Digital competitiveness and logistics performance

 

Logistics and supply chain management have become a way of life in modern society. From my morning coffee which is brought to my doorstep in five minutes, to the reconfiguration of global transportation and trading networks, logistics has transformed the world we are living in. 

But to what extent does logistics performance depend on our digital prowess and our adoption of modern technological advances? And is digital competitiveness the only prerequisite for logistics and trade performance? One would tend to think that the answer is obvious; but it is not. 

We have met technologically advanced countries lagging in logistics performance, but also logistics champions falling short in digital applications. To further explore this, we use comparable data from 50 countries, from the World Digital Competitiveness Rankings (WDCR) and the Logistics Performance Index (LPI). By integrating objective weighting (CRITIC), efficiency measurement (DEA) and categorical pattern analysis (MCA), we show that stronger logistics performance reduces uncertainty and information asymmetry costs. 

Digital prowess, however, is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for logistical performance and trade efficiency. For digitalization to be effective, other things need to be present too. These include land infrastructure, city-port relations, customs facilitation, last-mile investments, data-governance frameworks, well trained human capital, cybersecurity infrastructure and knowhow, and more (see HE Haralambides (forthcoming), “Ports, shipping and trade: the 40 years odyssey of a story-teller”. Amazon publishing, 2026). 

Many thanks to my coauthors Emrah Akdamar and Ersin Firat Akgul for an excellent research cooperation.

(published Open Access)