Research On Retailer's Logistics Performance Measurement

As the foundation of retailing operations, the retail logistics system plays the important role of delivering the "right products" to the "right customer" in the "right place" at the "right time". To retailers, the efficient and effective logistics management is helpful to access and sustain the competitive advantages by offering the cost reduction and customer satisfaction improvement. So the logistics performance improvement is of great importance to retailing performance improvement. But "If you can't measure it, you can't control it, if you can't control it, you can't manage it, and if you can't manage it, you can't improve it." By measuring logistics performance, retailers can identify the contributions resulted from logistics activities to competitive advantage accession and find the logistics improvement opportunities. This makes developing the logistics performance measurement framework and the logistics performance measurement system a premise of retail logistics performance improvement.Science early 20 century, interest has been put on the issues related to the logistics performance measurement. Especially after mid 1970s, there comes a lot of literature in this field. Scholars from North America and Europe research logistics performance measurement from perspective of logistics costs, logistics productivities, logistics service and integration, and put the emphasis on measurement indicators and measurement models. Although domestic scholars do not keep the same pace with their American and European peer in the area of logistics performance measurement, Chinese literatures in this field have been increasing in last decade, which focus on the measurement guidelines, measurement indicators and measurement models mostly. Still, the features of previous literature makes lots of questions remain to answer. They are:What concept a company should have when they measure the logistics performance? Which mode should a company could take to measure the logistics performance? What consists of the logistics performance measurement system? What mechanism can make the system efficient and effective? What the difference between the logistics measurement systems of retailers operating in different logistics modes? What consists of the logistics performance measurement system operating in different logistics modes? In order to explore the answers to the questions mentioned, we propose the approach of retailing logistics performance measurement base on systems theory, contingency theory, management control theory, corporate social responsibility theory and performance measurement theory. Firstly, systems concept, contingency concept and corporate social responsibility concept are taken as the measurement guidelines. Secondly, Balance Score Card is taken as the measurement mode, and the measurement framework is constructed dynamically, the measurement system is developed also. The measurement framework describes the measurement stages and the linkage between them. That is, the logistics performance measurement should begin with the specific goals strived from logistics strategy, and the key logistics performance indicator system is developed by analyzing key factors which impact logistics performance; the measurement standard is set according to the goals and indicators; then measure the logistics performance with proper method, and evaluate the measurement system; take measures to improve the measurement system if necessary. The measurement system we propose consists of four parts:logistics performance objective, logistics performance indicator, logistics performance standard, and logistics performance method. Also we interpret how to integrate these factors effectively.Firstly, we propose the comprehensive approach to measure logistics performance. Previous literature does not offer the guidelines of logistics performance measurement for practitioners to follow. Current research start with the key point of designing and doing logistics performance measurement, propose the measurement concept to facilitate the selection of measurement mode, and development of measurement frame work and measurement system.Secondly, we propose the "customized" balance score card for logistics performance measurement. In current research, the dimension of "social responsibility" is added to the "standard" BSC structure according to the key features of retail logistics system, and the "causal chain" is employed to interpret the linkage between the indicators and integrate the financial indicators and non-financial indicators.Thirdly, we propose the different logistics performance measurement system for the retailers with different logistics mode. Base on the logistics mode conceptual framework, we analyze how logistics mode impact the logistics performance measurement system, and propose four kinds of performance systems according to four types of retail logistics, that is retailer dominant mode, supplier dominant mode,3LSP dominant mode, and co-dominant mode.