农村物流外文文献.docx

1、Freight logistics services for rural economies: User needs and future challengesAngela Cristina MarquiMartin J. KollingbaumLiang ChenTimothy J. NormanPeter EdwardsJohn D. Nelsondot.rural RCUK Digital Economy Research Hub, University of AberdeenAbstract: The purpose of this paper is to identify requi

2、rements for logistics and transport services of small and micro rural businesses. This paper explores the empirical findings of two case studies of small rural business. These findings suggest that businesses are confined to small-scale commercial activities due to a basic communication and informat

3、ion sharing problem. We argue that, in order fbr businesses to operate on a larger scale, appropriate support for the logistics requirements of rural businesses calls fbr intelligent software platforms that provide solutions to this basic problem. We suggest the use of Electronic Logistics Markets (

4、ELM) fbr choosing services and infrastructures to manage trans-shipments in an efficient manner and to allow service providers to offer certified services, via trusted third parties.Key words： Logistics and transport solutions, freight transport, digital economies, intelligent agents.1 IntroductionT

5、oday9 s rural economy is a complex mix of commercial activities, where food production coexists with tourism, recreation, and various public and private services (HM Government, 2002). A significant potential fbr growth has been recognised fbr the rural economy (Lowe and Ward, 2007) and with the adv

6、ent of the digital economy, online sales systems and information platforms become enablers, in particular, for small and micro rural businesses to expand their commercial activities beyond local and regional areas.Although selling products to consumers without geographical boundaries is now a realit

7、y, there is generally no straightforward strategy fbr how businesses handle the logistics of distributing their products globally. We, therefore conducted a detailed study into how small rural businesses operate and, in particular, how the delivery of goods to customers is planned and managed. We id

8、entified the phenomenon of small businesses establishing localised “eco systems” - a company producing goods is working together with one or two trusted transport service providers fbr delivery and, often, are serving only a small clientele with their products.The purpose of this paper is to identif

9、y logistics and transport needs of micro and small rural businesses. The paper also seeks to examine the use of existing logistics solutions and their applicability in a rural business context. Ultimately, we aim to elicit the features required of a software solution that aids businesses within the

10、rural economy to overcome logistics issues.With businesses delivering to wider target markets, there is also now a growing need to consider the environmental impact of their logistics operations. An example of how technology can help in tackling such issues is the MIT m-Logistics initiative (MIT Cen

11、ter fbr Transportation Logistics, 2010), which presents a mobile software platform that can enable distribution of products to low-income markets with substantially lower overhead. The remainder of this paper will outline the theoretical background to the empirical investigation; address the method

12、fbr data collection; show the results of the fieldwork followed by discussions pointing out key requirements fbr logistics services faced by small rural business. Finally, future challenges and conclusions provide some insights into the kinds of digital technologies that could be applied in order to

13、 establish solutions to these requirements.2 Logistics Customer ServiceCustomer service is a process for providing significant value-added benefits to the supply chain in a cost effective way” (La Londe et al., 1988, p. 5). From a logistic perspective, customer service is the result (output) of all

14、logistics activities or processes within the supply chain (logistics system) (Ballou, 2004, Lambert, Stock and Ellram, 1998). Over the years, the meaning of customer service presented here has been identified in different ways, including logistics customer service (Huiskonen and Pirttila, 1998) and

15、physical distribution service (Mentzer el al., 1989). In this study we use the term Logistics Customer Service (LCS).La Londe and Zinszers work (1976) is among those seminal in the discipline of logistics. They classify the elements of LCS in terms of pre-transaction elements, transaction elements,

16、and post-transaction elements (Figure 1). This classification was used as the basis for the development of our study. This perspective of the logistic system is particularly useful in this research for grouping into one single model the key elements of interest. Other frameworks based on the principle of integrated business processes across the supply chain (Lambert, Cooper and Pagh, 1998) would add complexity that is not relevant to small rural business, even