- Green business models for logistics service providers
- Green technology for logistics service providers
Green business models for logistics service providers
Our prior research has been explorative to its nature, and a multitude of theoretical approaches have been taken to increase the understanding of the phenomenon. At this stage of knowledge building, it is becoming increasingly relevant to address the research challenges with purer theoretical perspectives and to take a more deductive approach to the research.
Green technology for logistics service providers
Still, although these measures are well known and not very complicated, their application spread at a surprisingly slow speed from technology providers into use in transport- and logistics services. One hypothesis that we pursue is whether it can be the business making between companies that set barriers to the development. Prior research has shown that the short time frames of contracts strongly delimits LSPs’ willingness to invest in new technology or knowledge, even though the pay-off time is short – however far beyond the contract time frames. This is one of many possible explanations that need to be further investigated.
A number of recent initiatives address the “slowness of technology and knowledge spread and up-take” in the transport- and supply chains. Taking a deeper grip into the technological details, and understanding their business consequences constitutes a new challenge for us as logistics researchers. At the same time, we bring a broad knowledge and understanding of business making in the logistics- and transport industry. This intersection of technology and business making is both necessary - if we want to decrease the negative sides of transports, and a challenge!
Logistics Systems for Recycling - Research as a PhD student
Recycling is a means of saving resources in a world with restricted access to new (virgin) material. Reverse logistics is a core concept in green logistics, and through efficient and effective management of reverse flows logistics can contribute both to improving the environment and reducing costs and resource waste of many kinds. Logistics Systems for Recycling (LSR) was the theme for my research leading to a PhD in 2002 (Huge-Brodin, 2002). My approach to this research challenge was a wide-spanning systems analysis of LSR regarding product properties, logistics structures and management, interorganisational relationships and power. In extension to the “traditional” logistics system I, together with my former supervisor, developed the concept of including the consumer into the industrial recycling system, where we challenged the role of the consumer as a logistics provider, and extended the value stream mapping in a supply chain to include the consumer in a circular setting.
Environmental Consequences of Structural changes in logistics - Research as an Assistant professor
This research focused on the trend of changing logistics structures, e.g. centralisation of distribution systems, and added the environmental consequences of such changes, alongside its effects on costs and delivery service. This theme has evolved and later I have, together with fellow researchers, studied large structural changes playing with system boundaries. The way you set the logistics system’s boundaries in research have a very strong influence on the results you can assess. Solutions that may appear as attractive in a narrow environment may even prove harmful when expanding the system boundaries.
Competitive and Green business models for logistics service provision - Research as an Associate professor
A large research grant in 2008 from VINNOVA (Sweden’s Innovation Agency) was the starting point for my group’s research into greening the business models for logistics service providers and also into the relationships between logistics service providers and their customers in the supply chain.
We have studied different aspects of business models for logistics service providers (LSPs). LSPs approach the increasing environmental demands in sometimes similar, and sometimes different ways. Parts of our research has attempted to understand why those companies take on this strategic challenge in the way they do. We have studied this development on the Swedish market as well as comparing different countries in Europe, through case studies and questionnaire survey. Among various LSPs we found the most pro-active among small and medium sized players, however pro-activity is not very common. Many LSPs struggle with the financial side of environmentally related investments, as the demand from customers is still fairly low and in particular the customer’s interest in paying for environmental improvement.
We have also studied the greening of logistics service provision from the buyer perspective, and to complement the two sides a dyadic perspective was applied, in which we analysed the actual interaction in relationships between logistics service providers and their customers.