Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to derive and verify a collaborative framework that specifies the role of different parties in contemporary logistics setups.
Design/methodology/approach – 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.