Key Success Factors Identification for Logistics Outsourcing in Myanmar

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to identify the key success factors that have a profound effect on the service quality of outsourced logistics functions in the import/export sector of trade business in Myanmar and rank them accordingly to their importance when outsourcing logistics functions. The paper states the critical elements required for logistics service providers to compete for high customer satisfaction in Yangon, Myanmar. Fuzzy TOPSIS methodology with triangular fuzzy numbers is used to identify the key success factors and rank them in order of their relative closeness to the ideal solution. The findings suggest that soft factors such as skilled logistic professionals and relationship building are ranked higher than hard factors such as supply chain integration and information technology in the developing country of Myanmar with its low maturity of the logistics outsourcing market. The scope of this study and the unstable political situation during the study constrains the ability to generalise the findings in other sectors of the market. This paper uses the Fuzzy TOPSIS approach to rank the key success factors of logistic outsourcing, and future research with different approaches of multi-criteria decision making may be carried out and compared with this study.