Defining and Measuring Communication Flexibility for Smart Logistics

后勤服务的提供在很大程度上依赖于有效的组织内、特别是组织间的信息交流和通信，而信通技术被视为关键的推动因素。托运人(发货人)、承运人和客户(收货人)之间的有效沟通有助于促进合作关系，减少不确定因素和与业绩有关的错误，从而提高业务效率和客户反应能力。基于最先进技术的创新物流实践通常被称为智能物流，即灵活并能够应对不确定因素。拟议的研究是关于如何通过定义和衡量通信灵活性的角度，了解如何利用信息和通信技术特别是互联网的最新进展带来的更高的连通性和可见性，用于创新的物流供应(‘智能物流’)。尽管近年来人们对物流灵活性的概念给予了极大的关注，但仍缺少一个关键的维度--即通信灵活性。尽管信息和通信技术在支持灵活运营方面的深远影响得到了充分认识，无论是在供应链层面还是制造层面，学术研究人员在评估物流背景下的组织间沟通方面需要更严格的方法。这是这项提议的主要驱动力和新颖性。组织间沟通的灵活性是指企业在应对不断变化的环境时能够配置和重新配置其信息联系的程度。主要目标是建立一个概念模型，以捕捉沟通灵活性的关键指标，并随后通过大规模调查来验证该模型。因此，将建立一种适当的方法来评估沟通灵活性水平及其对后勤绩效的影响，从而为这一重要但在很大程度上被忽视的问题奠定基础。这项研究所需的数据将通过三个焦点小组讨论、六个案例研究和对700多家公司的调查来获得，这些公司瞄准了英国的托运人、运营商和ICT提供商。拟议的研究也是及时的，因为它调查和巩固了物流领域的关键新兴技术，例如使用全球定位系统的实时跟踪技术和基于云计算解决方案的电子物流市场。它们单独使用或结合使用，将促进不同级别的组织间沟通。这类技术是最近才出现的，因此，通过纳入这些技术，本研究增进和更新了我们对在物流领域使用信通技术的知识。因此，这项研究对从业者具有重大价值，因为它将指导他们合理利用这些新兴技术，并利用它们获得竞争优势。

The provision of logistics services relies heavily on effective intra- and particularly inter-organisational information exchange and communication to which ICT is seen as a key enabler. Effective communication among shippers (consignors), carriers and customers (consignees) helps to foster collaborative relationships, reduce uncertainties and performance-related errors, thereby enhancing operational efficiency and customer responsiveness. Innovative logistics practices that are based on the use of the state-of-art technologies are often referred to as 'smart logistics', i.e. flexible and able to cope with uncertainties. The proposed research is about understanding how increased connectivity and visibility enabled by recent advances in ICT, particularly the Internet, could be harnessed for innovative logistics provisions ('smart logistics') through the lens of defining and measuring communication flexibility. Even though much attention has been focused on the logistics flexibility concept in recent years, one critical dimension is missing - namely, communication flexibility. While the profound effect of ICT in supporting flexible operations, be it at supply chain level or manufacturing level, is well recognised, academic researchers need a more rigorous approach in assessing inter-organisational communication within the logistics context. This is the major driver and novelty of this proposal. Inter-organisational communication flexibility here is defined as the extent to which the firms are able to configure and reconfigure their information linkages in responding to the changing environment.The main objectives are to develop a conceptual model capturing the key indicators of communication flexibility and subsequently validate the model using a large scale survey. As a result, an appropriate method for assessing the level of communication flexibility and its impact to logistics performance will be established, thus laying the foundation for this important yet largely overlooked subject. The data required for this research will be acquired through three focus group discussions, six case studies and a survey of seven hundred plus companies targeting shippers, carriers and ICT providers in the UK. The proposed research is also timely; as it investigates and consolidates the key emerging technologies in the logistics field for instance real time tracking technologies using Global Positioning System (GPS) and electronic logistics marketplaces based on cloud computing solutions. Used separately or in combination they will facilitate interorganisational communication at different levels. Such technologies only emerged recently and therefore by incorporating them, this study advances and updates our knowledge towards the use of ICT in the logistics field. Consequently this research is of great value to practitioners as it will guide them to make sense out of and leverage such emerging technologies for competitive advantages.