Rookie Plan : A New Type of Logistics Service Provider in China

Abstract: With the development of logistics market, the third party logistics can no longer solve all the problems in supply chain management, the appearance of fourth party logistics is a breakthrough solution to modern supply chain challenge. Since China has become the manufacturing center of the world, it attracts more attentions to its own logistics market. But at the same time, there are few studies on Chinese fourth party logistics. This purpose of the study is to research a fourth party logistics service provider in China, including the barriers and the recommendations to promote its development. The fourth party logistics assembles the resources, capabilities, and technologies of its own company and other companies to design, build and run comprehensive supply chain solutions (Foster 1999). The research objectives of the study are 1. Identify what is the smart logistics and the factors comprised smart logistics network in general. 2. Describe the Rookie plan and analysis its property and prospect. And 3. Classify the impact of smart logistics on customer satisfaction or requests, and formulate recommendations on how to improve the performance of Rookie plan. Due to such aims, this research pursues a hybrid method which consists both of survey and case study about the ‘Rookie Plan’. Hereby, not only the secondary data for theoretical framework establishment and information gathering of the case project is engaged, but also the primary data through questionnaire to the sellers on the ecommerce platform named ‘Taobao’. For enhancing the reliability and validity of the survey, the overall process is conducted base on a four step guideline, as well as four-phase data analysis method for analyzing the information. What is more, the overall analysis part is led by PEST model. The integration of all methods above confirm the reliability and validity of the research process. The results of survey show that there is a necessary to bring smart logistics into e-commerce, and there is a huge potential for the development of fourth party logistics.  This study has demonstrated that Rookie Plan, the new type of logistics service provider in China has obtained a significant achievement and bring the customers huge benefits, but it also faced some risks including it cannot guarantee all aspects of this plan can have well function, and the underdevelopment logistics infrastructure also hinder its development. As the reason of achieving a better development of Rookie plan and shining a light for other 4PL companies in China, the recommendations for Rookie Plan are strengthen the planning and construction of logistics infrastructure, promote the development of third party logistics service provider, and accelerate the integration of e-commerce and modern logistics industry.