Transport Logistics

CHAPTER II: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

DEVELOPMENTS FOR SUPPORTING LOGISTICS

2.1. Advancement of logistics in the information society

In the 1970s and 1980s, information technologies such as LANs (Local Area Networks) and

WANs (Wide Area Networks) were introduced to manage links and nodes in an isolated manner. As

Just-In-Time management became prevalent in manufacturing, it called for Total Quality Management

(TQM) which integrated logistics into other corporate functions. Thereby, link and node management

became part of the overall management approach using innovative information network technologies.

However, up to this stage, one corporation largely controlled the information networks.

In the 1990s, TQM evolved into logistics and at the same time the Internet revolution came to

fruition. The need to manage door-to-door deliveries efficiently on a global scale prompted the

expansion of corporate information networks to include suppliers, dealers, partners, subsidiaries and

alliances in an integrated manner. The necessary integration of logistics operations across the supply

chain has been made possible by the advancement of information technology.

Internet is rapidly becoming a powerful business tool because of its online commercial services

and e-commerce capabilities. The net is ready to become a medium by which companies trade, make

contracts, exchange data and information, discuss designs and locate components.

The application of ICT to transportation has also led to the emergence of Intelligent Transport

Systems (ITS). ITS links individual transportation elements and combines them into a single system

through the use of advanced information technologies. ITS integrates various technologies and

institutional functions to realise efficient, safe and environmentally friendly transport systems. It offers

the potential to improve the efficiency of use of transportation systems by generating additional

capacity from existing physical infrastructure.

With the traditional design approach of transport infrastructure, it is inherently difficult to take

into account dynamic changes associated with logistics. In order to overcome this gap, dynamic

control of logistics operations is necessary. Strategic applications of innovative information such as

Global Positioning System (GPS), ITS, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Commerce

(EC) integrated through the Internet will then become inevitable. The existence of high-performance

information infrastructure will dictate the logistics competence of a country or a region. These

complex and sophisticated information infrastructures will induce interactive processes in logistics

activities.

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