Towards greener supply chains: Inclusion of environmental activities in relationships between logistics service providers and shippers

Abstract

It is well-recognised that companies are under pressure to take responsibility for the environmental impact of their operations. Logistics service providers (LSPs), who through their transport and logistics operations have a large negative impact on the environment, are one type of supply chain actor that is under such pressure. However, in order for LSPs to be able to lower their environmental impact sufficiently, their customers, the shippers, also need to take responsibility. This thesis takes its starting point in the relationships between LSPs and shippers and argues that in order for LSPs' environmental activities to reach their full potential, the shippers must be included in the activities.The purpose of this thesis is to describe and explain how supply chain actors, with a specific focus on logistics service providers and shippers, can include environmental activities in their relationships with each other. This comprises identifying those environmental activities that are relevant for relationships between LSPs and shippers, as well as describing the extent to which environmental activities are included in such relationships. By means of the theoretical perspective of power between supply chain actors, the thesis also sets out to further understand how power balances between LSPs and shippers can influence the extent to which they include environmental activities in their relationships with each other. Finally, the use of the theoretical perspective of coordination aims, through the analysis of coordination mechanisms, to shed light on how environmental activities are included in LSP-shipper relationships.The research in this thesis has mainly descriptive and explanatory aims, although due to the novelty of research into LSP-shipper relationships in an environmental context, the research process as such is mainly exploratory. Following an abductive approach, the insights from literature are combined with empirical data from two cases studies, a homepage scan, a survey and a study of city logistics projects. Most of the applied research methods take a dual perspective of relationships between supply chain actors and thus include both LSPs and shippers.One conclusion from the research conducted for this thesis comprises the identification of environmental activities as well as a suggestion for a classification based on the activities' role in the business between LSPs and shippers. With a starting point in the identified activities, a comparison of a market perspective and a relationship perspective of environmental activities in LSP-shipper relationships indicates that LSPs are able to fulfil the requirements set by shippers and that shippers' requirement thus are met. The research does, however, point to a passiveness among LSPs in their relationships with shippers, who in turn would like the LSPs to be more proactive.Further, based on an analysis of power balances in LSP-shipper relationships, it is suggested that in an LSP-shipper relationship in which the shipper has a power advantage, the s...

Environmental alignment between logistics service providers and shippers – a supply chain perspective

“…Although awareness of the importance of green issues appears to be growing both among LSPs and -albeit at a limited pace -their customers, the actual implementation of green initiatives lags behind. One potential explanation is that there is a low degree of alignment between LSPs and their customers regarding how they prioritize among the variety of green issues with respect to logistics services (as suggested by, for example: Martinsen, 2014;Ellram and Golicic, 2015;Sallnäs, 2016). While awareness of the environmental dimension does not per se mean that green activities actually take place, a certain level of awareness would appear to be an important prerequisite for such activities.…”

“…On the other hand, the study of Perotti et al (2015) indicates that the relatively low level of interest in green products and services by customers and suppliers represents the main barrier to LSP adoption of green initiatives. Some researchers suggest that a possible inhibitor to the development of greener logistics services is the low degree of alignment between LSPs and their customers, which spans a wide range of areas (see, for example: Eng-Larsson, 2014; Isaksson, 2014;Martinsen, 2014). This is not surprising given the different roles that LSPs and their customers play in the supply chain, as well as the attendant differences that pertain in relation to strategic priorities, business models, corporate cultures, operational processes and myriad other issues (see, for example: Huge-Brodin et al 2013).…”

“…Studies point to a mismatch between shippers' offerings and LSPs requirements (Martinsen and Björklund, 2012;Martinsen and Huge-Brodin, 2014), where shippers' environmental demands tend to be weaker and less specific than the offerings from LSPs (Kudla and Klaas-Wissing, 2012;Martinsen and Björklund, 2012). Shippers' lack of green awareness could be one explanation for the imbalance (Martinsen, 2014;Vieira et al;2016). It has also been suggested that cross-functional and cross-organizational activities through various coordination mechanisms may improve alignment between shippers and LSPs with respect to environmental endeavours (Jørsfeldt et al, 2016: Sallnäs, 2016.…”

Logistics Service Providers Going Green : A Framework for Developing Green Service Offerings

“…Eltayeb & Zailani, 2009;Hong et al, 2009) and not much attention has been paid to LSPs specifically (e.g. Martinsen, 2014;Lin & Ho, 2008;Lieb & Lieb, 2010). Second, research into service development also seems to exist to a limited extent in logistics research in general, in particular in the LSP industry.…”

Towards more efficient logistics: increasing load factor in a shipper’s road transport

“…Though third parties may organise transportation, shippers nevertheless play an important role in influencing the efficiency of transport operations. For example, shippers must engage freight forwarders in order to achieve more efficient, environmentally friendly supply chains 228 IJLM 28,2 (Martinsen, 2014). Furthermore, both opportunities in and limitations on transport operations are the result of shippers' decisions concerning the planning and management of the material flow (Aronsson and Huge Brodin, 2006), such as lead time and the frequency of deliveries (Piecyk and McKinnon, 2010).…”