## 6 Conclusions
### Implications of the Study  
This work has theoretical and practical implications.  
Regarding theoretical implications, we address significant shortcomings of the existing literature on warehouse management and the third-party logistics sector. The literature has traditionally focused on managing warehouse operations and optimizing warehouse processes and activities, dealing with the service level and cost performance as objectives of the optimizations, along with facility location problems. On the other hand, the literature on the third-party logistics sector has focused more on the 3 PL buying process from the perspective of shippers or cargo owners when they buy logistics services in an outsourcing context. As a result, the selection decisions of shippers are linked to service outcomes that typically neglect the role of warehouses. In the best of cases, warehouses are considered as just one of the elements composing the set of assets at the disposal of 3 PLs and organizations. However, the literature has also indicated that warehouses are important physical assets that can affect the performance level of 3 PLs and of the organizations that buy logistics services from 3 PLs. Consequently, in this endeavour, we adopted a more holistic perspective, putting the warehouse at the centre of a decision-making process seen from the point of view of 3 PLs and not of shippers. In this sense, we advance the current knowledge by taking a step back in the 3 PL buying process, starting from one of the very first--typically neglected--strategic decisions that 3 PLs need to make to set up their logistics services. In doing this, we also add to the current knowledge investigating how 3 PLs see the features of warehouses affecting their performance level. The link between warehouse features and performance is something that the literature has not contemplated. While we do not make claims of direct causality, we develop the current literature by providing insights on how 3 PLs see this relationship between warehouse features and performance indicators and how this relationship can be a driver of their warehouse selection decisions. Traditionally, according to the existing theory, cost and land/building availability considerations were the object of this decision.  
Regarding managerial implications, scrutinizing and selecting warehouses is essential for 3 PLs to present themselves in the best possible way in a crowded and competitive marketplace. This research contributes to practice by giving 3 PL providers an indication of how selection decisions are typically made in terms of \"what to look at\" when selecting a warehouse and how the scrutinized elements can have an expected effect on performance. This could facilitate 3 PLs in going beyond simplistic selections of strategic facilities such as warehouses, based traditionally on cost factors and land availability, and to embrace a more holistic view in appraising the various features of warehouses and the effect these can have in fulfilling their requirements. Furthermore, by offering a dual perspective on performance indicators and warehouse features, the study provides 3 PLs with the opportunity to scrutinize different operational aspects and features of warehouses and the relationships among them so that considerations on specific drivers and potential investments can be made in their strategic planning activities.