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overall revenue of more than €6 billion in 2010, business networks (“hybrids” in TCE) compete with integrated, large firms (“hierarchies” in TCE terms), as Table 2 shows.
TABLE 2: Top 10 firms in the German LTL market in 2008
| Pos. | Organization | Sales in €M |
| 1 | Dachser | 594 |
| 2 | IDS (network) | 450 |
| 3 | Deutsche Bahn | 425 |
| Schenker (Deutsche Bahn) | 425 | |
| 4 | System Alliance (network) | 400 |
| 5 | Deutsche Post | 350 |
| DHL Express (Deutsche Post) | 350 | |
| 6 | CargoLine (network) | 338 |
| 7 | CTL (network) | 335 |
| Hellmann (Partner System Alliance) | 310 | |
| 8 | 24plus (network) | 248 |
| 9 | ABX Logistics | 203 |
| 10 | S.T.a.R. (network) | 159 |
Source: Albers &Klaas-Wissing (2012)
In this industry, six out of the top 10 players have consistently represented cooperative business networks over many years. The formation of LTL cooperation networks is seen as one of the most promising strategies by which small and medium-sized firms can build a geographically expanded and denser transportation network in order to generate economies of scale. In this setting, a well-organized network can create a competitive product portfolio to shippers and challenge the large integrated logistics corporations. In addition, it can compete with regard to inventing and testing organizational solutions (Klaas-Wissing & Albers, 2010). This question was targeted in an empirical analysis of two very different, yet seemingly successful networks in the German LTL business, called “Alpha” and “Beta” for reasons of confidentiality (Albers &Klaas-Wissing, 2012).251
The Alpha network has a turnover of more than one hundred million Euros and belongs to one of the largest LTL business networks in Germany. Members employ a privately held limited liability company (LLC) to serve as a central alliance management unit. The alliance offers a dense national transportation network, consisting of more than 130 local depots, owned by its more than 100 partner companies that are all small and medium-sized logistics firms. The partner companies are shareholders in the network HQ. In addition to its equity capital base from its members, Alpha LLC is financed by handling and administration service fees from the daily operational business with the partner companies.
In addition to the legal requirements that stem from the legal form of the network HQ (the LLC), Alpha’s network organization is influenced by two constitutive properties: the relatively large number of alliance members, and its business model value focus. Due to the large number of investing members who also hold similar Alpha equity proportions, voting rights are widely dispersed. Network members have only limited influence on managerial decisions concerning strategic matters. As a consequence, Alpha’s board of directors possesses extensive authority to define the strategy, set up the general operation rules, and design network infrastructure. In fact, a single member can either agree with the board’s strategic decisions or leave the alliance (exit option).
Regarding the value focus to its network partners, Alpha provides a proprietary, fully fledged hub-and-spoke production network and an IT platform that allows for consolidated and efficient LTL transportation within Germany and that is open to any non-member logistics service provider. The network HQ is responsible for maintaining, developing, and optimizing the production network and IT platform in order to ensure structural stability, operational efficiency, and system interoperability.
The network members are mainly responsible for feeding and defeeding the route network. In the course of their ordinary business activities, they acquire LTL consignments from their local customers and execute transportation services, such as local pickup and delivery, as well as operating regular line haul connection(s). As far as Alpha network operations are affected, the network partners have to adhere to the specifications (for example, quality) and operational instructions (for example, timetables for line hauls, process guidelines) issued by HQ.
The second LTL network is the Beta network. Beta also belongs to the top ten of the German LTL service providers, but exhibits quite different features compared to its rival Alpha. Only a few more than 10 logistics service providers, including a few large-sized firms, with the rest being medium-sized, form the Beta network, which has one central hub and 40 local depots throughout Germany. The network management unit Beta LLC is headquartered at the central hub and has about 150 administrative and operational employees. Beta’s financial endowment stems from the partners’ capital shares as well as handling and administration service fees. The resulting revenues are first used to cover the headquarters’ and the hub’s running costs. Remaining profits are eventually paid to the shareholding partners — just as possible deficits will also be compensated by these legally liable partners. As a consequence, substantial investments, for example, into the alliance’s infrastructure, cannot be made without the involvement of the respective shareholding partners. Network HQ organization is widely determined by its legal status as a limited liability company and its economic dependency on the relatively small number of alliance members (equity holders). Like Alpha, it consists of a management board, a supervisory board (chaired by the CEO of the largest investing partner), and a yearly general meeting, composed of all equity holding partners. In contrast to Alpha, the Beta alliance exhibits further organizational units for participative decision-making processes: regional groups, the supervisory committee, focus teams, and the partner meeting. Depending on the location(s) of the respective depot(s), every partner company is member of at least one regional group. Here, executive management representatives meet quarterly to discuss current regional problems and to exchange, assess, and select improvement initiatives. The supervisory committee in turn consists of one delegate from each regional group. The committee regularly discusses relevant region-spanning issues and prepares decision memos for the partner meeting, acting as a link between regional groups, focus teams, and the partner meeting. However, both the regional groups and supervisory committee can delegate topics to specialized focus teams for concrete elaboration. Focus teams are assembled as needed by partner company experts and Beta’s line and/or staff departments, such as marketing, IT, operations, and strategy. Overall, network partners possess extensive strategic, operational and design authority.
In its day-to-day business, Beta LLC as network HQ executes an operative coordination and control function, since all shipment data converges there. Moreover, the LLC’s employees take responsibility for central hub operations, line-haul timetables, alliance marketing support, IT system development, data clearing and performance monitoring, process standards, and dedicated staff training. However, unlike Alpha, the central management unit’s CEO and his staff are responsible for facilitating inter-partner exchange and participative decision processes with regard to network maintenance, strategy, and optimization. Therefore, they take care that all respective meetings proceed regularly, are prepared properly, and are attended by the correct representatives. Furthermore, Beta LLC enforces partner rule compliance, keeps control of all current project initiatives, and takes over implementation for major initiatives on behalf of the alliance partners. An overview of the key Alpha and Beta features is presented in table 3.
TABLE 3: Overview of Key Alpha and Beta Characteristics (as of 2008)
| Alpha | Beta | |
| No. of membersRevenuesShipments | >100 Shareholders> €100 million>5 million | >10 Shareholders and associates> €100 million> 5 million |
| Alliance management | Network HQ as privately held limited liability company | Network HQ as privately held limited liability company, forums, workgroups |
| Network HQ’s responsibility | Network operations and design | Network operations, network marketing (incl. tender management) |
| Partner firms‘ responsibility | Customer acquisition, Marketing, production | Customer acquisition, production, network design (standard setting, etc.) through participation in forums and workgroups |
| Other | No territory protection, multiple alliance membership, optional alliance network usage | Territory protection, single alliance membership, obligatory alliance |