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In the highly competitive transportation market, small freight forwarders can form an alliance to secure capacity in advance and then share the capacity to fulfill their shipping requests during the freight season. Because not all the requests can be accepted, the rejected requests can be outsourced to the spot market typically at low profit margins. The forwarders are self-interested and have private information on the revenues and outsourcing profit margins of their requests. The centralized capacity-allocation problem is NP -hard, and its optimal solution may erode the profits of some forwarders. We propose an ascending auction mechanism to achieve truthful and approximately optimal capacity sharing. At each iteration of the auction, the set of bundles of capacity for each request is updated. The mechanism then determines a provisional capacity allocation and updates dual prices. Each request is allocated with a convex combination of bundles because a continuous capacity resource is considered. Strategy-proofness is ensured because all the winning bundles for an accepted request have the same payment, and the payment is ascending during the iterations. The mechanism iteratively expands the set of bundles and approximates the revenue loss to search optimal allocations, using the dual solution derived from minimizing primal-dual slackness. Social welfare is significantly improved compared with the no-collaboration case. We prove that the mechanism is strategy-proof, individually rational, weakly budget balanced, and finitely convergent. Extensive computational experiments show that the mechanism has efficiency loss less than 3% and budget surplus less than 10% in most cases. To achieve high system efficiency and small budget surplus with a reasonable computational time, it is better to select an appropriately small bid increment, especially for large-scale problems.

Background: Due to the absence of unified global regulations, defining the service and legal role of freight forwarders is challenging. This, as well as the lack of a standardized limit to the freight forwarder’s liability for loss or damage to the cargo, introduces misunderstandings into his relationship with the client. The purpose of this study is to analyze the most widely used limit for freight forwarder’s liability, set in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) units, and to adjust it, which will allow for maintaining the purchasing power of the compensation amount over different periods of time. Methods: In this study, two methods of adjusting the liability limit were proposed. In accordance with the first one, the limit was adjusted considering the impact of dollar inflation on the SDR unit. The second method involves changes in the limit of liability, taking into account changes in world prices for goods. Results: The result of this study showed that the second method is more functional, helping to preserve the purchasing power of the liability limit most effectively over time. Conclusions: This study revealed the fluctuating purchasing power of the forwarder’s liability limit over time and suggests utilizing a methodology tied to changes in global goods’ prices for adjustment.

PurposeDigital freight forwarder (DFF) start-ups and their associated business models have gained increasing attention within both academia and industry. However, there is a lack of empirical research investigating the differences between DFFs and traditional freight forwarders (TFF) and the impact of digital start-ups on incumbents' companies. In response, this study aims to examine the key business model characteristics that determine DFFs and TFFs and propose a framework illustrating the extent to which digital logistics start-ups influence incumbent logistics companies.Design/methodology/approachBased on the primary data gathered from eight interviews with experts from start-ups' and incumbents' logistics companies, as well as secondary data, the authors identify the main factors of DFFs start-ups that have an impact on TFFs and analyze the similarities and differences in regard to the business model components' value proposition, value creation, value delivery and value capture.FindingsThe results show that differences between DFFs and TFFs appear in all four business models' components: value proposition, value creation, value delivery and value capture. In particular, the authors identify three main factors that need to be considered when assessing the impact of DFFs on TFFs: (1) the company size, (2) the market cultivation strategy and (3) the transport mode.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies to specifically examine the key business model differences between DFFs and TFFs and to propose a conceptual framework for understanding the impact of digital logistics start-ups on incumbent companies.

PurposeVisibility is the need of the hour for each organization involved in the supply chain, and scholars have made few previous efforts to understand patterns driving visibility in transportation platforms. However, many companies have not been able to achieve sufficient levels of practical implementation across the supply chain. Therefore, this study focuses on exploring, why the real-time visibility transportation platforms fail to operationalize.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilizes action research as a methodology for pragmatism to understand supply chain professionals' viewpoint regarding the operationalization of real-time visibility. The research addresses a complex transportation network of a fast-moving consumer goods company. Wherein, both a greater need for visibility and improvements are also more challenging.FindingsTensions amongst complementors, the platform owner, and the Control Tower of a focal company explain the different impacts of freight forwarders and own fleet carriers on shipment compliance. Integrating subcontractors is a cost-intensive practice for complementors that increases asymmetry and reduces co-created value. The willingness of freight forwarders to exert control contributes to tension competition versus collaboration.Research limitations/implicationsThe model identifies the dynamics that explain how managers can navigate the tension over time by controlling contradictory loops driving shipment compliance. Findings can help managers develop plans, conduct pilots, and collaborate to unlock value from real-time visibility. The research findings can be informative for the European Union bodies and help work out a policy that reduces the asymmetry of benefits and contribute to the more sustainable development of digital industrial platforms.Originality/valueThe contribution lies in (1) providing a study of the factors affecting achieving real-time visibility, (2) distinguishing complementors (3) identifying tensions amongst complementors and platform owner as critical for successful platform deployment, (4) conceptualizing a pattern of behavior emerging amongst the platform partners and (5) outlining avenues for future research.

We propose a new logistics concept for rail-based container transportation where, instead of booking individual slots on specific trains (which is the current state of the art), customers only specify from where to where they want their containers to be delivered, as well as appropriate time windows for pickup and delivery. A containers actual transportation route is then chosen by a freight forwarder based on the availability and compatibility of freight trains. We provide an optimization algorithm based on an integer linear programming formulation that can be used to find globally optimal transportation schedules for a given set of containers. Our computational experiments show that this new paradigm can significantly reduce the number of trains required for serving a given container transportation demand, improving the logistic systems’ overall environmental and economic efficiency.

Purpose Maritime logistics is a complex system comprising multiple logistic service providers and their diverse activities. While existing literature explores how logistic service providers create value through their activities, quantitative measures in this area remain limited, particularly within the context of maritime logistics. This study investigates value creation and measurement in freight forwarders’ activities within maritime logistics. The primary objective is to enhance strategic decision-making for policymakers and freight forwarding companies by analyzing the impact of the value-adding activities on this sector’s cumulative value generation. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts Porter’s (1985) value chain framework to examine how freight forwarders generate value at the sectoral level. To measure and analyze the value creation of freight forwarders and their specific activities, a system dynamics approach is employed, utilizing causal loop diagrams and stock-flow diagrams. The Tanjung Priok port in Jakarta, Indonesia, serves as the case study. Additionally, scenario analysis is conducted to explore the relationships between individual activities and overall value creation within the freight forwarding industry. Findings The key findings indicate that implementing an integrative strategy that concurrently enhances inland transportation and warehouse management activities can significantly boost the overall value generated by freight forwarders. However, greater emphasis should be placed on inland transportation activities as they contribute more substantially to value creation. From a policy perspective, prioritizing road infrastructure development and expanding warehousing capacity in proximity to port areas can further augment the value generated by freight forwarders. Originality/value From a practical perspective, this study offers a framework for practitioners and policymakers to identify and prioritize critical activities that enhance the overall value of the freight forwarding industry. From an academic standpoint, it seeks to stimulate conversation among freight logistics researchers, encouraging further investigation into value creation and measurement for other maritime logistics service providers, such as shipping lines and port terminal operators, across various regions. This effort could deepen the understanding of value creation within complex logistic networks.

Understanding the factors and characteristics of the business and the influence of cargo owners on sustainable practices in maritime logistics chains is the main objective of this study. The sample consists of 141 valid responses from Portuguese companies that own cargo, freight forwarders and other maritime logistics service providers. Sustainable energy theory, green state theory, and shared value creation theory support the research. The SEM methodology was adopted. The sector’s structure, management characteristics, type of transport contract and the size of the cargo characterize and condition the business of cargo owners and influence the choice of green transport, the use of green fuel and corporate social responsibility. It is important to increase the knowledge and practice of cargo owners in order to understand their business constraints.

The Russian economy will have to adjust its logistics to face the new reality. The operationali­zation of the multimodal International North–South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is an important strategic part of it. This “pivot to the South” by Russia and other Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries is of particular significance in light of the required reconfiguration of supply chains in Eurasia. Russian exporters, importers and freight forwarding companies’ needs in alternative logistical opportunities have increased dramatically. The INSTC development would promote Eurasian intra- and transcontinental connectivity, reduce export costs, develop new production niches, and realize the Caspian region’s transit potential. This study estimates that the aggregate potential INSTC freight traffic via all the routes and modes of transport, including containerized and non-containerized cargoes, will reach 15–25 million­ tonnes by 2030. The container traffic could rise 20x and this will require investments in hard infrastructure and also soft infrastructure improvement. The corridor will contribute to the evolving outline of the trans-Eurasian transport backbone and bring significant benefits for the economies of Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus, Middle East, and South Asia.

Construction transport, in general, is not carried out efficiently, resulting in unnecessary costs and CO2 emissions. Although it has been found that there is a great potential to improve construction transport, little research has been conducted within this field. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the construction transport time efficiency by identifying non-value-adding activities and their causes from a freight forwarder perspective. A single case study was conducted and two flows, a goods delivery flow and a waste material flow, were mapped and analyzed with the help of value stream mapping (VSM). We ran two workshops to discuss the findings of the VSM. The results from this study show that there is large potential for improving construction transport time efficiency as over 40% of the time was used for non-value-adding activities. Although transport suffers from similar non-value-adding activities undertaken in other industries, this study identifies the transport activities with respect to construction transport. The findings further highlight areas of potential improvements, such as improved information sharing, planning, and coordination among all stakeholders. This knowledge can be used by the freight forwarder and the main contractor to improve construction transport time efficiency. The limitation of this study is that it is based on a single case of a freight forwarder. It does not provide a full picture of construction transport efficiency but rather a starting point for future studies.