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Patrick Fung: Patrick Fung is Assistant Professor in the Department of Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Alfred Wong: Alfred Wong is Assistant Professor in the Department of Management, Lingnam College, Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong
Introduction
The logistics services of a firm are concerned with how integrated materials management activities can maximise the time and place utilities of the goods to the customers. Taking the firm as a value-added entity in a business system, logistics services aim to integrate with purchasing, operations and marketing management in creating customer success in the supply chain (Fawcett and Fawcett,1995). In the knowledge-rich and turbulent business environments of today, marketing organisations increasingly outsource their logistics services while ensuring their effective performance. Accordingly, independent logistics service providers must strive to develop a coherent mix of strategy, structure and tasks that best link the upstream and downstream supply chain customers.
This paper documents the total quality management (TQM) system of a logistics service provider in Hong Kong, which offers a wide range of services tailor-made to individual customers' needs. Based on a descriptive framework derived from the literature of TQM, logistics and supply chain management, in-depth analysis is made with respect to ways service goals are established and pursued cost-effectively for different customers. The marketing and time-based competitive strategies of customers are achievable, vis-a-vis a complex web of activities and relationships in the supply chain. Analytical generalisation is made on TQM and supply chain management interface. Future research directions and opportunities are also suggested.
Logistics services in a supply chain context
Within the last decade, logistics and supply chain management has been much researched with respect to their scope of activities and contribution to business success (Cooper et al., 1997). Extending from studies of inter-organisational relationships and physical distribution management in marketing channel, logistics and supply chain management is concerned with integrated materials management activities, both at intra-organisational and inter-organisational levels, that may lead to the satisfaction of the end customers (Bechtel and Jayaram, 1997).
Stemming from the viewpoints of a marketing organisation, logistics and supply chain management has as a basic unit of analysis profitable customer relationships through its logistics services. In operation, logistics services are integrated with purchasing, operations and marketing with the end...