The role of IT in logistics
Competitive advantage or strategic necessity?
Rémi Founou
Management de Systèmes Logistiques (MSL)
Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Abstract
I nf or mat ion technology i s a “hot ” topic. Consultant , software and hardware companies, the spe-cializ ed press and even some academic spresent IT as the cornerstone to firm’s performance. This claim is even stronger in the logistics sector where the development of the Internet and re-lated technologies has opened some unexpected possibilities. However , despite this enthusiasm, some earlier work in IT research has called for a more prudent view on IT, stating that IT does not automatically provides the firm with a competitive advantage.
In this paper, using both the position- based and resource-based views , we develop a framework for analyzing the contribution of IT in the logistics sector .We conclude that IT will contribute to competitive advantage in limited cases and that most often the “strategic necessity ” hypothe-sis will apply. We suggest a dual approach to information technology strategic management: on one hand, the firm should develop the capability to implement efficiently some “standard” so-lutions on an opportunity-based approach;on the other hand, it should embed its IT system in the organization with a strong top management commitment and a clear strategic alignment.