not just because of economic prospects of success.31

2.1.4 The environmental dimension

The environmental dimension often receives biggest attention in political and social discussions.32 Its main objective is the preservation of natural resources because of the limited ecological carrying capacity of the earth. This implies the conservation of resources in order to allow future generations to use them as well. Inappropriate usage of natural resources is likely to endanger means of humanity´s livelihood in the future. This aspect is overlapping with the social dimension.33

Other main principles of the environmental dimension are the usage of renewable resources and energy, generation of substitutes for all consumed non-renewable raw materials and resources, reduction of emissions, and avoidance of risks for mankind and its environment.34 Therefore the most important sub-objectives of environmental sustainability are improvement of the environmental qualities, such as air and water quality, decreased consumption of resources and energy, reduction of emissions and pollution, protection of biological diversity, increased recycling, and reduction of waste.35

Potentials for improvement can be found in different stages in the lifetime of a product. That is why the incorporation of the product lifecycle concept is very important to generally improve environmental sustainability.36 Consequentially a wide range of environmental activities can be derived. The production and usage of recyclable packaging materials, the conversion of industrial waste heat from chemical processes for further use as district heating, and the reduction of water consumption through water purification systems or consumption of rainwater instead of drinking water belong to these environmental activities. Furthermore, the installation of emission control and flue gas cleanup systems as well as the usage of low-solvent substances has to be mentioned as environmental-friendly activities. All those activities can either be voluntary or required by law, environmental constraints and even customers.37

2.1.5 The social dimension

In the original version of the Brundtland Report38, the WCED refers to the “essential needs [of humanity]39 as the social dimension of sustainability. Today, the essence of the social dimension lies in its protective function and the implementation of socially defined objectives of equity and therefore, the social balance.40 In discussions of sustainability, the social dimension is often neglected.41

The goals of the social dimension include respect for human rights, health protection, social prosperity, individual freedom, security, stability and justice of the society, labor standards and compliance, equal chances for education and employment, preservation of jobs, retirement provisions as well as support of employees and the community.42

Moreover, the current social standards should be at least sustained or improved for future generations. Fair treatment of other participants in the supply chain, in particular suppliers, is also an essential part of the social dimension, which includes transparency and fairness in contract negotiations with suppliers as well as the strict exclusion of suppliers using child labor or not paying minimum wages.43 Corporate responsibility is another aspect of the social dimension with different categories.

Corporate Citizenship considers a company as a well-behaving citizen who shows a high degree of social commitment by producing sustainable products or by the establishment of a charitable foundation. On the other hand, Corporate Volunteering refers to the release of employees to participate in a voluntary project, which can be fostered by cooperation with non-profit organizations. Additionally, Corporate Governance refers to the direct management of internal and external stakeholders including their competencies, responsibilities, and capacities. An increase of employees overall satisfactory can lead to increased performance and reduction of the churn rate for instance. Hence, the social dimension sometimes can be measured in corporate governance.44

Due to this wide range of activities, the social dimension has been criticized for being too unspecific and therefore allowing every stakeholder to only select aspects which he likes to point out.45

The term Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been widely used both in research and in practice in recent years. But there is again a very broad range of definitions and how CSR is related to the term of sustainability.46 CSR is often equated with the social dimension of the Triple-Bottom-Line.47 In contrary, some scientists argue that CSR can be used synonymously for sustainability48 or even as a basis for the Brundtland model of sustainability.49 This thesis follows the concept of Baumgartner and Ebner. They recommend a framework in which CSR is used as a social strand in the Triple-Bottom- Line approach of sustainability.50

2.2 Supply Chain Management

2.2.1 Definition

Despite numerous studies on the topics supply chain and Supply Chain Management (SCM), there is still a debate over their precise definitions amongst.51

A supply chain is commonly regarded as a sequence of two or more parties linked by a flow of material, information and money, often global in scope. It consists of all parties involved, directly or indirectly, in fulfilling a customer request, such as manufacturers, suppliers, transporters, warehouse owners, retailers, and customers.52 In our increasing globalized economy, supply chains are highly dynamic and adaptive supply networks.53

Within the framework of this thesis, the definition of Supply Chain Management is consistent with the view of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals:

“ Supply Chain Management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities along the supply chain. ” 54

The definition points out the importance of the management of flows between and among supply chain participants. Thus, the integration among the three processes of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Internal Supply Chain Management (ISCM) and Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) is critical for effective and successful Supply Chain Management.55

There has been a lot of confusion about the difference or equivalent usage of the definition of Supply Chain Management and logistics, especially in Germany.56 Sometimes both terms are used synonymously.57 Others argue in support of a definition of Supply Chain Management which goes beyond logistics.58 This work subscribes to the view that Supply Chain Management is regarded as a qualitative new stage of development in the life cycle of logistics.59

But before logistics reached its status quo, there has been a development with various stages over decades. Throughout this development, the area of responsibility of logistics increasingly expanded within business management science and practice.60 This growth heightened as innovations in communication and information technologies grew. Logistics began to shift from a functional operating view to optimization of supply chains and cross-company network integration.61

Every previous stages of development can be traced back to key success factors of logistics, which have been shifting over the decades companies aimed mainly for cost reductions. The most important objective was a more efficient configuration of logistic processes.62

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Figure 3: Shift of logistics key success factors63

During the 1980s the new generic strategy of quality leadership replaced cost leadership.64 In the 1900s two new key success factors evolved: time and flexibility. The change from sellers´ market to buyers’ market in the 2000s forced numerous companies to focus more on improving customers’ satisfaction. For that reason the service orientation and comprehensive integration of flows among the value chain network65 became crucial to meet the customers’ expectations of products or services rendered quality.66

2.2.2 Performance objectives

A system of performance objectives of Supply Chain Management can also be easily derived from the development of the key success factors, described in the section above, by applying the concept of Slack and Lewis.67 The key success factors, also called competitive factors are clustered into generic performance objectives which directly influence customers’ perception of the overall service performance. The five performance objectives of SCM are quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost.68 They have interdependent relationships and correspond to the concept of the “seven- rights” by Plowman, who provides a short, but precise and well established definition of the objectives of SCM. In order to be successful, a company has to ensure the right quantity in the right condition of the right product at the right cost, at the right place, at the right time to the right customer.69

I. The first performance objective quality is linked to the ability of a company to achieve a product or service specification consistently70 and to offer an appropriate delivery quality for customers.71
II. Speed includes short lead and delivery times which depend directly on the order fulfillment strategy and the customer order decoupling point.72
III. Dependability refers to a high degree of delivery dependability and delivery readiness. Furthermore it also involves high reliability and availability of all systems and work flows including those of upstream supply chain members.73
IV. Flexibility consists of adequate delivery resilience, a high diversity of variants and offering customized products and services.74
V. Cost is still the most important performance objective. The lower the costs are, the lower can be the price, which a company is able to offer customers for its products or services.75 The main costs in Supply Chain Management can be differentiated between costs for planning and management of order fulfillment, costs of procurement and costs of transport, warehousing and other services.76

This system serves as a basis for the performance measurement, which is realized by key performance indicators (KPI). There is a huge variety KPI in Supply Chain Management, which can be adapted to unique requirements of different countries or industries.77

The five performance objectives of Supply Chain Management result directly from its development over the last decades.78 Therefore they cannot be treated immutably.

Instead, it is necessary to continue to change and evolve the understanding of Supply Chain Management and its objectives to fit to the needs of today and the future.

2.2.3 Sustainability as new goal of SCM

The importance of the logistics and supply chain industry grew significantly over the last decades. It generates approximately 9% of the global GDP today.79 This development was massively influenced by the upcoming globalization and the shift of SCM towards a broader range of functions and responsibilities.80 Today’s supply chain networks affect various steps of value creation in different industries.81 Besides positive impacts on prosperity and overall economic development, the rise of Supply Chain Management also implies some negative side effects, first and foremost increasing environmental pollution caused by logistics.82

In the European Union (EU) the transport sector is the only sector with increasing CO2 emissions since 1990.83 As a consequence SCM related activities became one of the most important contributors of greenhouse gas emissions.84 The worldwide transport sector is the third largest emission source following only energy and land use. It is responsible for 18% of total global greenhouse gas emissions (cf. figure 4).

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Figure 4: Share of transport on global mode greenhouse gas emission85

This share is even higher in the developed countries, for instance about 32% of the 2011 overall CO2 emissions in the European Union are caused by transportation.86

The annual total emissions by SCM activities worldwide accumulated 2800 mega-tones of CO2 in 2008.87 The major contributor is road freight at around 57%. Nevertheless, air freight is the highest carbon intensive mode of transport88, while ocean and rail freight are the most carbon efficient modes.89

The supply chain and logistics industry is expected to continue growing in the next years.90 It will become even a stronger competitive factor and a driver of global economic growth, wealth creation and employment.91 Henceforth it is ever more critical for Supply Chain Management to address social and environmental issues.

In total, logistics and transport emissions account for 5% to 15% of product life cycle emissions today.92 Without changes in technologies or management practices energy consumption and emission of greenhouse gases caused by SCM activities are likely to increase simultaneously to its global relevance in the next years.93 Therefore the contribution of SCM to the reduction goals of global CO2 emissions is critical. Furthermore, SCM can be regarded as the missing link between green products, services and customers, allowing companies to produce even greener products if the corresponding logistics also becomes green.94

The implication is clearly an essential need to integrate sustainability and its three dimensions into modern Supply Chain Management. Therefore an adoption of the understanding and the theoretical framework of SCM are required once more.95

Supply Chain Management research and science has been showing growing interests in sustainability for over two decades and the topic already became mainstream.96 In the 1990s several stand-alone topics of environmental and social issues have been examined.97 But none of them was able to provide a comprehensive framework which could help logistics companies to adjust themselves to the huge challenge of sustainability. In 2002 Carter and Jennings were the first ones to have conceptualized the integration of social and environmental issues into an extensive framework. They called the concept Logistics Social Responsibility (LSR).98 During the same time the term of Sustainable Supply Chain Management (SSCM) occurred for the first time.99 Since then, a lot of research has been done to develop the concept of SSCM.100 There have been three major contributions in the last five years helping to build a more complete and comprehensive framework.

Pagell and Wu focused on managerial orientation on sustainability and transparency in the supply chain in order to increase sustainability outcomes. Seuring and Müller investigated supplier management towards performance and risks and integrated triggers for SSCM as well as SCM for sustainable products into their model.

Carter and Rogers have developed the most sophisticated interorganizational SSCM framework so far. Their approach is based on the Triple-Bottom-Line and even extends this model by integration of strategy, organizational culture, transparency and risk management (cf. figure 5).

They define SSCM as “the strategic, transparent integration and achievement of an organization ’ s social, environmental, and economic goals in the systemic coordination of key interorganizational business processes for improving the long-term economic performance of the individual company and its supply chains.”101

This definition points out again the equal treatment of the three pillars of sustainability. To achieve real sustainability, it is not enough to consider these dimensions separated.102 However, in reality Green Logistics presents a widely distributed term, which focuses only on the environmental dimension and usually neglects social aspects.103 It describes all attempts of a company to minimize and measure its ecological impact of SCM related activities. Green Logistics strives after a balance between economic and eco-efficiency.104 Many companies only put their attention on Green Logistics.105 Moreover, there is a clear research gap regarding social aspects as well as the overall integration of the three sustainability dimensions, too.106

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Figure 5: Sustainable Supply Chain framework107

But it is insufficient to only have a definition and a conceptual framework of Sustainable Supply Chain Management. It is crucial to incorporate sustainability into performance objectives of SCM as well in order to design sustainable supply chains.108

As previously mentioned in section 2.2.2, the existing system of performance objectives itself is a result of the shift in key success factors of SCM over the last decades. The inclusion of sustainability displays the next stage of the development of SCM. Consequently sustainability becomes the sixth equal pillar of the SCM performance objective system and enhances the existing system containing of quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost (cf. figure 6). The performance measurement system with its KPI must be adapted as well.109 General equality between these six dimensions is critical but the specific importance of each one can be different, depending on the company. Only the cost objective can take a superior position because it directly influences the company´s realization of profits.110

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Figure 6: Modified system of performance objectives in SCM111

2.2.4 Latest developments of sustainability in the SCM industry

The current deployment of sustainability in Supply Chain Management is influenced by different drivers and requirement. They are affected by different stakeholder groups112 (cf. table 1). At present, the most important triggers among these are external pressure through legal demands and regulations, sustainable requirements of a growing group of customers and greater public vigilance.113

More and more companies recognized the need of extensive collaboration with all partners of the supply chain to cope with requirements of different stakeholders.114 Besides the existing awareness of relationships with suppliers, service providers or customers, many organizations increasingly try to collaborate with others in their industry to influence government regulation and investment guidance. Government officials often rely on organizational consortiums and industry groups for advice and consultation on sustainable topics, especially concerning industry standards, trade policies, education of workers and the improvement of logistics infrastructure.115

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Table 1: Drivers and requirements of Sustainable Supply Chain Management116

A recently published report117 confirmed rising importance of sustainability in the Supply Chain Management and logistics industry.

Sustainability has become a trend worldwide118, which is even likely to become an issue of major importance within the next five years.119 The resulting so-called “sustainability pressure” gives rise to the increasing awareness of companies and their leading managers all over the world. 70% of all respondents stated that CSR is a core component of their SCM strategy and 55% of them also declared Green Logistics to be included.120 It is to be noted that sustainability is not considered as an integrated framework like the Triple-Bottom-Line in this report, but rather divided into CSR and Green Logistics.121

However, the level of integration of sustainability varies significantly among different countries. Companies from the USA turn out to be leaders in CSR. Surprisingly, the emerging markets China and Brazil have shares similar to a developed country like Germany. Only Russian companies are lagging behind their counterparts from other major markets.122

The report also emphasizes remaining major challenges in the deployment of sustainability in SCM. There is still a great deal of uncertainty, especially regarding measurement and evaluation systems of sustainable performance.123 Moreover, today customers generally are not willing to pay higher prices for sustainable SCM.124

2.2.5 Logistics Service Providers (LSP)

In the last years, many SCM- related activities that were previously performed in-house have often been replaced with activities offered by logistics service providers.125 Depending on the range of activities logistics service provides can be classified into different categories.

Carriers only specialize in transportation. They were the first logistics service providers because in the past transport was often viewed separated from the supply chain.126 It was described as the least integrated link with a great focus on cost reductions. Therefore carriers plan and perform movements of goods in the most efficient way. In modern SCM there are often used as subcontractors.127

Logistics service intermediaries are often non-asset based service providers. They do not handle goods personally, but coordinate and connect different logistics actors and their SCM-related activities. Logistics intermediary companies frequently deal with freight forwarding activities, such as the consolidation of physical products.128

The most common type today is the third party logistics service provider (3PL or TPL), which coordinates clients, logistics intermediary firms and carriers in order to provide an integrated service.129 Because of its high relevance, this thesis will focus on 3PLs and therefore provide a deeper theoretical insight in the following section.

Third party logistics service providers are defined as “an external provider who manages controls and delivers logistics activities on behalf of a shipper.”130 This broad definition “refers to a hierarchy in the relation of 3PL and transport buyers, the latter as customers being in a superior position131 The buyer defines the supply chain, designs and develops the product and is in direct contact with the final customer. Hence, the buyer operates as the focal company.132

3PLs usually operate on a global scale, even though they work with local or regional sub-providers.133 They have undertaken a transformation from single-activity towards wide range of integrated services to improve customer service level.134 Although transportation and warehousing are still core functions, value-added services became an important competitive factor of differentiation.135 Table 2 gives an overview of logistics services provided by 3PLs.

Because of the variety of logistics activities, most modern 3PLs evolve either into large companies offering a wide range of logistics solutions136 or into specialized providers with a diversified portfolio of interests.137 3PLs possess specialized knowledge and technology and usually exercise control of the whole transportation chain. That is why they often can optimize various logistics services and design a more efficient supply chain.138

The relationship with a 3PL can be of strategic, tactical or sometimes operational value. Interactions between a procurement company and a 3PL are, in contrast to simple transactions between a transport provider and a buyer, more formalized and built with a long-term focus.139 This has fuelled the transition from a traditional “arm’s length” concept to an approach of logistic service packages on an “one-stop shopping” basis and from an asset-based to a knowledge- and value-added based understanding of logistic service enterprises.140

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Table 2: Services provided by 3PLs141

The main driving forces today have mostly strategic influence in terms of market coverage, improving the level of service or increasing flexibility in view of the changing requirements of customer.142 Therefore relationships with 3PLs should be of more and more strategic value. Moreover 3PLs are facilitating supply chain integration and can clearly be used as an important element of a company’s Supply Chain Management strategy.143 This in turn places greater pressure on 3PLs to fulfill more sophisticated customer demands. The resulting enhanced competition in the logistics service provider market led to the need to develop further skills and competencies and to gain scale/scope advantages that are superior to competitors.144

However, a recent survey figured out contradictory results in the industry. Many procurement companies still prefer 3PL relationships that are tactical and/or operational rather than strategic, which causes major challenges such as hindering innovation and implementation of cooperative and integrated IT solutions.145 Nevertheless, most companies surveyed agreed with the common opinion of research and try to put more relevance into the setup of strategic relationships between 3PLs and shippers.146

The global 3PL market accumulated total revenues of 541.6 billion USD (Cf. figure 7), increasing by 13.7% compared to 2010. The shares of Europe, North America and Asia are almost equal at about 30%, whereas Latin America and other regions such as Australia or Africa only play a minor role.

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Figure 7: Global 3PL Market size 2011147

However, there is a remarkably uneven distribution regarding the regional growth rates. The usage of outsourcing logistics activities is dramatically growing in the Asia-Pacific region (+43.6%) and Latin America (+54.0%). In contrast, North American 3PL revenues are increasing at a much lower rate (+7.2%), reflecting the maturity of its 3PL market and Europe’s economic challenges can be seen in the modest shrinking (-2.8%) of its 3PL market.148 This indicates that Asia is likely to become the most important market soon. The relevance of other markets probably increases as well.

(Third Party) Logistics service provider decisions are complicated by the fact that various criteria must be considered throughout the decision making process.149 The set of important criteria and their individual relevance differs significantly in literature. Similarly, the set of chosen criteria in practice can also vary from buyer to buyer because each outsourcing company has its own evaluation standards and specific considerations according to its individual requirements for selecting 3PLs.150 Selection criteria are closely related to the main motives for logistics outsourcing.151

Many researchers identify cost reduction, service improvements, customer satisfaction and flexibility as central selection criteria.152 Others conclude core competencies, reputation, trust, and know-how transfer to be important.153 Additionally reliability, responsiveness to requests, information systems, on-time shipments, capability to handle specific business requirement, changes in cost structure and financial stability have been mentioned as decisive selection criteria.154 An extensive summary with numerous selection criteria of 3PL procurement is illustrated in Appendix I.

In recent years, the concept of fourth-party logistics (4PL) emerged describing a further development of the 3PL approach.155 It was first defined by Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) as “ an integrator that assembles the resources capabilities, and technology of its own organization and other organizations to design, build, and run comprehensive supply chain solutions. ” 156 Whereas a third-party logistics (3PL) service provider targets a single function, a 4PL targets management of the entire process which incorporates cross-company activities along the whole supply chain. However, the 4PL approach could not prevail extensively in the industry until today, even though almost 40% of logistics service provides already offer 4PL services.157

2.3 Procurement

2.3.1 Definition

Once again, this chapter requires a precise definition of different terms in the beginning. The terms “Procurement” and “Purchasing” are often used interchangeably. But different definitions of them can lead to significant distinctions and misunderstandings.

“ Procurement is the overarching function that describes all activities and processes to acquire goods and services. “ 158 “ It works in a cross-functional manner within and between companies in the value creation process. ” 159

In contrast, “purchasing” is often considered as a subset of the wider procurement process. It is usually narrower to define the transaction of ordering and receiving goods and services.160

This thesis will follow this concept and widely use notion of procurement. Regarding forthcoming chapters, it is clearly advantageous because it incorporates the buying of transport and logistics services. Nevertheless it must be mentioned that some recent research papers also use the term of purchasing to describe the activity of buying from logistics service providers.161

2.3.2 Integration of procurement in SCM and its relevance

The success of Supply Chain Management today highly depends on a company’s ability to manage flows between and among supply chain participants.162

To understand the integration of procurement into SCM, it is helpful to give attention to the process character of modern Supply Chain Management. During the last years, SCM evolved simultaneously with the changes of the key success factors from a functional view towards a process chains orientated concept with broader responsibilities.163

Baumgarten arranges SCM in four process chains, namely product development, supply, order management and return. They proceed concurrently and are sequentially linked.164 The main focus is on the customer, who is both the starting and ending point of all activities.165 Thus, the process chain model characterizes SCM as a closed-loop system.

The supply process chain consists of requirement planning, purchasing and procurement logistics166 and hence corresponds to the definition of procurement above. Therefore procurement itself is an important factor in the process chain model and in SCM.

Although the volume of procurement processes varies from 40% to 60% of a company’s total revenue,167 many companies still focus on operational activities of procurement. They mainly underestimate the potential of procurement. That is why over the last decade, procurement evolved from a simple acquisition process “into a holistic and strategic key business function.168 This strategic importance is likely to grow even more in the next years.169 Therefore procurement as a part of the value chain is crucial for companies´ success today170 and should be in the center of strategic business planning.171

2.3.3 Categories of procurement decisions

As a result of their increasing strategic importance, procurement decisions can be differentiated into four different categories.172 Supply operations are the basic transactional processes of buying and acquiring goods and services on a daily basis.173 Supplier policy regards the enforcement of the company´s long-term beliefs, such as ethical and environmental beliefs, transparency or international focus.174

Supply strategy involves direction-setting in the form of a set of strategic decisions. The superordinate objective of all strategic decisions is to ensure and increase competitiveness of the company by optimizing the performance of its suppliers.175 There are various decisions with different characteristics (cf. table 3), which can be combined at will to meet a company’s overall procurement strategy. Supply strategy also determines guidelines for sustainability related requirements for suppliers.176

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Table 3: Systematization of strategic procurement decisions177

Supplier management is the last substantial part of procurement, which is responsible for the management of value creation processes in the relationship with suppliers.178 It is derived from the supply strategy and includes four stages (Cf. figure 8).

The supplier selection process starts with the decision of the target market of followed by general supplier identification. Then the raw selection must be classified and matched to a supplier portfolio to prove eligibility aboout the procurement object.179 The last step is the supplier assessment, which can be realized by different quantitative or qualitative methods.180 These are based on specific selection criteria, which can vary among companies.181 In the end, the assessment results in a final selection decision.

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Figure 8: Supplier Management Processes182

Supplier development aims for an improvement of the value-added processes related to the suppliers. The performance of every supplier is monitored and reported frequently. The buying company demands various improvements based on the results.183 Afterwards they sometimes support the implementation of activities by their own assets, such as direct investments or providing suppliers with equipment or know-how, including training and education or the exchange of staff.184 In case of positive changes, the supplier is usually rewarded. If the supplier is not willing or able to improve his weaknesses, the supplier phase-out can be initialized.

Supplier integration strives for a long-term relationship with a supplier to get into a win- win situation in the long run. The main idea is the intensification of collaboration, which is mostly carried out by an intensive interchange of data or information and sometimes even by cooperation in research and development or production.185

2.3.4 Trends and recent developments in procurement

The globalization led to one of the major trends of procurement in the last decade: global sourcing. Companies have significant needs and incentives to buy globally today. They attach special importance to emerging market like China, India or Brazil not only because of the cost saving opportunities but also because of huge market potential.186

E-procurement (electronic procurement) has been a trend for more than a decade as well. It describes the procurement processes through the Internet as well as other information and networking systems.187 E-Procurement tools such as Web EDI or B2B platforms are already an integral component of procurement and will be expanded by new IT technologies such as cloud or big data applications in the coming years.188

With the increased focus on more strategically managing suppliers, a focus on impacting services procurement has emerged over the last years, as well.189 The next section “ 2.3.5 Procurement of services ” will delve into this trend.

Similar to the mega trend in Supply Chain Management and logistics,190 sustainability has become a key success factor in procurement.191 However, the development of sustainability took a slightly different path in the case of procurement. With the beginning of broad international procurement activities in the 1970s and 1980s, sustainability also became one of the focal points of interest.192 Companies had to adapt to certain minimum requirements because they do not want to be exposed to reputational damage as a result of their suppliers’ ethical or ecological misconduct.193 These standards mainly focused on social issues due to rising discussions about corporate responsibility regarding labor conditions and human rights.194 Supplier requirements referring to environmental protection came up just a few years later, too.

In recent years, various researchers underlined the importance of integrating all three dimensions of the Triple-Bottom-Line into an overall framework, often called socially and environmentally responsible procurement (SERP).195 There are various motivations in sustainable procurement such as risk minimization, compliance, quality improvement or product differentiation.196 But the most important reason is surprisingly economic efficiency because many companies believe that sustainable procurement can pay off due to lower costs and possible increase in revenue.197 Despite these efforts, there still remain numerous challenges, both resource related and know how related.198

The level of implementation of sustainable procurement strongly depends on the industry and company itself.199 A wide set of sustainable procurement tools is already available enabling companies to pursue different approaches. The Volkswagen AG, for instance, follows an advanced conceptual framework to incorporate sustainability in its procurement processes.200 Their sustainable supply management concept consists of four levels. Firstly, normative requirements are determined resulting in a set of purchasing requirements for sustainability in business partner relations.201 Secondly, an early detection system for supplier related sustainable problems and risks is installed. It includes international issue-screening, reporting liability of business units and analysis of problematic cases. Thirdly, sustainability in the supply process is ensured and supported by suppliers´ self-disclosure via website, plausibility checks and sustainable evaluation. The last level underscores the importance of monitoring and supplier development in order to successfully incorporate sustainable objectives in procurement. Case by case revisions, information provision and support to suppliers are important aspects. Additionally, suppliers are obliged to prove positive changes towards sustainability.202

2.3.5 Procurement of services

The definition of procurement includes two different kinds of products: goods and services. The focus of development has been traditionally on goods, whereas little attention has been paid to services.203 However, the share of services volume has risen significantly over the last years and accumulates today between 25% and 50% of the total procurement volume.204

[...]


1 Cf. Grunwald and Kopfmüller 2006, p. 16

2 Cf. Kudla 2012, p. 1

3 Cf. Müller 2010, p. 35

4 Cf. Stern 2006, p. 4

5 Cf. Müller 2010, p. 36

6 Cf. Martinsen 2013, p. 2, Evangelista et al. 2010, p. 5 and Evangelista et al. 2011, p. 2 2

7 Source: own figure

8 Sustainability and SCM in Chapter 2.2.3 and 2.2.4; Sustainability and Procurement in Chapter 2.3.4; SCM and Procurement in Chapter 2.3.2 and 2.3.6

9 Cf. Sietz et al. 2008, p. 7

10 Cf. Grunwald and Kopfmüller 2006, p. 16

11 IUCN 1980

12 Named after the president of the commission, former Swedish prime minister Gro Harlem Brundtland

13 Commission on Environment and Development World 1987, p. 43

14 Cf. Grunwald and Kopfmüller 2006, pp. 20f.

15 Cf. Johnston et al. 2007, p. 60

16 Cf. Koplin 2006, p. 20

17 Cf. Nagel 2011, p. 46

18 Elkington 1998

19 Cf. Elkington 2013

20 Source: own figure based on: Ott and Döring 2008, pp. 37ff.

21 Cf. Nagel 2011, p. 47

22 Cf. Jentjens and Münchow-Küster 2012, p. 16

23 Cf. Büllesbach 2010, p. 24

24 Cf. Grunwald and Kopfmüller 2006, p. 20

25 Cf. Carter and Rogers 2008, p. 378

26 Cf. Hauff and Kleine 2009, p. 18

27 Cf. Koplin 2006, p. 28

28 Cf. Straube 2011, p. 9

29 Cf. Koplin 2006, p. 29

30 Carter and Rogers 2008, pp. 364f.

31 Cf. Large 2009, p. 58: he emphasizes positive correlations particularly in procurement.

32 Cf. Koplin 2006, p. 28

33 Cf. Koplin 2006, pp. 27f.

34 Cf. Loew et al. 2004, p. 66

35 Cf. Carter and Jennings 2002, p. 153

36 Cf. Carter and Jennings 2004, p. 158

37 Cf. Jentjens and Münchow-Küster 2012, p. 13

38 Cf. Chapter 2.1.1

39 Ott and Döring 2008, p. 38

40 Cf. Koplin 2006, p. 31

41 Cf. Large 2009, p. 61

42 Cf. Loew et al. 2004, p. 61

43 Cf. Carter and Jennings 2002, p. 153

44 Cf. Jentjens and Münchow-Küster 2012, pp. 14f.

45 Cf. Ott and Döring 2008, p. 38

46 Cf. Baumgartner and Ebner 2006, p. 1

47 E.g.: Morimoto et al. 2005

48 E.g.: Whitehouse 2006

49 E.g.: Zwetsloot, G. I. J. M. 2003

50 Cf. Baumgartner and Ebner 2006, p. 13

51 Instead, there is a vast amount of different definitions. Stock and Boyer 2009 reviewed 173 different of them.

52 Cf. Chopra and Meindl 2007, pp. 3f.

53 Cf. Choi et al. 2001, p. 351

54 CSCMP 2013

55 Cf. Chopra and Meindl 2007, pp. 15f.

56 Cf. Nagel 2011, p. 20

57 Cf. Larson et al. 2007, p. 3

58 Cf. Larson et al. 2007, p. 3

59 Cf. Göpfert 2009, p. 65

60 Cf. Göpfert 2009, p. 40

61 Cf. Straube 2004, p. 2

62 Cf. Pfohl 2010, pp. 48ff.

63 Source: Straube 2004, p. 4

64 Cf. Porter 2004, pp. 32ff.

65 Cf. 2.2.1 Definition of Supply Chain Management

66 Cf. Straube 2004, pp. 4f.

67 Slack and Lewis 2003

68 Cf. Slack and Lewis 2003, p. 42

69 Cf. Plowman 1964

70 Cf. Slack and Lewis 2003, p. 44

71 Cf. Nagel 2011, p. 36

72 Cf. Oden et al. 1993, p. 124

73 Cf. Nagel 2011, p. 37

74 Cf. Pfohl 2010, pp. 50f.

75 Cf. Slack and Lewis 2003, p. 48

76 Cf. Arnold 2008, pp. 230ff.

77 Cf. Arnold 2008, pp. 397ff.

78 As shown in Chapter 2.2.1

79 Cf. Material Handling & Logistics News 2010

80 Cf. Baumgarten et al. 2004, p. 1

81 Cf. Müller 2010, p. 14

82 Cf. Bühler and Jochem 2006, p. 12

83 Cf. The European Union 2012, pp. 126f.

84 Cf. Evangelista et al. 2010, p. 3

85 Source: Stern 2006, p. 4 from data drawn from World Resources Institute Climate Analysis Indicators Tool (CAIT) on-line database version 3.0.

86 Cf. The European Union 2012, p. 117

87 Cf. World Economic Forum 2009, p. 4

88 But due to its lower volumes, its total emissions are lower than road freight.

89 Cf. World Economic Forum 2009, p. 8

90 Cf. Material Handling & Logistics News 2010

91 Cf. Müller 2010, p. 35

92 Cf. World Economic Forum 2009, p. 9

93 Cf. Müller 2010, p. 14

94 Cf. Wu and Dunn 1995, p. 36

95 Cf. Teuteberg and Wittstruck 2010, p. 1001

96 Cf. Pagell and Wu 2009, p. 37

97 Cf. Seuring and Müller 2008b, pp. 1703f.

98 Carter and Jennings 2002

99 Cf. Mentzer et al. 2002, p. 18

100 Seuring 2013 examined 300 papers.

101 Carter and Rogers 2008, p. 368

102 Cf. Cetinkaya 2010, p. 25

103 Cf. Teuteberg and Wittstruck 2010, p. 1006

104 Cf. Straube and Pfohl 2008, p. 64

105 Cf. Seuring and Müller 2008b, p. 1706

106 Cf. Seuring 2013, p. 1515

107 Source: Carter and Rogers 2008, p. 369 and Pieters et al. 2009, p. 5

108 Cf. Pagell and Wu 2009, p. 39

109 Cf. Nagel 2011, p. 168

110 Cf. Nagel 2011, p. 167

111 Source: own figure based on: Nagel 2011, p. 168 and Slack and Lewis 2003, p. 43

112 Consistent with Chapter 2.1.2, p. 4: the stakeholder approach is closely linked to sustainability

113 Cf. Large et al. 2012, p. 3

114 This thesis focuses on sustainability in the relationship between shippers and logistics service providers.

115 Cf. Handfield et al. 2013, p. 59

116 Source: own table based on: Klumpp and Keuschen 2011, p. 8, Large et al. 2012, p. 3; Seuring and Müller 2008b, p. 1703 and Wutke 2013, p. 5

117 "Trends and Strategies in Logistics and Supply Chain Management" by Handfield et al. 2013

118 Handfield et al. 2013, p. 28

119 Cf. Handfield et al. 2013, p. 14

120 Cf. Handfield et al. 2013, p. 58

121 Cf. Chapter 2.1.2: in this context CSR can be interpreted as the social dimension and Green Logistics as an intersection of the environmental and economic dimension of the Triple-Bottom-Line.

122 Cf. Handfield et al. 2013, p. 75

123 Cf. Handfield et al. 2013, p. 8

124 Cf. Handfield et al. 2013, p. 58

125 Cf. Jofred and Öster 2011, p. 14

126 Cf. Isaksson 2012, p. 4

127 Cf. Kiatkulthorn et al. 2012, p. 11

128 Cf. Cui and Hertz 2011, pp. 1006ff.

129 Cf. Cui and Hertz 2011, p. 1008

130 Hertz and Alfredsson 2003, p. 140

131 Wolf and Seuring 2010, p. 86

132 Cf. Lambert et al. 1998, p. 5

133 Cf. Wolf and Seuring 2010, p. 85

134 Cf. Ashenbaum et al. 2005, p. 40

135 Cf. Evangelista et al. 2011, p. 4

136 Cf. Jofred and Öster 2011, p. 14

137 Cf. Isaksson 2012, p. 4

138 Cf. Facanha and Horvath 2005, pp. 35ff.

139 Cf. Halldórsson and Skjøtt-Larsen 2006, p. 503

140 Cf. Evangelista et al. 2010, p. 4

141 Source: own table based on Delfmann et al. 2002, p. 204 and Chopra and Meindl 2007, p. 426 and Langley 2012, p. 10

142 Cf. Ojala and Jämsä 2006, p. 12

143 Cf. Lieb and Bentz 2004, p. 24

144 Cf. Hertz and Alfredsson 2003, p. 139

145 Cf. Langley 2012, pp. 15-21

146 Cf. Langley 2012, p. 21

147 Source: own figure based on Langley 2012, p. 7

148 Cf. Langley 2012, p. 7

149 Cf. Efendigil et al. 2008, p. 274

150 Cf. Liu and Wang 2009, p. 4397

151 Cf. Kersten et al. 2007, p. 6they list 18 motives of different importance.

152 Cf. van Laarhoven et al. 2000, p. 435 and Cf. Bhatnagar et al. 1999, p. 581

153 Cf. Sink et al. 1996, p. 46

154 Cf. Selviaridis and Spring 2007, p. 131and Cf. Liu and Wang 2009, p. 4389

155 Cf. Straube 2004, pp. 214ff.

156 Cf. Chopra and Meindl 2007, p. 427

157 Cf. Langley 2012, p. 10: only 4%-17% (depending on the region) of shippers use 4PL services today.

158 Purchasing Insight Magazine 2013

159 Straube et al. 2011, p. 11

160 Cf. Philippart 2001

161 eg.: Evangelista et al. 2011 andEvangelista et al. 2012a

162 Cf. Chapter 2.2.1, p. 6: Definition of SCM

163 Cf. Baumgarten 2000, pp. 1f.

164 Cf. Beckmann 2008, p. 5

165 Cf. Baumgarten 1999, p. 229

166 Cf. Baumgarten 2000, p. 13

167 depending on the industry: Cf. Wildemann 2013, pp. 1ff

168 Straube et al. 2011, p. 8

169 Cf. Wildemann 2013, pp. 1ff

170 Cf. DeNardo et al. 2010, p. 223

171 Cf. Straube et al. 2011, p. 8

172 Cf. Day and Harland 2002, p. 30

173 Cf. Day and Harland 2002, p. 31: similar to the definition of purchasing in Chapter 2.3.1

174 Cf. Koplin 2006, p. 71

175 Cf. Zwick and Müller 2002, pp. 27f.

176 Cf. Koplin 2006, p. 71

177 Source: own table based on: Schupp and Darkow 2002 and Arnold 1997

178 Cf. Janker and Lasch 2004, p. 23

179 Cf. Beckmann 2008, p. 9

180 eg. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) or Analytic Hierarchy Proccess (AHP). Beckmann 2008, pp. 62- 65 provides a summaryr of them

181 This thesis puts its focus on the selection criteria in the context of logistics service provider procurement process and sustainability.

182 Source: own figure based on: Straube et al. 2011, p. 13 and Beckmann 2008, p. 52

183 Cf. Krause et al. 1998, pp. 39ff.

184 Cf. Beckmann 2008, p. 76

185 Cf. Arnold 2004, pp. 23-26

186 Beckmann 2008 describes it as „emerging market sourcing“ in his dissertation

187 Cf. Baily 2008, p. 394

188 Cf. Langley 2012, p. 5 and Berger 2011, p. 29

189 Cf. The Forefront Group 2009

190 Cf. Chapter 2.2.3

191 Cf. Berger 2011, p. 19

192 Cf. Koplin 2006, p. 86

193 Cf. Hollos et al. 2012, p. 2974

194 Cf. Barnard 2011, p. 258

195 Hoejmose and Adrien-Kirby 2012, p. 232

196 Cf. Straube et al. 2011, p. 27

197 Cf. Berger and BME 2010, p. 2

198 Straube et al. 2011, pp. 28f. examined the most important resource related: resistance from supplier, lack of budget, lack of support from top management, and know-how related: lack of experience in sustainability, lack of metrics and contradictory objectives.

199 Cf. Koplin 2006, pp. 95ff.

200 Koplin 2006 and Koplin et al. 2007

201 Cf. Koplin et al. 2007, p. 1059

202 Cf. Koplin et al. 2007, p. 1060

203 Cf. Kluger 2006, p. 1 and Kudla and Klaas-Wissing 2012, p. 229

204 Cf. Thiell 2008, p. 1

Excerpt out of 158 pages

Details

Title
Integration of sustainable criteria into a logistics service provider selection process
College
Technical University of Berlin  (Logistik)
Author
Year
2013
Pages
158
Catalog Number
V233540
ISBN (eBook)
9783656500728
ISBN (Book)
9783656501282
File size
1826 KB
Language
English
Notes
The following work has been drawn up as the final thesis for the Dual Master Program in Industrial Engineering and Management with specialization in Supply Chain Management between Technische Universität Berlin/Germany and the Tongji University Shanghai/China.
Keywords
Supply Chain Management, logistics service providers (LSP), sustainability, sustainable selection criteria
Quote paper
Uwe Wobith (Author), 2013, Integration of sustainable criteria into a logistics service provider selection process, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/233540

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