Using e-commerce to gain a competitive advantage in 3PL enterprises in China

Abstract

This paper presents an investigation of how the selected foreign and domestic Third-Party Logistics (3PL) enterprises in China use e-commerce to gain competitive advantages. The study starts with an introduction that illustrates how China's economic growth will hinge on the ability of logistics service providers to offer a cost-effective and efficient supply chain. Using e-commerce, 3PL providers now supply more and more value-added services to their customers. With the advent of the boom in the Chinese 3PL industry, both foreign and domestic 3PL providers came and tried to capture the huge market. This represents a theoretical background for conducting research among these 3PL enterprises. The theoretical literature on e-commerce and 3PL logistics is reviewed in order to give a framework of relevant theories and contemporary findings. Four in-depth case studies (two foreign 3PL providers and two 3PL domestic providers) are examined and eight semi-structured interviews are conducted with the senior managers and IT managers in these selected cases. A comparison of the present applications of e-commerce in the case enterprises and the difference in the ways they use e-commerce to gain competitive advantages are made. However, due to the different nature and technological level, the foreign 3PL providers could take a totally different strategy. The study also provides an insight into how they develop their technology and marketing strategies in terms of their own strengths and target markets. That could be a useful reference to relevant researchers or firms.

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