The Business Process of Logistics Innovation

Over the last years, the concept of logistics has expanded and evolved up to the current scenario where the Supply Chain Management is increasingly invoked as one of the keys to the success of the business processes across enterprise networks involved in the Supply Chain. There is a significant change in the management approaches that determine the transformation from a tra-ditional to an innovative vision of the Supply Chain through the integrated management of the activities of procurement, production and distribution, in order to achieve the necessary flexibility to face almost in real time environmental changes. This work aims to highlight how, as a result of the integrated approach to the Supply Chain adopted by the industrial and commercial enterprises, logistics and transport companies are increasingly induced to provide integrated services and to ensure more reliability, speed and flexibility of deliveries so as to achieve higher levels of customer service. To this end, a theoretical framework is proposed in order to identify the different nature of the relationships between industrial companies and logistics and transport services providers involved in the modern integrated Supply Chain; in particular, the model shows the evolving strategic role of logistics and transport companies that provide integrated logistics services with an organizational and strategic focus on creating value in the network.