Role of Information Technologies in Supply Chain Management

Abstract

Logistics Information Technology (LIC) is a key enabler of effective supply chain management activities. In 2015, $300 billion was spent on LIC by businesses worldwide, an increase of 1.8% and 3.8% over 2016 and 2017, respectively. With such large investments, companies run the risk of deteriorating financial performance if the (LIC) does not work as expected. In fact, there is a mix of evidence, some companies benefiting from the (LIC) while others do not benefit from the investment in the LIC. Despite substantial research on the use of information technology in a Supply Chain Management context, the impact of the LIC on business performance is unclear. In particular, the existing literature has reported conflicting results regarding the relationship between the LIC and the company's performance. Therefore, the purpose of our article is to investigate the roles of information technologies in SCM and to highlight this extremely important area of research. We find that the LIC is not universally associated with improving the performance of the company. In particular, LIC has several characteristics, and each characteristic is related to different performance indicators.