A Framework for a logistics platform including forward and reverse logistics

With the globalization and integration of world economy, the forwarders and service providers in logistics industry face more and more challenges to collaborate and cooperate together to optimize the shipment plan and minimize the logistics cost. Building a logistics service platform for the whole logistics industry becomes an urgent task. This paper analyzes the development of logistics platform and points out the problems in the existing logistics systems and platforms. After the identification of key components of logistics platform, the paper proposes a framework for a logistics service platform. Its implementation and benefits for service practices are briefly discussed.