A survey on obstacles and difficulties of practical implementation of horizontal collaboration in logistics

During recent years, horizontal collaboration in logistics has gained attention because of achieved potential benefits such as cost reduction, an increase in fulfillment rates, and a decrease in CO ₂ emissions owing to reductions in traveled distances. Successful real-world cases, however, are rare since horizontal cooperation in logistics is not usually sustainable. This paper pays attention to this paradox of the lack of cases and discusses 16 identified practical issues that could explain this phenomenon. We propose a taxonomy composed of four categories categorizing the practical issues according to a value chain approach: design, planning and operations, market/business, and behaviors. Furthermore, we propose and discuss some measures to mitigate these problems.