Achieving sustainable operational excellence through IT implementation in Indian logistics sector: An analysis of barriers

Abstract

Information Technology (IT) infrastructure has been integral to operational excellence approaches towards sustainable supply chains. The paper explores the crucial barriers to IT implementation in the largely unorganized logistics sector of an emerging economy, India. Through a comparative study using two separate expert-groups, representing the organized and unorganized logistics sectors respectively, the paper analyses their views on the criticality of barriers in each sector and highlights the sector-specific problems that hinder effective IT implementation. Considering the profiles of the expert groups used, the paper implements Fuzzy-ISM and Fuzzy-MICMAC analysis for one group and IRP for the other to capture and analyze their opinions appropriately. The results obtained from the analyses show that the barriers concerning IT implementation in the unorganized logistics sector (ULS) substantially differ from those concerning the organized logistics sector (OLS) as perceived by the corresponding sector experts. The study ranks the barriers in the two sectors and highlights the focus areas that require immediate attention to strengthen the IT infrastructure of Indian ULS, which suffers mainly from behavioral issues at the organizational level. Focused attention to unorganized sector’s requirements can revive the sector and smoothen its transformation to an organized one as exceedingly demanded by the recent e-commerce boom. The work is perhaps the first to address the Indian ULS. It implements a unique approach: seeks inputs from two different expert groups, implements tools appropriate to the respective panel profiles, and compares their opinions to identify the specific and different requirements of the Indian ULS with respect to IT implementation.