Third Party Logistic a possible orchestrator of CPFR

Purpose Third party logistic (TPL) companies contribute to develop more effective and efficient logistic operations. One way to help this development is having a TPL company can be the orchestrator of a collaborative systems and implementations to do the SCM more efficient to the participants. Design/methodology/approach A bibliometric study about the main researches of TPL companies from the las 2 decades is presented, and an exhaustive literature review to understand the possibilities of TPL companies as enablers for collaborative systems among the supply chain players. Findings There is a gap in the literature to have a new research line where the TPL companies can be the protagonist of the next level of sophistication and add value in the future SCM. Originality/value This study reveals a new line for future researches and the opportunity for the TPL companies to gain a major role in the SCM.