Efficiency Evaluations in 3PL Warehouse Operations: Building Research Themes Through Systematic Literature Review

As Third-Party Logistics (3PL) providers become widely utilized by organizations, it is vital to evaluate 3PL efficiency to ensure they meet consumer expectations. And warehousing operations are critical within 3PLs in managing storage and ensuring efficiency. This paper aims to review the literature on efficiency evaluations in 3PL warehouse operations to identify the predominantly used techniques and the most impactful factors for efficiency evaluations. The PRISMA framework led to the selection and analysis of 31 studies based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria to achieve this objective. The findings from the review established the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) as the predominant technique to measure warehouse operational efficiency, followed by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The main factors affecting the efficiency of warehouse operations include Warehouse Area/Space, Fixed Assets, Number of Employees, and Total Revenue. The findings emphasize the importance of efficiency evaluation results offering actionable insights using various techniques to optimize warehouses. Finally, the paper highlights the critical gaps brought forward by the effects of the dynamic economic landscape.