Development of a process and performance oriented reference model to integrate 3rd party logistics providers into supply chains

their customers. These research gaps are used as the basis to define the research question for this thesis, which shall be duly addressed within the framework of this work. - How can a business relationship between a 3PL service provider and the supply chain be analyzed, measured and optimized from a 3PL perspective? - Which business processes are important for offering, implementing and operating 3PL services and to capture the existing AS-IS and derive the future TO-BE state? - What measures of performance should be used to assess the 3PL relationship from the customer, 3PL provider and society perspective? This thesis aims to bridge this gap and address these research questions by developing a process oriented reference model – a repository of business processes, information flow, management practices and performance measurement system for the entire set of business interactions ranging from developing customized 3PL service solutions for the customer to implementing and operating 3PL services.