IT Alignment in the 3PL Industry: A Comparative Study

Abstract : This research article reports the findings of a survey-based comparative study on current IT utilization by 3PL firms in the United States (US) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). The findings reveal that in general the level of IT utilization and IT focus of 3PL firms in the PRC are lower than that of their counterparts in the US. This may result in a bigger gap between customer expectations and experiences relating to IT capabilities of 3PL firms as observed in the Annual 3PL Studies. The gap may due to a misalignment in IT strategy and infrastructure between the 3PL firms and their customers. The contribution of this study is that, through the comparative analysis, it reveals the possible causes of the continuing IT capability expectation/performance gap as disclosed by the annual global 3PL studies and points to a potential solution to narrow the gap.