Horizontal cooperation in logistics: Opportunities and impediments

This paper presents the results of a large-scale survey on the potential benefits of and impediments for horizontal cooperation in Flanders. The main findings are that in general Logistics Service Providers strongly believe in the potential benefits of horizontal cooperation to increase their profitability or to improve the quality of their services. The impediments for cooperation that are perceived or expected by the non-cooperating Logistics Service Providers prove to be experienced by the cooperating Logistics Service Providers. Finding a reliable party to lead the cooperation and constructing a fair allocation mechanism for the benefits are the impediments that respondents agree with most. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.