A survey-based study on ICT adoption in the third-party logistics industry

Information and communication technology (ICT) is an important tool to enhance efficiency and responsiveness in modern-day supply chains. Owing to fierce market competition and rapidly changing business environment, organizations are forced to focus on their core competency and outsource their logistics function to third-party logistics (3PL) firms. In order to work hand-in-hand with customers to meet their day-to-day logistics needs, 3PL companies have to make use of ICT for efficient communication with clients and coordination of activities. Through analyzing the survey results of the Annual Third-Party Logistics Studies from 2007 to 2009, this study looks into ICT utilization in the 3PL industry from a global perspective. To supplement the findings, a questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the current status of ICT adoption by 3PL firms in China. As a global manufacturing base, China has a burgeoning 3PL industry serving a large number of domestic firms as well as multinational corporations, and is considered a representative developing country for investigation in the subject area.