Innovation in logistics outsourcing relationship-in the search of customer satisfaction

Nowadays LSPs face an increasingly competitive environment in which a strategy to focus on existing customers by satisfying and sustaining them has been proved to be more successful than trying to get the small share of customers that have not yet outsourced any logistics activities. To be able to keep and grow the customers, LSPs have to overcome a number of barriers, align with customers and innovate. However, there is still a lack of understanding when, with what type of customers, and how LSPs can effectively leverage customer integration within Innovation Alignment for successful innovation. The purpose of the paper is to: present the concept of logistics innovation and its role in creating customer satisfaction, point a number of barriers to LSPs' innovativeness, and analyze the role and characteristics of relationship innovation alignment when developing and implementing innovative logistics services. Methods: The research adopts a two-stage effort, with Stage 1 being focus gro