A Bibliometric Analysis of Third-Party Logistics Services Providers (3PLSP) Selection for Supply Chain Strategic Advantage

Third-party logistics (3PL) service providers are crucial to achieving sustainability in supply chain management (SCM). Third-party logistics service providers (3PLSP) are identified in such a way that they can help a firm fulfill its targeted objectives. The choice of 3PLSP must take into account broad selection criteria that are pertinent to both current and future needs. Various modelling techniques have been applied to evaluate and select 3PLSP. For the evaluation and selection of 3PLSP in the given set of situational requirements, a set of different selection criteria has been set up. This paper screens 191 articles from the Scopus database and finds 132 articles spread over two decades from 2001 to 2022 (30 July 2022). The 132 filtered articles are further assessed using bibliometric analysis, qualitatively and quantitatively. The identified research articles are studied and analyzed according to different bibliometric parameters, using MS Excel, VOSviewer version 1.6.17, and Biblioshiny 4.0. It has been found that the top five countries engaged in research are India (36%), Turkey (13%), Taiwan (12%), China (11%), and the USA (10%). The top three journals with the most research publications were International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, Benchmarking, and Expert Systems with Applications. The three research methodologies most often used to solve 3PL selection problems were fuzzy-based, AHP, and TOPSIS. Numerous studies of theoretical models have applications in real-world situations. The developed selection models have high applicability in the automobile industry, agricultural industries, marine products, etc.

Automated summary

Third-party logistics service providers play a crucial role in achieving sustainability in supply chain management. The selection of these providers must take into account various criteria and modelling techniques have been applied to evaluate and select them. A bibliometric analysis of 132 articles from 2001 to 2022 reveals that India, Turkey, Taiwan, China, and the USA are the top countries engaged in research. The top three journals in terms of research publications are International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, Benchmarking, and Expert Systems with Applications. Fuzzy-based, AHP, and TOPSIS are the most commonly used research methodologies for solving 3PL selection problems. The developed selection models have high applicability in various industries.