Fabrizio Dallari

Logistics 4.0 is a recent paradigm derived from the Industry 4.0 paradigm applied to the logistics sec-tor. Several new technologies have been developed to improve logistics performance. The presentresearch aims to build a maturity model to support 3PL providers in assessing their level of maturityand identifying the areas in which to invest to improve the logistics service offered through the imple-mentation of Logistics 4.0 technologies. The maturity model was developed using a structured frame-work of four main steps: the definition of the model scope; the model design (literature review onLogistics 4.0 and the existing maturity models); the model composition and validation; and pilot testsin three relevant 3PL providers. The proposed maturity model has four constructs (i.e. strategic out-comes, requirements, Logistics 4.0 technologies, managerial and capability supporters) and four matur-ity levels (i.e. initial, intermediate, advanced, cutting-edge).

Purpose – An ever-increasing number of companies outsource logistics activities to third-party logistics (3PL) providers to beat the competition. From the buyer's (shippers') perspective, selecting the right 3PL provider is crucial, and from the 3PL provider's perspective, it is imperative to be attractive and to retain clients. To this aim, a potential lever can be physical assets, such as warehouses, which the literature has traditionally neglected. The objective is to benchmark the importance of warehouses for 3PL providers to attract/retain clients and for shippers to select the right 3PL provider. Design/methodology/approach – The authors performed an empirical investigation through interviews on dyads (3PL providers/shippers) and utilized the Best-Worst Method (BWM) to rank the criteria used in the 3PL buying process and allow the warehouse's role to emerge. Findings – Results show that the 3PL buying process consists of four phases and three evaluation steps. The selection criteria are classified into three groups: order qualifiers, order winners and retention factors. The warehouse has different levels of importance throughout the process. It appears that it can indirectly enhance the attractiveness and retention capability of 3PL providers through other selection criteria. Originality/value – By combining the resource-based view and the customer value theory, this research extends the theory on logistics outsourcing by studying the phases of the 3PL buying process and scrutinizing the criteria used in different evaluation steps. The research adds a double perspective of analysis (3PL providers and shippers), which is missing in the literature, and focuses on the importance of warehouses.

Purpose Collaborative solutions are increasingly being proposed to generate value in supply chains. Concurrently, firms have progressively outsourced logistics operations to logistics service providers (LSPs). However, many questions remain unsolved regarding the role played by LSPs in supporting supply chain collaboration (SCC) in triadic rather than dyadic contexts. This study aims to explore the relational mechanisms that LSPs can leverage to foster value creation through collaboration, elaborating on an existing theory about SCC by focussing on logistics triads. Design/methodology/approach By leveraging the view of the network theory, a multiple case study approach was adopted. Seven cases having logistics triads as units of analysis were identified and analysed within the Italian grocery supply chain, allowing for empirical investigation with a middle-range approach to extend the previous theory. Findings LSPs are pivotal actors that can actively promote SCC. LSPs can exploit large volumes and asset availability to increase efficiency while improving logistics flexibility and developing regular and trustworthy relationships with the other triad members. Building upon their logistics capabilities and the relational mechanisms in place, LSPs can help manufacturers collaborate with retailers by improving mutual trust and communication, acting as trust builders or trust conductors within the triad. Originality/value The study explores the role of LSPs in logistics triads, extending the previous literature. It highlights that LSPs facilitate not only supply and demand integration but also relational integration between firms. Trust emerges as a fundamental building block for SCC, as LSPs can look beyond economic benefits to foster partnerships that empower the co-development of original collaborative solutions.

The recent trends in logistics outsourcing have led to the need to investigate the 3PL (third-party logistics) industry better. However, the attention has always been focused on operative performance, and the role of the warehouse has been skimmed over. This research aims to define the relationship between warehouse features and the performance indicators of 3PLs, filling the literature gap. This research provides insight into 3PLs’ way of thinking, helping 3PLs identify the right warehouse features to improve their performance and providing guidance for real estate companies in designing warehouses meeting 3PLs’ needs. The analysis uses a case study approach, carried out by interviewing 3PLs that provided data coded according to the dimensions of the Kano model. This methodology was used to generate an in-depth understanding of how 3PLs evaluate the different warehouse features that are able to drive their performance. The “perfect warehouse” is placed in an accessible location; it has loading bays, a standard layout, and a height suitable to optimize the flow of goods, and it utilises the spaces to make the service flexible and responsive. In addition, the warehouse should have internal areas, such as mezzanines, to deliver value-added services.

To anticipate, adapt and respond to, and recover from disruptions, firms need to enhance supply chain (SC) resilience. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 represented a unique opportunity to investigate it empirically. This study focuses on the exploration of the resilience strategies adopted to deepen their temporal characteristics and contribute to developing the current understanding of proactivity and reactivity, something that needs to be further investigated. Multiple-case study research was conducted considering 21 Italian companies in the grocery industry. Results show that with the outbreak of the pandemic, companies adopted a set of 21 strategies that spanned five resilience categories: redundancy, flexibility, agility, collaboration, and innovation. To explain the temporal characteristics of the identified resilience strategies we propose an original taxonomy that elaborates the previous theory by introducing two new dimensions related to the strategies’ timing (“when?” and “how long?”). Each dimension can be complemented with other sub-dimensions that explain the design and activation of resilience strategies, and their utilisation and availability. The proposed taxonomy broadens the narrow view offered by existing research on the temporal dimension of resilience, as multiple layers are needed to disentangle the temporal characteristics of different strategies. It also provides an original viewpoint on interpreting the strategies’ proactivity or reactivity as their boundary is increasingly blurred. Lastly, the study opens up to future investigations of the antecedents of the design and utilisation/activation of resilience strategies, as companies could rethink their managerial decisions based on the continuous evolution of their operating environment.

Supply chain resilience is a critical capability needed to compete in the current turbulent and unpredictable business environment, but many companies still tend to underestimate its relevance. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, understanding which supply chain impacts influence the policies and actions undertaken when resilience is concerned is important. This study investigated the relationships between the impacts experienced at the different supply chain tiers during the pandemic, and explored which impacts could drive perceptions towards developing resilience strategies in the future. A survey instrument was developed adopting a mid-range approach, targeting manufacturers active in the Italian grocery supply chain. Data were analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results showed that source-related impacts deeply affect make- and delivery-related impacts, and make-related impacts mainly influence the perceptions about future resilience strategies. In fact, manufacturers appear to be primarily interested in those strategies ensuring the continuity of their intrinsic operations. The study could inform theory and practice about companies’ decisions towards the adoption of certain approaches. Also, it highlights promising research avenues related to deepening understanding of how perceptions could predict future intentions to engage in protective actions to adequately cope with potential future disruptions.

In recent years, the logistics outsourcing market has significantly expanded, driving also the growth of the logistics real estate sector. However, these subjects have been investigated separately, without empirical evidence on the assessment of warehouse features, nor studies matching those with 3PL providers' needs. This paper aims to fill this gap by providing a deeper understanding of the alignment between the 3PL industry's needs and the logistics real estate offering. An extensive literature review was used to investigate the characteristics of the logistics real estate industry and define the present and future challenges for the 3PL industry. Afterwards, 3PL warehouse features were analysed through data collected on 75 logistics buildings located in Italy. Results indicate that the logistics real estate seems relatively prepared to support the 3PL industry's needs. However, such alignment could be further strengthened through investments by the logistics real estate towards environmental sustainability and warehouse automation.

This article describes an international industrial symbiosis located in Canton Ticino, Switzerland, and Lombardy, Italy, involving virgin aggregates and construction and demolition waste. It discusses the potential of the industrial symbiosis to manage transport strategies and its geographic extension, to reduce substantially its transport related externalities, currently equivalent to 11% of the symbiosis value. With recourse to a key informant monitoring methodology, primary and secondary sources, this article estimates the symbiosis' transport environmental impacts, external costs, and returns to distance under various scenarios. We show that intermodal transport strategies have the potential to reduce transport's carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by up to 61% and external costs by up to 81%, and to widen the industrial symbiosis' geographic extension beyond the current 50 km. We also discuss how, despite changes and disagreements in the objectives of different cross-border regional authorities to manage the international industrial symbiosis, the coordination of different mechanisms and incentives is essential for the sustainable management of this international industrial symbiosis. The aim of the article is twofold. Firstly, to highlight the importance of assessing the contribution of transport to the overall industrial symbiosis' environmental impacts, rather than consider transport and its impacts as externally given variables. And secondly, to show policy and decision makers additional methods, and inter-regional authorities coordination experiences, in order to assess impacts and manage an industrial symbiosis in more sustainable ways.