Identification and selection of ICTs for freight transport in product service supply chain diversification
| Pages | 1469-1484 |
| Published date | 14 August 2017 |
| Date | 14 August 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/IMDS-09-2016-0375 |
| Author | Victoria Muerza,Emilio Larrodé,José María Moreno-Jiménez |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information systems,Data management systems,Knowledge management,Knowledge sharing,Management science & operations,Supply chain management,Supply chain information systems,Logistics,Quality management/systems |
Identification and selection
of ICTs for freight transport
in product service supply
chain diversification
Victoria Muerza
Aragon Institute of Engineering Research (i3A), University of Zaragoza,
Zaragoza, Spain
Emilio Larrodé
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza,
Spain, and
José María Moreno-Jiménez
Department of Quantitative Methods, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain
Abstract
Purpose –Following the methodology designed for selecting the best industrial and technological
diversification strategy, one of the best methods for achieving the long-term sustainability of companies,
the purpose of this paper is to describe its application in the service supply chains (SSCs) sector, specifically,
in freight transport in product service supply chains.
Design/methodology/approach –The methodology used in diversification processes comprises four
stages: evaluation of the technological diversification suitability; selection of the technological diversification
strategy; implementation of the diversification strategy; and evaluation of the process.
Findings –The main contributions of the paper are: the proposal of a taxonomy or functional inventory for
information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the freight transport industry (FTI); the introduction
of a new concept, the technological shrub, a variant of the technological tree that allows interdependencies
between the functionality systems; the construction of a technological shrub for ICTs in a standard FTI firm;
and the multicriteria selection, based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), of the best diversification
strategy that can be incorporated by this standard firm for improving competitiveness. This selection utilises
a“bottom-up”approach.
Originality/value –The paper deals with the long-term sustainability of companies by means of
technological diversification strategies. Based on the taxonomy constructed for ICTs in the SSC sector and the
identification of key technologies for a particular firm, a technological shrub is constructed and a multicriteria
procedure is developed in order to select the best diversification strategy.
Keywords Diversification, ICT, AHP-DSS, Freight transport, Product service supply chain
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Supply chain management (SCM) is one of the topics most widely studied in the field of logistics.
SCM has centred on traditional manufacturing-oriented supply chains in which the concept is
defined in terms of the events related to the flow and transformation of goods and services from
the point of origin to the point of use (Buyukozkan and Cifci, 2011). In general terms, there are
four stages: supply of materials; production; storage; distribution and transport.
More recently, researchers have turned their attention to the study of service supply
chains (SSCs), an approach that alters the manufacturing focus, as it is related to the
intangibility, simultaneity, heterogeneity and perishability of the activity (Lo, 2016).
The same author contends that SSCs are often characterised by high customer involvement,
less structured processing and intangible products that cannot be standardised or stored.
Other definitions of SSCs are provided by Ellram et al. (2004) who define SSC management
Industrial Management & Data
Systems
Vol. 117 No. 7, 2017
pp. 1469-1484
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0263-5577
DOI 10.1108/IMDS-09-2016-0375
Received 15 September 2016
Revised 6 January 2017
28 March 2017
29 March 2017
Accepted 5 April 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-5577.htm
1469
Identification
and selection
of ICTs
with respect to the management of information, processes, capacity, service performance
and funds, from the first supplier to the end-user. Peng et al. (2009) offer a twofold
interpretation: in the first, a SSC is seen as the associated service activities of the traditional
supply chain; the second demonstrates the application of traditional supply chain theory in
the service sector. Cho et al. (2012) argue that suppliers contribute to the production of
services as customers that are usually in direct contact.
Tang et al. (2014) envisage an SSC as a network of service organisations engaged in
activities that include the supply of the different service components, products or activities
and a wide range of participants in both the private and public sectors. At the same time,
Wang et al. (2015) distinguish two types of SSCs: service only supply chains which are
defined as the supply chain systems in which the “products”are pure services (physical
products do not play a role); and product service supply chains (PSSCs), which manage
physical products with significant service considerations. Following the latter authors,
this paper focusses on PSSCs, more specifically, freight transport companies.
Diversification seems to be an appropriate strategy in several contexts –the common
objective being to provide the company with a reduction of the global risk derived from
dependence of one or several activities. In addition, the exploitation of synergies in different
business and markets supposes a competitive advantage due to the sharing of resources
and capacities. However, the decision to undertake a diversification process is full of
uncertainty (Muerza et al., 2016) and must be studied in-depth. Diversification of SSC
companies is generally motivated by innovations in information and communication
technologies (ICTs). The last few decades have been marked by a clear trend towards
globalisation and electronic commerce based on the use of new technologies.
Transport represents a third of logistics costs and has a strong influence on the
performance of logistics systems (Tseng et al., 2005). ICTs modify parameters of use and
operation and their incorporation in companies boosts competitiveness. Freight
transportation is a major element of the economy and has had to adapt to changing
economic trends (Royo et al., 2016). Freight transport service companies should incorporate
ICTs into their services or use them in a process of diversification which would make the
company more competitive.
With the objectiveof adapting to new scenarios and customer requirements, the company
must determine ifit possesses the suitable resourcesand technologies for carrying outa new
activity. In order to provide an appropriate response to this question, the main aim of this
paper is to determine if a freight transport service company could exploit its key ICTs for
developing a diversification process based on these technologies. The construction of a
functionalinventory for ICTs in the freight transport service industry, the identification of the
key ICTs for a standard freight transport industry (FTI) firm and the selection of the best
ICTs based diversification strategy following a bottom-up approach are three specific
objectives of the paper.
Moreno-Jiménezet al. (2012) and Muerza et al.(2014) proposed a methodologicalframework
that serves as a guideto companies considering a technological diversification process (TDP).
Using the TDP methodology described in the previous works and beginning with the
technological tree of the firm, we are able to select the services that require innovative ICTs
which fit the strategic planning of the company and improve its competitiveness.
This is carried out by means of the application of the Analytic Hierarchy Process
(AHP). This simple, intuitive and flexible multicriteria technique is one that best captures
changes in philosophy ( from mechanistic reductionism to evolutionist holism),
methodology ( from the search for truth to the search for knowledge), and technology
(communication networks) that took place in the latter years of the twentieth century
(Altuzarra et al., 2007). AHP permits the integration of multiple scenarios, actors and
criteria, both tangible and intangible. It has also become one of the most commonly used
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