物流外包边界问题研究

物流外包（第三方物流）近年来在全球得以快速发展，除第三方物流的产业技术经济优势外，还有着深层次的经济理论根源。本文运用交易成本理论，按照企业边界理论的分析方法，深入研究物流外包的边界问题，并分析第三方物流迅猛发展的理论基础．探讨如何利用物流外包边界思想来解决相关实际问题。     

A case study exploring drivers and implications of collaborative electronic logistics marketplaces

Since the 1990s there has been a rich literature on business-to-business electronic marketplaces. While many aspects of supply chain management have been considered, there are only a few studies which investigate the development and application of these electronic marketplaces in logistics. These can be termed Electronic Logistics Marketplaces (ELM). The paper aims to understand the rationale behind a particular type of ELM, termed ‘collaborative ELM’, and evaluates the impact of introducing such an ELM. To do this, an in depth case study in the UK fast moving consumer goods industry is used. Data has been collected from shippers, transport companies and the technology provider using a range of tools, including interviews, quantitative data analysis and process mapping. The research reveals that the collaborative ELM is still a relatively new business model. It has potential for growth in optimizing supply chain networks and enabling not only vertical collaboration between shippers and carriers but also horizontal collaboration between shippers and/or between carriers. It identifies the motives behind a collaborative ELM, and demonstrates how such a system is implemented through the configurations of information system, process and collaborative arrangements. The impact on the different participating parties is also examined. Finally the necessary conditions for a successful implementation are derived in the light of the research findings.     

Antecedents and consequences of logistics value: And empirical investigation in the Spanish market

In business practice and the academic study of logistics, the incorporation of concepts such as quality followed by value has been truly revolutionary. In addition, the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) has substantially modified the way inter-company relationships are managed. This has meant that logistics is no longer considered a routine, merely operational activity but a strategic variable which is a deciding factor in achieving customer satisfaction. There are, however, still a large number of companies which continue to ignore the differentiating potential of logistics and consider it to be a routine activity. Our contribution comes within the framework of this new perspective which is analysed on the basis of an emerging concept: logistics value. The objective of this study is to contribute to the knowledge on what logistics value consists of and how it is formed, in business to business (B2B) relationships in particular. On the basis of a theoretical framework obtained from the literature review of perceived value from a trade-off perspective, we carry out an empirical analysis to determine the antecedents and consequences of logistics value. Our results, through SEM analysis show that ICT, the benefits derived from supplier-customer relationship, logistics service quality and the sacrifices associated to logistics service delivery in terms of costs, contribute to creating logistics value which is the antecedent to the classic satisfaction-loyalty chain.     

Logistics in Bulgarian manufacturing companies

This paper reports the results of a survey conducted to explore the development of logistics in Bulgarian manufacturing companies. Two areas have been examined in more detail: logistics organizational developments and logistics management practices. The results for three subsets of the investigated companies—state owned, private and foreign have been compared. The conclusions of the study suggest that during the last years logistics is becoming popular among Bulgarian manufacturing companies. This is reflected in their organizational structures as well as in the applied management practices. However, in every aspect of the analysis companies of Bulgarian ownership are lagging behind foreign companies operating in Bulgaria.     

Coopetition close to the customer — A case study of a small business network

Coopetition interactions are traditionally divided into competing activities close to the customer, called output activities (e.g., sales and marketing), and cooperating activities far from the customer, known as input activities (e.g., logistics, production and R&D). In many coopetition networks, most of the cooperation has been in input activities, essentially meaning that little research is conducted in coopetition business networks with cooperative activities close to the customer. This article closes the gap by investigating coopetition in an ICT business network comprising small-to-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the B2B sector. The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding of cooperation between competing firms by analyzing the success factors of cooperative activities close to the customer that lead to a positive outcome of coopetition. The results of the study show that some case companies are more competition oriented, whereas the others are more cooperation oriented. At the activity level of analysis, cooperation occurs in branding, marketing, joint customers, and delivery of services; whereas companies compete in local services, marketing campaigns, and pricing. In addition, our study shows that certain success factors for coopetition are highlighted, particularly in output activities such as activeness, geographical distance and personal resources.     

Outsourcing integration and third party logistics services: An appreciation of two ‘classic’ articles in industrial marketing management

This paper provides an appreciation of two highly cited, ‘classic’ Industrial Marketing Management articles pertaining to outsourcing integration and third party logistics services. The appreciation includes revisiting the general topic themes emanating from both articles, third-party logistics (3PL) service providers, outsourcing and core competence for competitive advantage, relationships, integrating supply chain actors, and combining products and services as a value proposition, with an objective to cast each article's influence on, and ongoing and future contributions to, present day research.     

The impact of third-party logistics providers' capabilities on exporters' performance

Third-party logistics (3PL) services have experienced unprecedented growth. However, we are not aware of any study that explores the relationships among logistics outsourcing, competitive advantage, and business performance. We study the mediating role of logistics outsourcing as a strategy to develop firms' capabilities in the strategy-performance relationship. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, we develop a research model grounded in the outsourcing-competitive advantage-performance paradigm. We apply structural equation modeling to empirically test the model using data collected from 150 exporters in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region of China. The results show that there are positive relationships among exporters' strategic orientation towards third-party logistics (3PL) providers, 3PL providers' basic and augmented capabilities, exporters' competitive advantage, and exporters' export performance. We also find that 3PL providers' augmented capabilities and exporters' competitive advantage are strong mediators, supporting the theorized model underpinned by RBV.     

Outsourcing decision-making aspects considered by IT departments in Brazilian companies

The study of Information Technology (IT) outsourcing is relevant because companies are outsourcing their activities more than ever. An important IT outsourcing research area is the decision-making process. In other words, the comprehension of how companies decide about outsourcing their IT operations is relevant from research point of view. Therefore, the objective of this study is to understand the decision-making process used by Brazilian companies when outsourcing their IT operations. An analysis of the literature that refers to this subject showed that six aspects are usually considered by companies on the evaluation of IT outsourcing service alternatives. This research verified how these six aspects are considered by Brazilian companies on IT outsourcing decisions. The survey showed that Brazilian companies consider all the six aspects, but each of them has a different level of importance. The research also grouped the aspects according to their level of importance and interdependency, using factorial analysis to understand the logic behind IT outsourcing decision process.     

Lead time reduction through ICT application in the footwear industry: A case study

This paper analyses some relevant supply chain management issues for Italian firms operating in the footwear industry. The analysis is carried out on representative firms, located in a specialized regional district with a high density of shoe manufacturing companies. Companies were experiencing substantial problems in the management of supplier relationships, as well as in the commercial/distributive channel. Specifically, synchronization issues in the logistics pipeline were weakening firms’ lead time performances.The case study presented strives to highlight the critical points in the set up of the supply chain management programme, as well as the main results obtained. The case study also shows that the adoption of tailored Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools has the potential to save significant lead time in supplier/buyer relationships. From the case study, generalities can be drawn and transferred to the footwear industry.     

浅谈我国物流企业核心能力的培养与提升

物流企业的快速发展导致物流业竞争日趋激烈,培育和提升物流企业的核心能力是赢得竞争优势的关键.本文从剖析企业核心能力的内涵出发,分析了物流企业核心能力的构成,提出了提升和培育物流企业核心能力的途径.     

Evaluation of 4PL operating models: A decision making approach based on 2-additive Choquet integral

By being a supply chain integrator who can assemble and manage the resources, capabilities, and technology of its own organization with those of complementary service providers, fourth party logistics (4PL) providers deliver comprehensive supply chain solutions and form an important option for business outsourcing. The adequate design of the partnership between companies in this type of outsourcing activities is essential. In order to support the effective usage of 4PL services, this paper proposes an analytical multiple criteria decision making approach to evaluate 4PL operating models. While decision criteria and their hierarchy were identified, it is observed that there exist interactions, e.g. simultaneous satisfaction of two or criteria is sometimes required. This situation can not be handled with traditional multi-criteria decision making methods which assume criteria independence. 2-additive Choquet integral is appropriate to model criteria interactions by pairs and is used in this study. The proposed framework is applied for a logistics company willing to expand its operations. Finally, an application is provided to demonstrate the potential of the methodology for 4PL operating model selection.     

Managing Intellectual Property in Global Outsourcing for Innovation Generation

The globalization of markets and business operations is a trend that will continue strongly in the coming decades. One inescapable aspect of globalization has been the trend toward global outsourcing, especially that of knowledge‐based services. Due to firms' compulsion to reduce costs in the developed world, the issue is not if a particular firm will outsource or offshore work but when it will outsource it and how effectively it will leverage outsourcing to achieve superior competitive advantage. An important implication of the outsourcing of knowledge‐based services is the management of intellectual property (IP). Managers and researchers alike are interested in understanding the effects of global outsourcing of knowledge‐based services on the management of IP. The challenge of accessing, exploiting, and defending IP in global outsourcing relationships is first examined in this paper. IP can be managed by balancing the trust and control and verification in the outsourcing relationship. Given that defending IP is a major concern for outsourcing firms, the moderating roles of multitier suppliers, supplier country legal regimes, and global supplier communities of practice on defending IP is examined in detail through moderating effect propositions. Finally, the paper examines the effect of accessing, defending, and exploiting IP in global outsourcing relationships on the generation of incremental and radical innovation for the outsourcing firm. This research tries to extend current academic research on global outsourcing in three ways. First, it offers a framework to understand the management of the buyer–seller relationship in the global outsourcing of knowledge‐based services and its relationship to the management of IP and innovation generation. Second, the framework takes a broader perspective of outsourcing and innovation generation, including globalization, tiered suppliers, supplier country legal regimes, and global supplier communities of practice on defending IP. Third the research examines the effect of accessing, exploitation, and defense of IP on generation of incremental and radical innovation for the outsourcing firm. Managerial implications of this research and future research directions are also discussed.     

中小软件外包人力资本投资风险与控制策略研究

人力资本投资在服务外包总投资中占了最大比重,对软件外包企业来说更是如此.人力资本投资比重的增加给企业带来更大收益的同时也增加了企业的投资风险.目前,我国中小规模软件外包企业员工流动率高达20％,是社会平均流动率的两倍,形势严峻.本文力图突破传统的共性分析层面,从中小软件外包特性分析出发,探讨其人力资本投资风险的形成过程,并分别基于交易成本理论和期权理论提出控制人力资本投资风险的再外包和分阶段投资策略,为我国中小软件外包企业缓解高人力资本流失率,控制人力资本投资风险提供理论依据.     

The growth and management of R&D outsourcing: evidence from UK pharmaceuticals

Outsourcing of research and development (R&D) activities has become a major management issue for R&D and technical managers within firms. It has also been of growing concern to academics who are trying to chart the implications of the increasingly distributed nature of research and innovative activities in advanced economies. This study is based on a survey of research-based pharmaceutical companies operating in the United Kingdom conducted in 2004–2006. The aim of this paper is to outline the main reasons for pharmaceutical firms to outsource R&D and the management practices followed by such companies in relation to outsourcing. The research results provide interesting findings in relation to, for example, the reasons behind outsourcing, the decision-making processes behind such practices and barriers to outsourcing arrangements. These issues are evaluated together with the characteristics of the firms and the specific project outsourced.     

供给侧改革视角下我国物流业的技术效率评价——基于生产前沿模型和β收敛的实证

供给侧结构性改革是从供给、生产端入手,使要素实现最优配置,提升经济增长的质量和数量的过程。物流业既是其他产业发展的供给方,又对最终的需求实现具有重要影响,供给侧改革对于物流业的发展,必然产生重大作用。本文以2005～2014年中国30个省区的面板数据为基础,利用随机前沿的技术生产前沿可改进区间来估计供给侧改革在物流业的作用空间。研究发现：物流技术效率逐年增长,但近年出现下降趋势,东部地区的物流技术效率最高,中部居中,西部最低。β收敛分析结果显示：物流技术效率存在条件收敛,重点应从产业结构、创新环境以及物流专业化程度3个方面开展物流业的供给侧结构性改革。     

When to outsource the sales force for new products

Executives and researchers continue to seek factors that lead to new product success. While prior research has suggested that outsourcing the selling function can help make the innovation process leaner and limit future liability, outsourcing can also pose risks in terms of safeguarding both customer relationships and confidential innovation capabilities. Moreover, examining the effects of outsourcing has been identified as a key research priority in recent marketing literature. Thus, using privileged access to managers in the biochemical industry, we employed a multi-group analysis of 229 new products to investigate the effect of outsourcing the sales force on new product success. Our empirical results demonstrate that outsourcing the sales force moderates the relationship between new product superiority and customer meaningfulness such that the relationship is stronger when outsourcing is employed; however, outsourcing the sales force moderates the relationship between new product good value and customer meaningfulness such that it is weaker when outsourcing is employed. These findings suggest that outsourcing may serve as a signal of added risk for customers. Thus, the decision to outsource the sales force should be made based upon customer needs and the characteristics of the new product.     

Offshore outsourcing of services: An evolutionary perspective

Offshore outsourcing is gaining increasing importance and attention in both theory and practice. The purpose of this research is to use nine in-depth case studies to analyze the evolution of offshore services outsourcing with regard to how expectations and governance structures change over time. Five testable propositions are presented, building on institutional theory, transaction cost, and resource-based perspectives. The cases demonstrate that offshore outsourcing is initiated because of increasing internal and external pressure to conform and reduce costs. Moreover, companies “chase” efficiency improvements in other geographic locations. But after reducing costs, companies discover more strategic benefits such as the potential to increase quality and market share. Importantly, as buyer–supplier relationships move from tactical to more strategic, expectations and governance structures change.     

企业物流服务组织模式与决策动因的对应分析

企业物流服务组织中的主要模式一般包括物流外包、物流自营以及部分外包部分自营。在现实中,由于受到复杂主、客观环境因素的影响,企业在进行物流服务模式的选择时必须考虑诸多因素,以形成合理的、具有针对性的决策方案。因此,研究企业物流服务组织模式与决策动因之间的关系非常重要。本文通过对物流服务需求方实体企业的抽样调查分析,从企业所在系统和环境因素入手来挖掘企业决定其物流组织模式的主要动因,运用对应分析方法对不同物流服务模式与决策动因之间的关系进行研究,从而为企业的物流决策行为提供借鉴。     

The establishment of industrial branding through dyadic logistics partnership success (LPS): The case of the Malaysian automotive and logistics industry

Logistics partnerships across dyadic and triadic relationship networks have been the basis of extensive research in the extant literature. It is well understood that competitive advantage within logistics and distribution and within supply chains are driven by value-adding aspects of not only the core competencies of each tier in the network, but also via tangential supporting factors. It is also well understood that there is a strong relationship between logistics and distribution and marketing functions, particularly in product-based organisations. In addition to deepening our understanding of how successful partnerships throughout the source–make–deliver continuum can be optimised, this research also seeks to identify how a supporting element in terms of industrial branding and marketing can lead to relational sustainability. Hence, this paper outlines the relationship between logistics partnership success (LPS) factors and the inherent link to industrial branding establishment and business sustainability within the Malaysian automotive industry (specifically, car manufacturers). Adopting a multiple case study approach, findings suggest that there is a strong association between logistics service performance (LSP) provided by the third party logistics provider (TPLP) and the development and support of a mutual brand image for both the TPLP and the car manufacturer. We contribute to the extant literature on logistics partnership and industrial branding through linking LSP with the creation and maintenance of an industrial branding strategy for both parties in the context of the Malaysian automotive industry.     

The supplier's side of outsourcing: Taking over activities and blurring organizational boundaries

Since most of the literature on outsourcing focuses only to the buying (outsourcing) company, this paper aims to highlight the supplier's side from a relational perspective. The paper stresses the importance of business relationships between suppliers of outsourced activities and their customers. The paper's purpose is specified in two research questions: (1) how is value created within outsourcing and (2) how does the supplier interact with the outsourcing company? Our method relies on an in-depth qualitative case study of Logoplaste, a Portuguese packaging company which supplies large consumer goods manufacturers through complex outsourcing activities. Our analysis identifies three key dimensions of outsourcing relationships: (1) value co-creation via inter-firm coordination (as opposed to unilateral externalization of activities); (2) mutual dependence between supplier and customer due to the supplier's taking over activities; and (3) the blurring of organizational boundaries because of mutual dependence. These dimensions manifest themselves, even though in different degrees, after the initiation of any outsourcing relationship: these variables are new to the literature on outsourcing, which focuses on the ex ante dimensions that influence the customer's pre-relational choices such as “make or buy” and relationship type.