Logistics mode strategy of firms selling fresh products on e-commerce platforms with private brand introduction

The popularity of online shopping has enticed many firms selling fresh products to establish third-party stores on e-commerce platforms. For those firms. adopting which logistics mode between platform logistics and third-party logistics (TPL) for their third-party stores is the real decision problem. Moreover, many platforms have introduced their private brands of fresh products to occupy more make share, which will inevitably affect firms' operation strategies. To explore the optimal logistics mode strategy of firms selling fresh products on platforms and the impacts of platform private brand introduction on those firms' operation strategies, four theoretical models are constructed. Main results show that regardless of whether platforms have introduced their private brands of fresh products or not, the optimal logistics mode strategy depends on the sizes of the platform logistics cost and the service level difference between platform logistics and TPL. Furthermore, introducing platform private brands of fresh products will increase firms' willingness to adopt TPL for their third-party stores on platforms. These main results are robust considering the existence of fresh product supplier and different consumer's sensitivity to freshness-keeping efforts.