• International Commerce and Information Review
• /
• v.15 no.1
• /
• pp.35-65
• /
• 2013

In December 2012, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs and Ministry of Knowledge Economy held a commission and distributed a standardized logistics contract between the shipper and the logistics companies in order to spread and to promote contract standardization. With such background in place, this study examines the leading research on different types and attributions in present logistics contracts in order to propose guidelines for creating contract clauses that would lead to a win-win relationship among the parties involved in the logistics outsourcing relationships. This study further compares and contrasts the concreteness of local and international logistics contracts through case studies, and provides practical thought-provoking points on concretization of clauses on potential risks and additional expenses for local logistics companies when signing logistics contracts. Firstly, the composition and contents of both local and international logistics contracts are similar in the way that both deal with the basic principles between the concerned parties such as the following: contract terms, validity, scope of work, operational procedures, payment terms, and dispute resolutions. Secondly, for flexibility of potential dispute resolution, both logistics contracts define the definition of dispute and follow the classical contractual approach of dispute resolution through third-party arbitration. Thirdly, compared to local contracts, international logistics contracts provide more concretized and specific clauses on the occurrence of potential risks and hazards; on the other hand, compared to international logistics contracts, it seemed that local contracts contained more clauses in favor of the shipper. This research then suggests ideas to eliminate the classic tradition - logistics companies enduring the damages that occur as a result of the structural differences between the shipper and the logistics companies - through efforts to actively negotiate in advance the predictable problems and risks and by reflecting the mutually agreed points in the contract, and further offers guidelines on contract concretization for distribution of standardized logistics contracts in the future.