Title: Benchmarking usage of Third Party Logistics: a comparison of practices between firms in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia

Authors: M. Sadiq Sohail

Addresses: Department of Management and Marketing, College of Industrial Management, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, P.O. Box 210, Dhahran-31261, Saudi Arabia

Abstract: This paper presents a comparative analysis on the outsourcing of logistics services by manufacturing organisations in the Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. The study addresses key issues relating to extent of usage of third party logistics services, implementation issues, obstacles and plans of current users of contract logistics services. Results based on a survey shows that there are some differences on the use of contract logistics services in Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. Firms in Malaysia have a longer history of logistics outsourcing as compared to Saudi Arabia. The paper presents a report of these differences and similarities and makes a comparative analysis.

Keywords: outsourcing; logistics services; Malaysia; Saudi Arabia; intermodal transportation; benchmarking; third party logistics; 3PL; manufacturing.

DOI: 10.1504/WRITR.2006.011152

World Review of Intermodal Transportation Research, 2006 Vol.1 No.1, pp.69 - 81

Published online: 19 Oct 2006 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article