اثر ساختارهای مختلف قرارداد بر سرمایه گذاری IT در برون سپاری لجستیک The impact of different contract structures on IT investment in logistics outsourcing

1 Introduction The IT-based capabilities of third-party logistics (3PL) providers in areas such as transportation management (planning and scheduling), electronic data interchange (EDI), visibility in orders, shipments, inventory, real-time data collecting and sharing, utilizing big data, and analytics, among others, have become increasingly important for 3PL providers and buyers (Rai et al. 2012). 3PL providers can differentiate themselves by providing advanced IT-based capabilities (Sauvage 2003, Piplani 2004), and superior IT capabilities help them achieve competitive advantages in terms of cost, service variety, and service quality (Bhatt & Grover 2005, Lai et al. 2008). For example, UPS has invested approximately $1 billion annually in its On-Road Integrated Optimization and Navigation (ORION) system, and expects to utilize the system on 55,000 routes in the North American market by 2017. The ORION system will help enhance customer service to a new level and improve logistics efficiency—savings of one mile a day per driver can save up to $50 million annually (Krebs 2016). From the perspective of 3PL service buyers, the IT services provided by 3PL providers are critical to improving firm performance (Selviaridis & Spring 2007, Marasco 2008, Rai et al. 2012). When 3PL buyers face demand fluctuations, capacity constraints, and supply chain disruptions, they need real-time information from 3PL providers in order to manage shipping alternatives and to further optimize their supply chains. However, the 2017 21st Annual Third-Party Logistics Study on the State of Logistics Outsourcing shows that the “IT gap,” the difference between what shippers expect and what they are satisfied with in terms of 3PL providers’ current IT capabilities, has established (Capgemini & Langley 2017). The Study has been tracking the IT gap over the past 15 years, and finds that although the gap is narrowing, it still has significant room for improvement. According to the 2017 study, 91% of shippers indicate that IT capabilities are necessary elements of 3PL expertise, while only 65% are satisfied with 3PL providers’ current IT capabilities. Considering that big data and analytics have enormous potential to increase end-to-end visibility, drive supply chain optimization, and minimize disruptions, the above 2017 study suggests that 3PLs have not yet fully realized the importance of big data to shippers. Therefore, the state of logistics outsourcing suggests a need to improve 3PL providers’ IT capabilities in order to narrow the IT gap. To develop a 3PL provider’s IT capabilities, it is critical and necessary that the provider invests in IT resources (Lai et al. 2008, Rai et al. 2012). From a resource-based view (RBV), a firm’s IT capability is defined as the “ability to mobilize and deploy IT-based resources in combination or co-present with other resources and capabilities” (Bharadwaj 2000, p171).