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Impediments to the Adoption of Reverse Factoring for Logistics Service Providers

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Logistics and Supply Chain Innovation

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Logistics ((LNLO))

Abstract

In this chapter we discuss the main impediments to the adoption of reverse factoring (RF) by suppliers in the logistics services business. Although the usage of RF is ascending, empirical evidence on RF and its implementation, especially from the point of view of suppliers, is scarce. The project reported in this chapter provides in-depth insights from seven case studies based on 20 interviews. Employees representing different departments within seven logistics service providers (LSPs) were interviewed. Interviews were also conducted with shippers, financial service providers, industry associations and university experts. The LSPs included in our research are mainly SMEs. Our results show that the main impediments to adopting RF for LSPs result from a lack of knowledge of RF, obstacles related to the collaboration with buyers and inefficiencies in the payment process. This article clarifies the practical implications of adoption of RF for LSPs and suppliers in general. Our results show that LSPs need to improve their knowledge of RF and the quality and efficiency of their invoicing processes if they are to benefit from RF. Furthermore, this research shows a need to find solutions to lower the cost to buyers of onboarding suppliers, so that they can open up RF to more suppliers—not just those that are most significant strategically.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Windesheim University of Applied Sciences, Zwolle, The Netherlands

    Christiaan A. J. de Goeij & Michiel A. Steeman

  2. Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Alexander T. C. Onstein

Authors
  1. Christiaan A. J. de Goeij
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  2. Alexander T. C. Onstein
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  3. Michiel A. Steeman
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christiaan A. J. de Goeij .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Twente Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Enschede, Overijssel, The Netherlands

    Henk Zijm

  2. Institute for Logistics and Service Management, FOM University of Applied Sciences Essen, Essen, Germany

    Matthias Klumpp

  3. Institute of Transport Logistics, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany

    Uwe Clausen

  4. Dortmund, Germany

    Michael ten Hompel

Appendices

Appendix 1: Interviews

Type of company/organization

Number of companies/organizations

Number of interviews

Logistics service providers (LSPs)

7

9

Shippers

2

2

Financial service providers

3

4

Industry association LSPs

1

3

Industry association shippers

1

1

Universities

1

1

Total

15

20

Appendix 2: Case Demographics

Cases

A

B

C

D

Main activities

Transportation and storage

Transportation and storage

Transportation and storage

Forwarding

Size

SME—small

SME—small

SME—small

SME—small

Respondent #1

Director/owner

Director/owner

Director/owner

Owner business developer

Respondent #2

Financial assistant

Financial assistant

–

Financial assistant

Respondent #3

–

–

–

–

Cases

E

F

G

Main activities

Forwarding

Transportation and storage

Transportation and storage

Size

SME—medium

SME—medium

Large company

Respondent #1

Managing director

CFO

Financial director

Respondent #2

Head of credit control

Business controller

Head of corporate social responsibility

Respondent #3

Business controller

–

–

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de Goeij, C.A.J., Onstein, A.T.C., Steeman, M.A. (2016). Impediments to the Adoption of Reverse Factoring for Logistics Service Providers. In: Zijm, H., Klumpp, M., Clausen, U., Hompel, M. (eds) Logistics and Supply Chain Innovation. Lecture Notes in Logistics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22288-2_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-22288-2_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-22287-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-22288-2

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