Third-party logistics: A literature review

Third-party logistics (TPL) has attracted considerable research attention in the recent past. Despite the growing body of literature on this topic, precious little effort has been devoted to synthesizing the overall state of art of research on TPL. In this paper, an attempt is made to review the status of literature on TPL. A literature review scheme is presented. A total of 152 articles published between 1989 and 2006 in 33 reputable international journals are reviewed and classified into content- and methodology-related issues. Based on the review, suggestions for future research are likewise provided.