Logistics Outsourcing with Online Freight Platforms

Feng Yang, Xiaolong Guo and Yugang Yu
Additional contact information
Feng Yang: University of Science and Technology of China
Xiaolong Guo: University of Science and Technology of China
Yugang Yu: University of Science and Technology of China

Chapter Chapter 15 in Intelligent Logistics Management in Digital Economy, 2025, pp 285-298 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Online freight platforms (OFPs) are emerging and developing rapidly based on the Internet of Things and big data technologies. They provide professional logistics services by aggregating the scattered transportation capabilities of individual truck drivers. In China, for example, OFPs have integrated over 20% of trucking resources to offer shippers third-party logistics services and are more popular than traditional logistics service providers (TLSPs). This chapter studies a manufacturer’s production, distribution, and transportation of a product in bulk to a downstream firm via two transportation channels: TLSP and OFP. The two channels offer different operational modes, service levels, and contract prices. We develop a game-theoretical model to analyze the strategic interactions among the manufacturer, transportation service provider, and downstream firm. Our study highlights the implications for the manufacturer’s logistics outsourcing strategy with OFP and TLSP operations. We find that when an OFP is available, differences in transportation service levels and prices significantly affect the equilibrium decisions of the manufacturer and TLSP. Surprisingly, the emergence of OFPs does not necessarily threaten TLSP operations. This study guides manufacturers about their selection of shipping outsourcing strategies and provides new guidance for TLSP operations considering the emergence of OFPs.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-981-95-2177-7_15

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9789819521777

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-95-2177-7_15

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Books from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().