Logistics collaboration in vehicle manufacturing: case studies with a triadic perspective

ABSTRACTThis paper discusses logistics collaboration applied to a vehicle-manufacturing setting. We reach out to a larger segment of the supply chain by employing a novel unit of analysis, a logistics triad. The triad encompasses an Original Equipment Manufacturer, a Third-Party Logistics Service Provider, and first-tier suppliers. We use the framework known as Collaborative Transportation Management (CTM) to study collaborative transportation activities, focusing on the important relationship between logistics collaboration and logistics performance. Using a qualitative research orientation and a multi-case research strategy, we interviewed logistics practitioners in three countries to identify the enablers of CTM, the salient collaborative practices, and the performance outcomes. The study uncovers the extent to which CTM contributes to the operational and relational performance of the logistics triad. We provide empirical evidence of an ad hoc implementation of this notion. We propose avenues of intervention to preserve logistics collaboration and to enhance logistics performance.KEYWORDS: Logistics collaborationlogistics performancecollaborative transportation managementlogistics service providersvehicle manufacturingcase study AcknowledgementsWe would like to thank the editors and the anonymous reviewers of the International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications for their helpful comments and suggestions to improve the quality of our paper. First author: conceptualisation, industry access, methodology, investigation, formal analysis, writing – original draft, writing – review and editing. Second author: conceptualisation, supervision, validation, writing – review and editing.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementThe data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, [JFN]. The data are not publicly available due to industry restrictions as it might contain information that could compromise the privacy of the research entities.