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The purpose in this paper is to develop a systematic literature review aiming to reveal innovation opportunities associated with the thematic collaboration and trust in the reverse logistics field.

The authors adopted a parallel analysis approach segregating the systematic literature review papers in two groups at NVivo®, collaboration and trust in the supply chain and collaboration and trust in reverse logistics, aiming to explore in the first group of papers insights for innovation on collaboration and trust in reverse logistics. The content analysis strategy was supported by the knowledge exchange theory described in Gravier et al. (2008).

Reverse logistics is hardly dissociated from broader sustainable supply chain management approaches, which make all considerations on collaboration and trust designed for such approaches valuable and valid for reverse logistics. Collaboration and trust concepts in supply chain and in reverse logistics contexts are quite similar, while collaboration/trust is mandatory for managing networks in sustainable approaches and in reverse logistics, as well. Downstream and upstream, the chain disruptive innovation business models may be developed between focal companies and returns system third-party logistics providers, fourth-party logistics providers or end-customers, in a business-to-customer collaboration approach. Several collaboration technologies are listed in three perspectives: knowledge sharing, knowledge generation and knowledge implementation.

This study uses a specific protocol for the systematic literature review, and due to inclusion and exclusion criteria, other protocols can provide different results. The strategy of analysis under the knowledge exchange perspective may give a type of result different from other perspectives.

This research systematizes the existing knowledge on the collaborations and trust, which is a priority basis for reverse logistics, providing insights to researchers and practitioners in the area and identifying an agenda for future studies.

This paper seeks to provide new solutions to cargo companies’ service quality efforts by integrating different scientific methodologies.

Strengths and weaknesses of logistics services of a well known cargo company in Turkey are defined by using a service quality scale (SERVQUAL), service quality attributes are categorized using the Kano model in order to see how well these attributes are able to satisfy customer needs, and findings are transferred to quality function deployment (QFD).

The findings of the Kano model show that ten of the 27 service quality attributes can be categorized as “attractive”, implying the maximum effect on consumer satisfaction. Through the customer priority level of QFD, the three most important service quality attributes are found to be: VIP Service, informing customers about delivery time before sending, and taking deliveries from customers’ addresses. Also, strengthening information technology infrastructure is the most important technical requirement to focus with the highest technical importance level.

The study involves only one cargo company, it concerns just Trabzon city center branch offices and its sample includes only individual customers instead of individual and institutional customers together.

Offering a case study, the paper presents a guide for cargo companies to employ different scientific methodologies in their service quality development efforts.

Intending to offer scientific approaches to cargo companies as a tool of development in their practical procedures, the paper tries to bridge the current gap between academicians and practitioners and adds to the relatively limited theoretical literature.