Varieties of logistics centers

Abstract

Despite the growing interest in the development of intermodal logistics centers by scholars and public- and private-sector actors, there is no consensus on the definitions of these centers. The purpose of this paper is to explore the literature and propose a unified and standardized typology and hierarchy of logistics centers. Several current terms and definitions are presented and used to establish criteria for creating a combined typology of logistics centers. This information is used to form a hierarchy of facilities according to their size, influence, value-added activities, and function in freight and logistics processes. The resulting typology and hierarchy are useful as a foundation for advancing research in this area.