Logistics and Supply Chain in Malaysia: Issues and Challenges

Abstract

Rather than being viewed as a supportive industry to other functional areas previously, now, logistics has been regarded as a strategic industry on its own. In the Asia Pacific region, the potential for growth is very promising. Despite of the remarkable expansion of the industry; particularly in Malaysia, there has been very little published research in the area of logistics and supply chain resulting in a very limited dissemination of information for the purpose of coordination, learning, advancement and etc. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine the issues and challenges faced by the practitioners as well as the relevant parties involved in the industry. By reviewing the logistics and supply chain management literature in Malaysia followed by a preliminary interviews with five organisations from different sectors, this study found four key issues and problems, namely the operational logistics, service response logistics, information flow, and policy-related issues. These issues have been the hindrance for logistics effectiveness in Malaysia. This paper attempts to open up various issues surrounding this complex and fragmented industry. It thus, provided a base for future