Analyzing the use of information systems in logistics industry

Information and communication technology (ICT) refer to a family of technologies that facilitate information capturing, storing, processing, disseminating, and providing a supportive role for human activities to enhance organizational efficiency and effectiveness. With the use of ICT, organizations are expected to have better decision-making capabilities and faster execution of activities. Logistics activities in a company consist of a wide scope of processes ranging from planning and implementing material flow and storage, services, and information from the point of origin to the point of consumption. If ICT could be used to support these activities, logistics cost would decrease over the long term and the efficiency of logistics activities would increase substantially. In this chapter, we explain a method for studying the impact of ICT in logistics companies. This type of study is useful to devise a long term business process improvement policy in a country or a region. We suggest methods for collecting data and presenting them through descriptive and statistical analysis. We suggest the use of t-statistic method to test relationships between various variables and ICT implementation. We have provided a hypothetical case study to show the steps in the analysis. We believe that the chapter will be useful to researchers in conducting studies on the impact and suitability of ICT in logistics and other service providing sectors. The results obtained from this type of study can help the decision makers to understand the opportunities and hurdles in achieving greater efficiency in the organizational processes through the use of modern information technology.