Summary
Many firms now place emphasis on leveraging logistics capabilities as a source of competitive advantage. This manuscript suggests that the key to sustaining this competitive position is through adopting learning principles in logistics. As such, a logistics learning capability framework is presented, including the components of an effective learning-based logistics organization. Research propositions, an in-depth case study and implications are presented to further support the learning capability framework suggested and highlight the importance of learning in today's hypercompetitive global supply chain environment.
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Logistics Learning Capability: Sustaining the Competitive Advantage Gained Through Logistics Leverage
In today's global marketplace, sustaining a competitive position is a paramount concern. Technological innovations and economic uncertainties have literally changed the face of the competitive arena. Many industries have progressed from slow moving, stable oligopolies to hypercompetitive environments characterized by intense and rapid competitive moves, in which competitors strike quickly, unexpectedly, and unconventionally and advantages are rapidly created and eroded (D'Aveni 1994, 1998). Recent research has gone further and indicates that, in general, periods of sustained competitive advantage have grown shorter over time (Wiggins and Ruefli 2005, McNamara, Vaaler, and Devers 2003). This new reality, therefore, challenges most industries (Wiggins and Ruefli 2005) and even the most seasoned executives (D'Aveni 1998).
In response, many companies looking to compete embraced such strategic initiatives as price manipulation (Zarley and Rosa 1997), product improvement (Woodruff and Gardial 1996), and reduced design-to-shelf cycle time (Camp 1989), only to find these strategies copied quickly by competitors (Porter 1985). Today however, organizations have focused on delivering customer value through logistics as a means of remaining competitive (Mentzer, Flint, and Hult 2001), since changes in promotion and price may be more quickly duplicated (Bowersox, Mentzer and Speh 1995). In essence, companies have started to leverage their logistics capabilities as a source of competitive advantage (Daugherty, Stank, and Ellinger 1998; Bowersox, Gloss, and Stank 1999; Lynch, Keller, and Ozment 2000; Zhao, Dröge, and Stank 2001).Logistics leverage has been defined as the achievement of excellent and superior logistics performance, which, when implemented through a successful marketing strategy, creates recognizable value for customers (Mentzer and Williams 2001). Leveraging logistics allows organizations to achieve customer satisfaction through inventory availability, timely delivery, and less product failure (Bowersox and Closs 1996; Day 1994; Morash, Droge, and Vickery 1996; Mentzer and Williams 2001; Olavarrieta and Ellinger 1997). As such, logistics leverage represents a "positional advantage" for the company. It is a value added service that the customer recognizes as important, and, since it is based, in part, on the company's logistics infrastructure (e.g. processes, strategic partnerships, systems, personnel, etc.), is not easily matched by the competition (Mentzer and Williams 2001), particularly in the short run.While logistics leverage is vital to achieving a competitive position, if not reinvented or impro...See the full content of this document
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