Digital technologies as a marketing opportunity for logistics centres: a literature review

Transport and logistics are expected to be among the service sectors most impacted by new technologies labelled as “Industry 4.0”, due to the array of applications related to both smart transports and “mobility as a service”. In this perspective, logistics centres focused on cargo flows constitute a fruitful research field for assessing the impact of incoming technologies on the business models of logistics companies operating in these centres. The study aims to scrutinize how the adoption of emerging digital technologies could offer valuable marketing opportunities for logistics centres as well as their shippers, by examining over 100 manuscripts and performing a systematic literature review on 41 academic papers published in leading international journals. The paper provides valuable insights for both academics and practitioners. The systematic literature review demonstrates the lack of a comprehensive framework to assess the impact of new digital technologies on logistics centres’ business models and market strategy. The outcomes suggest managers with viable options for innovating logistics centres’ customer value proposition.