Challenges and opportunities for logistics standardisation in Asia-Pacific countries: A descriptive case study

Abstract

We discovered that logistics standardisation could pose various challenges due to marked differences in business customs, culture, infrastructure, and government policies. As compared to USA and EU countries, the extent of logistics standardisation in both China and Korea is limited due in part to the lack of promotional and enforcements made by their governments and the absence of regional organisations that can actively initiate and unify multi-national logistics standardisation efforts. Such a lack of logistics standardisation often hampers the rapid growth of the logistics industry in Asia-Pacific countries. Based on case studies, this paper examined the current logistics practices of two emerging economies (China and Korea) in the Asia-Pacific region, identified the lack of logistics standardisation as the sources of their logistics inefficiencies, and then developed theoretical underpinnings of logistics standardisation and its managerial implications for multinational firms which are engaged in global logistics activities. ？ 2014 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.