How Informational Integration Can Improve The Relationship Between Buyer And Supplier Of Logistical Services:Empirical Evidence From Vietnam

Abstract

Having initiated economic liberalization in 1986, Vietnam is a particularly interesting emerging economy to study. The logistics industry in the country is developing strongly because manufacturers are willing to outsource their logistical activities to specialized businesses called logistics service providers (LSPs). To be sustainable partners of manufacturers, LSPs must adopt an informational integration policy that improves the functioning of their customers’ supply chains. To find out whether Vietnamese manufacturers value information integration, a questionnaire survey was administered to 139 food industry managers. The main research finding is that informational integration between manufacturer and LSP strongly impacts the manager’s perception of its own logistics performance. This result has major implications for foreign LSPs that want to carve out a significant place on the Vietnamese market.