Cooperative Platforms for Improved Environmental Sustainability in Logistics

Sammanfattning: This study explores the overlapping of platform technology and cooperative processes in logistics and how this can be of interest to make the industry more environmentally sustainable. It examines the literature regarding platform technology, horizontal collaboration, and environmental sustainability in logistics. Data was collected through interviews with experts in the logistics industry, representatives from logistics companies and a software solutions provider, to obtain a nuanced image from the industry. A framework was created to provide answers to how digital platforms can better be utilized for cooperation in logistics to improve environmental sustainability. In order to fulfill this, incentives and challenges for small- and medium-sized enterprises to cooperate through platform technology were identified. The incentives that were found were classified into driving and pushing. The driving incentives refer to evident benefits for small- and medium-sized enterprises of joining cooperative logistics platforms, while pushing incentives are based on external factors and current issues that potentially could be solved through a cooperative platform. The identified challenges to cooperating through digital platforms are related to cooperative processes, technology and digitalization, and environmental sustainability. These were analyzed from a systems perspective to understand how these affect the problem on several levels in the industry of logistics. Together, the incentives and challenges form the final framework and illustrate how platforms for cooperation can be realized in the logistics industry.