Selecting Third-party Logistics Providers in the Face of Supply Chain Disruptions: A Critical Review

Abstract

The selection of third-Party logistics (3PL) providers for supply chains is becoming increasingly challenging for both researchers and practitioners, as it has a significant impact on a firm’s performance. This issue is widely recognised in literature and requires a complex analysis of various factors such as the type of 3PL processes, supply chain perspectives, methods, and disruptions. This paper aims to review the existing literature on 3PL selection problems in supply chains. A literature review framework is developed reporting 47 articles that contain 35 real-life case studies which examined 15 different geographical areas and identify research trends. The analysis of published articles from 2014-2023 indicates that the Fuzzy and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) were the most frequently used method. The review answers the proposed research questions in 3PLs selection problems and decisions. Finally, a focused analysis is presented to discuss the findings and provide new insights for future research.