Outsourcing of logistics functions_a literature survey英文精品课件.pdf

Outsourcing of logistics Outsourcing of logistics functions: a literature survey functions Mohammed Abdur Razzaque Department of Marketing, National University of Singapore, Singapore 89 and Chang Chen Sheng Received June 1997 Revised April 1998 YCH Group of Companies, Singapore Introduction Management of logistics functions in modern organizations involves decision making for the complete distribution of goods and services in the marketing function (Watson and Pitt, 1989) with a view to maximize value and minimize cost. A growing awareness that competitive advantage comes from the delivery process as much as from the product (Muller, 1991a) has been instrumental in upgrading logistics from its traditional back-room function to a strategic boardroom function (Foster, 1994). The following reasons have been proposed to explain this trend: • There is a growing need to be more responsive to customer service and market demand (Horne, 1989). As an integrative concept that cuts across the traditional functions of the business (Christopher, 1993), logistics can deliver better customer service. • Logistics activities involve a large commitment of capital. • The logistics function can be the key facilitator in the cross-functional effort towards supply chain integration (Harrington, 1995a). Hence it is not surprising that concepts such