An Empirical Study of Logistics Performance and Outsourcing Types of Korean Distributors

유통업체의 정보물류시스템 아웃소싱 유형과 물류성과에 관한 실증연구

Purpose - This study focused on providing strategic findings that make significant sense for companies that are looking for a future outsourcing strategy. The study analyzes the results of outsourcing in the information logistics systems field and verifies the results through experimental study of the performance delivered by logistics outsourcing types. Research design, data, and methodology - The study sample was assembled based on a random sampling method used to extract the initial 451 companies from a list of Korean distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. Following that sample process, 423 companies were confirmed by verifying their e-mail address and contacts (telephone and fax numbers), and were selected as initial research subjects. We reduced that number to 331 companies for the survey sample through telephone interviews in advance with the 423 companies that were targeted, in order to verify whether they are in the field of outsourcing of information logistics systems. The period of the survey extended from November 10, 2013 to January 10, 2014. The number of collected surveys totaled 181. We reviewed the contents of the survey responses, and reduced the number of research subjects to 175. In this study, we used a standard analysis to investigate whether there is a difference in distribution results based on different types of outsourcing information in the logistics system field and, through T-verification, we investigated whether the difference between distribution results in each group resulting from that standard analysis is statistically significant. Results - These results show that there is a difference in distribution outcome, based upon type of distribution outsourcing. In addition, we determined that they are meaningful results by confirming that, for usability and to improve the capabilities of a third-party logistics service supplier, both the choice of reasonable outsourcing types and the enhancement of various types of alliances are very important success factors. Taken together these study results, with a goal of enhancing the distribution capabilities of a Korean distributor, can be implemented to enhance management results achievable by supplying an information logistics system in the form of strategic outsourcing rather than in the form of simple outsourcing. In addition, the outcomes of logistics distributors in Korea that are using outsourcing in the logistics information systems field show high performance results in commercial endeavors in the following order: competitive, pre-competitive, non-competitive, and pro-competitive. Conclusions - This study focused on providing strategic findings. However, in the case of outsourcing in the field of information logistics systems of Korean distributors, there has been a focus on simple outsourcing rather than on strategic outsourcing; furthermore, there has been a concentration on non-competitive forms instead of pro-competitive forms, which could achieve better distribution results. This discussion is presented in more detail in the analysis results of this study.