An empirical analysis on the performance of the third-party logistics in the Korean exporter

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the process of enhancing logistics performances in Korean exporters’ utilizing “third-party logistics” (3PL) in area of delivery service to overseas buyers.

Design/methodology/approach

A research model was designed on the mechanism of Korean exporters’ utilizing 3PL and the collaborative relationships (CR) between exporters and “logistics service providers” (LSPs) in supply chain management context. The mechanism means what triggers the Korean exporters to choose LSPs in overseas trade. Conclusions were drawn from survey data gathered from 146 exporters in Korea. Structural equation model with partial least square was employed to measure the statistical significance of the hypothesized model paths.

Findings

This study provides evidence that exporters’ evaluation on the customization of LSPs’ service capacities, the reasonability of LSPs’ service fees and the information sharing are three important prerequisites to CR between exporters and LSPs. This study is focussed on exporters’ performance such as consistency of secure delivery (SD), exporters’ logistics cost savings (CS) and exporters’ satisfaction. The results show a strong support for this study, with positive and significant effects of CR on the consistency of SD, exporters’ logistics CS and exporters’ satisfaction.

Practical implications

This study proves that exporters’ performance derived from the CR results in exporters’ loyalty to LSPs, which means LSPs’ performance.

Originality/value

There are very few studies on utilization of 3PL related to delivery of export goods to overseas buyers and relevant exporters’ performance. However, this study has particularly explored the mechanism in the relation of exporters’ using 3PL and its performance.

Citation

Park, Y.-H. and Jeong, Y.-S. (2016), "An empirical analysis on the performance of the third-party logistics in the Korean exporter", Journal of Korea Trade, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 97-114. https://doi.org/10.1108/JKT-03-2016-006