Issues and Challenges in Logistics Companies in Singapore

This research study aims to explore the issues and challenges of logistics companies in Singapore, with a focus on XYZ Logistics. The study will address the problems faced by the logistics industry, such as inefficient warehouse operations and management, driver shortages, and rapid increase in e-commerce. The research paper will provide recommendations to improve warehouse planning and address these challenges.

Running head: RESEARCH PAPER
A research study to identify the problems faced by XYZ Logistics and to suggest
solutions to improve the warehouse operations
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................5
1.1 Background of the study..........................................................................................5
1.2 Research aim and objectives...................................................................................6
1.3 Research questions.................................................................................................6
1.4 Research rationale...................................................................................................7
1.5 Structure of the paper..............................................................................................7
2. LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................................9
2.1 Warehouse logistics.................................................................................................9
2.2 Benefits of warehouse management in logistics operations.................................10
2.3 Challenges in warehouse management................................................................13
2.4 Warehouse management in e-commerce business..............................................14
2.5 Environmental impact of warehouse management...............................................15
2.6 Factors of warehouse planning..............................................................................16
2.7 Warehouse planning and logistics.........................................................................17
2.8 Summary................................................................................................................19
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...................................................................................20
3.1 Research philosophy.............................................................................................20
3.2 Research approach................................................................................................21
3.3 Research design....................................................................................................21

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3.4 Research strategy..................................................................................................22
3.5 Data collection process..........................................................................................23
3.6 Sampling................................................................................................................23
3.7 Data analysis process............................................................................................24
3.8 Ethical considerations............................................................................................25
4. CASE STUDY..............................................................................................................25
4.1 Findings..................................................................................................................26
4.2 Descriptive statistics: Mean value findings............................................................32
5. DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................36
5.1 Recommendations.................................................................................................40
6. CONCLUSION.............................................................................................................43
6.1 Future scope of study............................................................................................45
References.......................................................................................................................47
Appendix..........................................................................................................................52
Gantt chart.......................................................................................................................57

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List of figures
Figure 1: Warehouse management system......................................................................9
Figure 2: Warehouse material flow and logistics.............................................................11
Figure 3: Tenure of the respondents...............................................................................25
Figure 4: Type of products warehoused..........................................................................26
Figure 5: Type of logistics services provided with their percentage in the downstream
supply chain.....................................................................................................................26
Figure 6: Major logistics problems...................................................................................27
Figure 7: Warehousing services and capabilities............................................................28
Figure 8: Major warehousing problems...........................................................................29
Figure 9: Perception on implementing warehouse management software.....................29
Figure 10: Factors that can be addressed to improve warehousing efficiency in planning
and management.............................................................................................................30

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List of tables
Table 1: Mean values of service types............................................................................32
Table 2: Mean values of problem factors in logistics......................................................33
Table 3: Mean values for warehousing challenges.........................................................34
Table 4: Mean values for the factors that need improvement.........................................35

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1. INTRODUCTION
The logistics companies in Singapore face quite a few issues and challenges that
affect the efficiency of these companies and also the performance of the clients. As
highlighted by Phua (2018), the logistics network and the resources in Singapore do not
perform in an optimized manner in the delivery process of the goods and as a result, the
stakeholders face severe impact on their businesses, such as, loss of business
opportunities, loss of goodwill and reputation and loss of profits. The issues originate
from both the internal and external factors, such as, inefficient warehouse operation and
management, driver shortages, extreme traffic condition on the roads resulting in delays
and rapid increase in the e-commerce, which creates tough challenges for the logistics
companies to deliver numerous products on time and in a shorter time (Yu et al. 2016).
Thus, this research study aims to explore the issues and challenges of the logistics
companies in Singapore with a particular focus on XYZ logistics. The research paper
will contain a full research report based on primary data analysis that would address the
research issue, that is, issues and challenges of the logistics companies in Singapore.
The paper will commence with research aim, objectives, research questions, followed
by an extensive literature review, research methodology, analysis and interpretation of
the data and ends with conclusion and recommendations.
1.1 Background of the study
XYZ Logistics is a newly established warehouse team that is facing some
challenges due to lack of experience in the operation and management of the
warehouse, which result in improper warehouse planning and that is affecting the

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business of the client, Samsung Asia Pte Ltd. Being a new company, XYZ Logistics
face various challenges in efficient operation management, such as, improper
warehouse planning, wastage of resources, lack of inventory accuracy, delay in supply,
etc. There are various external challenges as well. Thus, this study will address these
issues to get an in-depth overview of the XYZ logistics and the overall industry .
1.2 Research aim and objectives
The aim of the research study is to explore the logistics industry of Singapore
and evaluate its problems and challenges in an extensive manner to recommend
solution to improve the operation and management of the warehouses and improve the
operational efficiency of case study organization, that is, XYZ Logistics.
The research objectives are:
 To explore the logistics industry of Singapore and evaluate its performance
 To investigate the problems of the logistics companies that affect their
performances
 To evaluate the challenges faced by the logistics companies in Singapore that
have impact on the businesses as well as on the stakeholders
 To recommend solutions to XYZ logistics to improve their warehouse planning
and address other challenges to improve their performance
1.3 Research questions
1) What are the factors of success of a logistics company?
2) What are the challenges that the logistics companies in Singapore face that
affect their productivity?

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3) How the challenges of the logistics companies can be addressed to improve their
performance?
1.4 Research rationale
The warehouse operations of XYZ Logistics were facing problems with their daily
functioning which has led to unsatisfaction from the client. It is continuously receiving
complaints from the customers for inefficient operations. Hence, this study is aimed at
finding solutions for the logistics company to reduce the customer complaints and
ensure that all the KPIs are achieved. In a broad sense, the study has two implications.
Firstly, the researcher will contribute significantly in the academic world by addressing
the issues and challenges of a newly established logistics warehouse company in
Singapore. There are various problems that affect the performance of the logistics
companies; however, in this study a new company, that is, a small organization will be
explored to find out the impact of the issues on a new and small logistics business.
Secondly, the recommendations will be beneficial not only for XYZ logistics, but also for
the logistics industry of Singapore so that these issues or challenges can be addressed
in a more precise and efficient manner and performance of the logistics companies of
any scale and size can be improved.
1.5 Structure of the paper
Chapter 1 will present the introduction for the study. This chapter contains the
introduction to the research topic, along with background of the study, research aim and
objectives, research questions, research rationale and structure of the paper. This
chapter gives an overview of the research study and the paper.

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In chapter 2, the researcher presents a comprehensive and extensive literature
review, which contains knowledge gathered on the research subject from numerous
past literatures of other scholars. This chapter makes the readers acquainted with the
research subject and also helps to create a context for the present study.
Chapter 3 presents research methodology, which contains the plans and actions
taken by the researcher to collect the information for the study and analyze those using
appropriate manner to address the research questions.
Chapter 4 contains analysis of the data, presentation of the findings and
explanation or interpretation of the findings. The findings are of the analysis are
presented through charts, graphs and tables for easier comprehension of the
information and descriptive method is used for explanation of the findings.
Chapter 5 is the last chapter that presents the concluding remarks on the
research study and recommendations to the case study company based on the data
analysis findings. In this chapter the researcher establishes the connection between the
research objectives and findings and future scope of the study is presented.

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2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Warehouse logistics
Warehouse is a significant part of logistics operations and management. The
businesses that are involved in manufacturing, importing, exporting or supplying or
transporting goods, have the primary requirement of a warehouse. The businesses can
have a better control over the inventory and can ensure timely delivery of products if
they have a well managed warehouse. As stated by Christopher (2016), logistics are
defined as detailed planning, organizing, managing and implementing complex
operations involving both physical goods and information. Hence, it covers various
complex business factors. The warehouse logistics include various operations such as
inventory management, damaged goods handling, warehouse pest control, customer
returns, human resource management and safety policies. De Koster, Johnson and Roy
(2017) highlighted that warehousing or warehouse planning and management and
logistics of a firm should be aligned to get the most efficient impact on the overall
manufacturing and supply of production as well as on the outbound logistics activities.
Hence, collaboration between these functions should be utilized in an efficient manner
while also high level of synchronization should be maintained for the purpose of
garnering the most effectiveness and efficiency within the business operations of the
firm along with the supply chain.
However, there are differences in warehousing and logistics even though these
two are integral parts of supply chain network. Warehouse is the place for safe storage
of products, information, inventories etc. within a specified area. On the other hand,

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logistics refers to the functions of transportation of products, managing warehouses,
internal movement of the products and information etc. starting from the manufacturing
plant to the end customers through supply channels and vice versa. Thus, it can be said
that, warehouse and its management is a crucial logistic operation and the purpose of
both is to ensure timely delivery of products and efficient inventory management
(Orjuela-Castro, Herrera-Ramírez and Adarme-Jaimes 2017).
Figure 1: Warehouse management system
(Source: Senko.co.jp 2019)
2.2 Benefits of warehouse management in logistics operations
As stated by Ding (2013), there are quite a few benefits of controlled warehouse
and the primary benefit is the increased revenue. When the warehouse operations are

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managed smoothly, the inventories are properly managed also, such as, the right
product is sent at the right time and whenever the stock is getting finished, it is
replenished on an immediate basis. There will be fewer errors in the picking process
and all the people and processes and the systems operate in an efficient manner.
Hence, fewer problems and fewer errors lead to maximized revenue. Thus, Richards
(2017) supported with the argument that an efficient warehouse management system in
the logistics firms can ensure accurate and real time inventory control regarding counts
and locations, decrease the return cases by sending the correct item at the first time.
Moreover, the warehouse management system can auto-replenish the inventory stocks,
which reduces time waste by replenishing the stocks even before it is completely out of
stock. Automated warehouse management system also helps in maximizing the floor
space to store more stock of inventory. Along with that, warehouse management under
logistics operations results in better demand planning, improved transparency and
visibility of the products and spaces, stock traceability, less picking errors in the stock
and optimized work processes, efficient allocation of labor and improved customer
services. Hence, these factors lead to reduction in the operational expenses of the firms
and generate more revenue.
However, there are some factors that need to be considered in warehouse
logistics. As stated by Ghiani, Laporte and Musmanno (2013), the human resources
should be trained adequately to operate the software and other systems to manage the
warehouses efficiently. In other words, the logistics employees should have adequate
training and knowledge on the warehouse management system, equipment and
software to perform or run the system efficiently else the purpose of the automated

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system will fail. The logistics network must be efficient too for achieving efficiency in the
warehouse management system. Apart from that, any changes within the warehouse
must be tracked and updated in the system on a timely manner so that problems can be
quickly detected and handled effectively in a faster manner. Moreover, the warehouse
logistics are dynamic and the changes in the needs and demands can change at any
point of time. These can change with the physical needs of the products, stock of
inventories, efficiency of the employees, and other technological factors. Hence, to
achieve the maximum success of the warehousing, the tools and procedures must be
handled and controlled by trained employees and for this, proper training should be
given to the employees to handle the equipment and systems of the warehouse
management in the logistics firms in the efficient manner.
Figure 2: Warehouse material flow and logistics
(Source: Interlakemecalux.com 2019)

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Faber, De Koster and Smidts (2013) conducted their study on investigating the
role of warehouse management on handling the task complexity and market dynamics.
The authors mentioned that warehouse management is often treated as cluster of
planning, control decisions and processes and it is driven by the market dynamics and
task complexity. It is measured by the planning extensiveness of the logistics firm,
control sophistication and complexity in the decision rules. There are differences
between the production and distribution warehouses in terms of the assortment
changes and the planning extensiveness. The authors also found that task complexity is
apparently the main driver that determines the specificity of the warehouse
management system. Thus, it can be inferred that the nature of processes followed in
warehouse management in the logistics firm are dependent on the nature of task
complexity as well as on the type of warehouse, that is, whether it is a production
warehouse or distribution, as the nature of products or inventories also get changed.
Hence, it is important for the firm to understand the specific complexities and process of
its product type and implement specific measures for the warehouse management
system.
2.3 Challenges in warehouse management
Warehouse management is not an easy task. As it has some benefits, it also has
some challenges. Friemann and Schönsleben (2016) highlighted that the global supply
chain of the pharmaceutical industry is usually exposed to risk and warehouse capacity
planning can reduce the risk if it can be successfully incorporated in the strategic supply
chain planning process. The warehouse planning in the pharmaceutical industry is
generally characterized by high level of uncertainty and limited level of transparency of

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information within the companies. This situation often results in clashes among the local
warehouse managers. Thus, it can be inferred from this study that in many industries,
the transparency in the information and uncertainty level create challenges for efficient
functioning of the warehouses, which in turn affects the effective performance of the
logistics companies. Hence, warehouse capacity planning process can be improved by
breaking it down to basic and simpler steps so that each process or step can be
controlled with minimum effort and sometimes, software can be used for warehouse
capacity planning. However, at the same time, the managers should also be able to
assess the risk exposure of the business and its supply chain to take precautionary
measures.
2.4 Warehouse management in e-commerce business
E-commerce is the new trend in business and the scope of e-commerce is
booming and in the next few decades, the e-commerce business will take over the
world. Yu et al. (2016) highlighted that large number of organizations are entering into
the e-commerce industry and the logistics that are operated in the background are not
only getting influenced by the e-commerce business, but also it influences the business
performance. The authors focused on the state-of-the-art logistics in the e-commerce
supply chain management from practice perspective. According to the authors, the e-
commerce logistics require more efficiency in their warehouse management as the time
for delivery is much shorter in the e-commerce business and the delivery goes directly
to the end customers. Hence, as opined by Laudon and Traver (2016), not only efficient
management of inventories are required, but also various other practices are
implemented, such as, faster quality check of the products, verifying the correct address

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of the recipient and transportation of the goods, and all these practices should be done
in the most efficient manner with minimized error in the system. If the rate of errors is
high, not only the delivery gets delayed and rate of product exchange and returns
increase, but also the businesses lose their reputation and their profit falls in a rapid
manner as the market competition is very high.
2.5 Environmental impact of warehouse management
Fichtinger et al. (2015) highlighted a sustainability aspect of the integration of
warehouse management and inventory management. Sustainability is a major issue in
the modern world. All human activities have a significant impact on the environment and
the supply chains are no exceptions. According to the authors, the supply chains have
severe impact on the environment through its transport activities. However, it is also
found that not only transportation, there are other activities or operations of the
warehouse that affect the environment. The proportion of emissions from the
warehouse is very high and it emanates from the heating, air conditioning, cooling, and
lighting of the warehouse. The level of emissions depend on the size of the warehouse,
which in turn depends on the level of inventory management, which affects the stock
holding capacity of the warehouse, its design and organizing planning and the space
taken by the specific amount of inventories. Thus, the authors suggested that not only
the supply chain network, but also the organization and planning of warehouse are
highly important to assess the environmental impact and to take actions accordingly to
reduce the impact. An efficient warehouse planning not only helps in organizing the
inventories for efficient supply but also reducing the environmental impact by reducing
the size of the warehouse through efficient space management. Decisions on the supply

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lead times, storage equipment and the quantities of reorder, all influence the costs of
the logistics firm and also affect the emission level and hence, it is important for the
logistics companies to address the environmental impacts of the warehouse through
efficient organization and planning. In can be inferred from this paper that planning of
warehouse is an extremely important issue for the logistics companies as that can
improve its operational efficiency and increase profits and at the same time, reduces the
impact on the environment.
2.6 Factors of warehouse planning
Guthrie, Parikh and Kong (2017) mentioned in their study that product class
distribution planning process can be applied as a warehouse planning strategy. Varying
life cycles of products is a major factor under warehouse planning and logistics
companies. Many products have a stable demand for throughout the year, while some
products face seasonal demand, which is short lived. Apart from the coordination of the
inventory management and transporting decisions, the planning in warehouses must
consider both types of product classes with different demand. Hence, for efficient
organization and planning, the warehouse managers should consider the distribution
cost, workforce plan, workload variation and distribution network along with other factors
such as, product demand and life cycles. This strategy would reduce inventory waste
and increase profits for the business.
Zhang et al. (2017) highlighted the need for an integrated planning for warehouse
management and efficient logistics operations. Space crisis is a major challenge for the
warehouses. Warehouse planning includes strategies for using the limited space for
numerous products in the most efficient manner and reduces wastes and cost and

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increases profit for the logistics and supply chain businesses. By using software and
mathematical programming application, this issue can be solved. As large scale data is
involved, it is always wise for the logistics companies to use software for warehouse
planning, as that would reduce the error in planning, managing and supplying and
increase efficiency and profit.
Onstein, Tavasszy, and van Damme (2019) focused on distribution structures
and it includes demand level, product characteristics, land and labor, service level,
accessibility and logistics cost. Hence, to establish an efficient system, it must be noted
that a logistics company must address these factors in their warehouse planning.
Karim, Rahman, and Shah (2018) highlighted three failure factors in the
Malaysian logistics industry and those are warehouse utilization, inventory space
utilization and labor productivity. Hence, these factors must be considered by the
logistics companies while formulating a success strategy.
2.7 Warehouse planning and logistics
de Leeuw and Wiers (2015) highlighted in their study on the importance and
strategies of warehouse manpower during the financial crisis in the context of logistics
service providers and retailers of Netherlands that the economic crisis had a severe
impact on the transport and logistics companies. During any economic crisis, the
turnover of the companies drop significantly and hence, they take the strategy of cost
reduction for survival. Manpower planning in the warehouse has proved to be effective
for cost control and reduction during an economic crisis. It has been found that
manpower planning strategies are quite effective and there is a significant relationship

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between the reductions in turnover and manpower planning strategies in the logistics
service providers and retailers of Netherlands. The authors also found that flexible
planning of the employees and workload balance are the most effective manpower
planning strategies that helped the companies to counter the effects of the economic
crisis in the nation through cost cutting. Hence, the authors concluded that the
warehouse management system must incorporate efficient manpower and operational
planning as a key strategy to overcome the negative impacts of financial crisis in the
economy. It can be inferred that the logistics operations largely depends on the human
resources of a company and hence, by efficient warehouse management and planning,
the efficiency of the logistics operations can also be improved.
On the other hand, another study by Kembro, Norrman and Eriksson (2018)
focused on the adaption of warehouse operations and design to omni-channel logistics
and the authors found that in multi and omni-channel logistics, consumer demand and
its impacts were more emphasized than the warehouse operations. Various aspects of
warehouse and logistics operations, such as, management and organization of
materials and information flow, management of inventories, resources were explored in
this study. The authors identified and categorized ten themes in the omni channel
logistics in two groups, namely, value proposition and channel management and
physical distribution network design. These operations are combined with the themes
and general warehousing knowledge for establishing an efficient warehouse logistics.
Thus, it can be said that only manpower planning is not sufficient for efficient warehouse
management and logistics operations, but various related operations also need to be

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efficient and properly planned to have a cost effective warehouse logistics, which uses
omni-channel.
Ling et al. (2015) showed in their study that information technology play a
significant role in the development of warehouse management. Information technology
has made warehouse planning and management more efficient than the manual
methods. The authors highlighted that usage of advanced computer network
communication technology is quite useful in changing the traditional pattern of the
warehouse management. The warehouse management information system has become
a popular choice in the case study organization (Hongxing Logistics Company) for
restructuring and planning the warehouse management and business processes.
Implementation of information technology in the warehouse planning has made the
system more efficient and has led to reduction in the cost of the logistics company
effectively, and met the demand of the warehousing logistics services.
2.8 Summary
From the literature review, it can be said that there are various factors that must
be combined together to have an efficient warehouse planning and management.
Manpower planning, usage of information technology, distribution network, space crisis,
demand level, product characteristics, land and labor, service level, accessibility and
logistics cost are some of the basic elements of an efficient warehouse planning, which
need to be addressed by the logistics companies to reduce the operational cost and
designing an efficient warehousing management systems. However, these factors can
also possess challenges for the companies, which can hinder the business growth if not
designed or implemented properly. This study explores the particular issues of XYZ

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Logistics to understand the challenges faced by a new and small logistics company and
how those can be overcome in the most efficient manner to have a profitable business,
especially while working for a large client like Samsung Asia Pte Ltd.
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the strategies and actions undertaken by the researcher to
conduct the study in the most rational and proper manner. Research methodology can
be defined as the plans and actions to identify, collect and analyze the information
required to address the research questions (Kumar 2019). It represents the thoughts
and vision of the researcher, adopted to conduct the study in the logical and
unambiguous manner. Research methodology consists of various aspects, such as,
research philosophy, research approach, design, strategy, data collection process,
sampling, data analysis process, ethical considerations and timeline. These aspects are
explained below.
3.1 Research philosophy
This represents the sets of beliefs or assumptions regarding the source and
nature of the data, its collection and analysis process and these help to determine the
philosophy to be chosen to conduct the study (Hughes and Sharrock 2016). The most
commonly used research philosophies are positivism, interpretivism, realism and
pragmatism. While positivism enables the researcher to apply scientific method on the
numerical data, interpretivism is applied when the researcher applies interpretation skills
to analyze non-numerical or qualitative data (Ryan 2018). Realism is applied for
assessing the reality perspectives of the research issue and pragmatism is the

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application of both the qualitative and quantitative methods of research to answer the
research questions (Hamlin 2015). In the given study, interpretivism philosophy was
followed as the researcher explored and interpreted qualitative information to get an
overview of the factors that create challenges for the warehouse planning and
management for XYZ Logistics.
3.2 Research approach
This represents the broad strategies taken by the researcher for planning the
data collection and analysis process (Creswell and Poth 2017). Inductive and deductive
are two types of research approached. Under inductive research, the researcher needs
to explore the research topic in a new perspective and generate new theories. General
observations are analyzed to give specific inference on the research topic. On the other
hand, deductive research approach allows the researcher to examine the research topic
on the basis of established theories, that is, specific observation is studied to give a
general inference on the issue (Zalaghi and Khazaei 2016). In the given study,
deductive research approach is being used as the researcher studied the particular
issue of a company to get an overview of the research issue on the challenges of
warehouse planning for a small and new company.
3.3 Research design
Research design refers to the basic plan and steps to collect the information for
the study and analyze them to address the research issue (Meyers, Gamst and Guarino
2016). The most commonly used research designs are descriptive, correlational,
experimental and semi-experimental. Among all these, descriptive research design was
chosen to conduct the study. As stated by Nassaji (2015), descriptive research design

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can be referred to the scientific process that involves observation and description of the
behavior of the subject without influencing it in any manner. Hence, it can be said that
descriptive research mainly focuses on describing the nature of the subjects to get the
findings of the research problem through exploration. As in this study, the factors that
create challenges for the logistics companies in Singapore and hamper the efficient
functioning of these companies and warehousing were explored, the observations
would be described through exploratory study and thus, descriptive research design
was the most suitable research design.
3.4 Research strategy
As mentioned by Bell, Bryman and Harley (2018), research strategy refers to the
step-by-step action plan representing the vision and thoughts of the researcher that
enable the researcher to conduct the study systematically by applying right techniques
for data collection and analysis. Case study, interviews, survey, action research,
archival research, narrative inquiry, and grounded theory are some most commonly
used research strategies. In this research, case study research strategy has been
chosen. The benefit of case study strategy is that it presents the research issue in a real
world scenario and gets the findings in a more feasible and practical manner for the
organizations (Hancock and Algozzine 2016). In this study, XYZ Logistics is the case
study organization, for which the factors of warehouse planning and its challenges were
investigated and the findings would be suitable to give an overview about the small and
new logistics companies in Singapore that face similar challenges for their efficient
functioning.

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3.5 Data collection process
In a research study, both primary and secondary data can be used. The data
which is collected directly from the field of study through interviews, survey, focus
group, observations, etc. is known as the primary data. On the other hand, the data
which is collected from the authentic secondary sources, such as, journal papers,
books, industry reports and other publications, government websites and publications,
official websites of companies, news articles etc. is known as secondary data (Johnston
2017). This research study entailed the collection of both primary and secondary data.
Primary data was collected through a survey method. The employees from
various logistics provider were chosen for participating in the survey process. The
survey questionnaire contained 8 questions on the issues and challenges faced by the
warehouse industry of Singapore. The questionnaire was prepared with close ended
questions with replicable scales, such as, 5 point rating scales, and the survey was
conducted by using online tool, that is, Google form. This was a convenient method for
conducting a survey which is less time and cost consuming. Secondary data was
collected from various peer reviewed journals and books and analyzed in the form of
literature review. It was also used to provide additional information on the warehouse
and logistics industry of Singapore to get a more in-depth insight about the research
issue.
3.6 Sampling
Sampling is essential for primary data collection. Since, the population for the
study is large and it is not possible to study the entire population, hence, by using
appropriate sampling technique, a small subset is drawn from the larger population

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bearing the same characteristics. It helps in getting the outcome in a more accurate
manner (Pitard 2019). There are two types of sampling, probability and non-probability.
In case of the former, each sample has the equal and random probability of being
selected, while in case of the latter, each sample does not have the equal and random
chance of selection and it mostly depends on the judgment and rationality of the
researcher. In the given study on the warehousing and logistics industry of Singapore,
to conduct the survey, the research applied non-probability sampling to select 50
employees from various logistics supply providers. Convenience sampling method was
chosen, which is based on the convenience of proximity and accessibility of the sample
(Etikan, Musa and Alkassim 2016). Thus, on the basis of the convenience of access of
the employees of the logistics companies, 50 employees were chosen to conduct the
survey for primary data collection.
3.7 Data analysis process
In the given study, quantitative data analysis methods were applied to get the
findings from the data gathered through survey method. The survey responses were
collected in a replicable scale, that is, 5 point Likert scale, in which 1 represents least
favorable and 5 represents most favorable. The responses were converted into numeric
values and quantitative methods, such as, descriptive statistics were performed on the
data to get the findings. The mean values of the responses were calculated to interpret
the average major challenges in the industry, which was beneficial to design the
recommendations for focusing on the issues and overcoming those.

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3.8 Ethical considerations
The study has maintained some basic ethical considerations, such as, the
originality of the paper was maintained by citing all the information correctly.
Furthermore, data confidentiality was maintained and the information was stored in the
university library database under the Personal Data Protection Act. Anonymity condition
was maintained, that is, no personal information of the participants was collected and an
informed consent was taken from all the participants before taking part in the survey
process. No respondent was forced to participate in the survey, that is, they had the
right for voluntary participation.
4. CASE STUDY
As mentioned in the research methodology, 50 employees of different logistics
service providers were selected using convenience sampling technique to conduct the
survey for primary data collection on the research topic. Google form was used for
preparing the survey questionnaire and circulating the form for the survey. The survey
questionnaire contained 8 close ended questions and the answers were collected using
replicable scale. To understand the challenges faced by a new and small warehousing
and logistics company in Singapore, XYZ Logistics, which provides logistics service to
Samsung Asia Pte Ltd., the survey was conducted. The questions revolved around the
type of products warehoused by the companies, their logistics services, with percentage
in the downstream supply chain, Major problems in the logistics in their companies,
warehousing services and capabilities, Warehousing problems that create challenges
for the companies, perception on the importance of warehouse management system
(WMS), and the factors that can be addressed to overcome the challenges faced by the

26RESEARCH PAPER
companies. The responses were converted into numeric values for analysis and the
pattern in the responses are depicted through visual tools, such as, charts and graphs.
4.1 Findings
The survey starts with years of association of the employees with their service
providers.
Figure 3: Tenure of the respondents
It is seen that among the 50 employees selected through convenience sampling,
majority (32%) are associated with their companies for more than 10 years. 26% are
working for 1 to 5 years, 24% are working for 6 to 10 years and 18% are associated for
less than 1 year. This implies that majority of the respondents are quite experienced
and hence, have a good knowledge about the warehouse and logistics industry of
Singapore.

27RESEARCH PAPER
Figure 4: Type of products warehoused
Regarding the type of products that is warehoused by the companies, it is found that
majority (34%) replied with perishable goods, followed by 30% replied with finished
goods, 28% said non-perishable goods and only 8% replied with semi-finished goods.
Thus, it can be inferred that perishable and finished goods consist of the majority of
goods warehoused. Hence, the time and speed of delivery as well as accuracy of
delivery by minimizing packing and shipping errors are a crucial factor in the warehouse
planning and logistics service in Singapore.
Figure 5: Type of logistics services provided with their percentage in the
downstream supply chain
In the context of what type of logistics services are provided by the companies and their
percentage in the downstream supply chain, 8 types of services were identified and

28RESEARCH PAPER
listed, namely, carrier selection, warehousing, inventory management, customs
clearing, freight forwarding, distribution, packaging/labeling and import/export
management. Almost all companies provide all these types of services; however, the
percentage for the services in the downstream supply chain varies. It can be found from
the chart above is warehousing, inventory management and distribution are the three
major services provided by these companies, followed by packaging/labeling. Thus, this
question gives an idea about the type of services provided by maximum logistics
companies of Singapore, especially in the downstream supply chain.
Figure 6: Major logistics problems
The fourth question addressed the major problems faced by the logistics companies.
The employees were asked to rate 9 problems on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 denotes
least challenging and 5 denotes most challenging. The problems or challenges were
collected from the literature review for the study. Those are lead time, tracking of goods,
cost, loading and unloading times, reliability, shipping errors, packing errors, delivery
errors, manpower planning, and technological issues in the logistics management, that
is, application of software. It has been found that apart from lead time and reliability, the
other issues were marked challenging by the respondents. Hence, it can be inferred that

29RESEARCH PAPER
all these issues are present in the industry and are quite crucial for influencing the
efficiency of the logistics and warehouse operations.
Figure 7: Warehousing services and capabilities
In the context of warehousing services and capabilities of the logistics companies, few
divisions were listed, such as, E-commerce, pick/pack and assembly, crossdocking,
distribution centre management, site selection, transloading and vendor managed
inventory. The survey results revealed that the logistics companies mostly provide the
pick/pack and assembly service, e-commerce, and distribution centre management
services. Other services are also provided, but the percentage is quite high for the three
above mentioned services and capabilities.

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Figure 8: Major warehousing problems
The sixth question asked the employees to rate the particular problems faced by their
logistics companies regarding warehousing and these problems are space crisis and
management, manpower management and planning, transport infrastructure, lack of IT
and software for warehouse management, inventory management, cost, rate of packing
error, shipping error, and delivery accuracy. On a scale of 1 to 5, it is seen that all these
factors were rated as mostly challenging. It infers that there are quite a few problems in
the warehousing services of the logistics companies in Singapore, all of which has a
significant impact on the efficiency of the performance of the companies.
Figure 9: Perception on implementing warehouse management software
The participants were asked whether the performance efficiency of the warehousing
and logistics service provider companies could be improved by implementing
warehouse management software technology. The results show that 40% of the
respondents strongly agreed to this followed by 30% who agreed to this. Hence, it
indicates that the employees in this industry understand the necessity of technology,

31RESEARCH PAPER
that is, application of software to operate or manage the operations of a company in a
more efficient manner.
Figure 10: Factors that can be addressed to improve warehousing efficiency in
planning and management
Lastly, the employees were asked to rate the factors on a scale of 1 to 5 that can be
addressed by the companies to improve the operational efficiency. The factors that
were listed were accuracy in timely shipping and delivery, efficient manpower planning,
inventory management, reduction in error rates for packing, shipping and delivery, cash
flow management, reduction in loading and unloading time and quality and risk
management. It has been found that all the above mentioned aspects are quite
significant for influencing the operational efficiencies of the companies. All the factors
were rated favorable and most favorable for achieving efficiency in the warehouse
planning and logistics in Singapore.
4.2 Descriptive statistics: Mean value findings
To find out the average response pattern on different aspects of the factors and
challenges of the warehouse as well as the common issues as per significance,
descriptive statistics was performed on few variables. The factors, on which the

32RESEARCH PAPER
respondents were asked to put a rating based on the level of challenge or the factors
which could be addressed by the companies to improve the warehouse planning, were
used for conducting the descriptive statistics study or mean value study. The findings
are as followed.
Logistics services provided by the companies and their percentage in the
downstream supply chain:
3.a. Carrier selection 2.88
3.b. Warehousing 3.38
3.c. Inventory management 3.12
3.d. Customs clearing 3.32
3.e. Freight forwarding 3.3
3.f. Distribution 3.26
3.g. Packaging/ labelling 3.36
3.h. Import/export management 3.4
Table 1: Mean values of service types
Regarding the type of services provided by the logistics companies with its percentage
in the downstream supply chain, the percentages were replicated on a scale of 1 to 5, 1
denoting 10%-25%, 2 denoting 25%-50%, 3 denoting 50%-75%, 4 denoting 75%-100%
and 5 denoting N/A. it is found that carrier selection has a mean value of 2.88, which
shows its contribution range is less than 50% in terms of the services provided by the

33RESEARCH PAPER
companies. Rest of the services has the mean values between 3 and 4, indicating that
all these services account for around 75% of the downstream supply chain.
Major problems in the logistics in the companies:
4.a. Lead time 2.68
4.b. Tracking 3.3
4.c. Cost 3.42
4.d. Loading and unloading times 3.46
4.e. Reliability 3.22
4.f. Shipping errors 3.66
4.g. Packing errors 3.78
4.h. Delivery errors 3.7
4.i. Manpower planning 3.76
4.j. Technological issues in logistics
management
3.94
Table 2: Mean values of problem factors in logistics
Regarding the problem factors of the logistics operations in the companies, the above
mentioned issues are all significant logistics problems, with mean values in between 3
to 4, except for lead time. The average for packing errors, delivery errors, manpower
planning and technological issues, that is, lack of automation or management software
are close to 4, which implies that these are more crucial issues. This indicates that all

34RESEARCH PAPER
these are present in the logistics operations of the companies and these are quite major
issues in the logistics industry of Singapore.
Warehousing problems that create challenges for the logistics companies:
6.a. Space crisis and management 4.14
6.b. Manpower management and planning 4.22
6.c. Transport infrastructure 4.16
6.c. Lack of information technology and
software
4.28
6.d. Inventory management 4.18
6.e. Cost 3.98
6.f. Rate of packing errors 4.22
6.g. Shipping errors 4.16
6.h. Delivery accuracy 4.16
Table 3: Mean values for warehousing challenges
Regarding the warehousing problems, that is, issues with warehouse planning and
management, it can be seen that the average response values for the above mentioned
factors are quite high. The responses were collected on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5
denotes most challenging, it is seen that only for cost, the responses have an average
of 3.98. For the rest of the factors, the average value is more than 4, indicating that all
these are quite serious challenges for warehousing in the logistics industry of
Singapore.

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Factors that can be addressed to improve the efficiency of the warehousing of the
logistics companies in Singapore:
8. a. Accuracy in timely shipping and
delivery
4.1
8.b. Efficient manpower planning 4.16
8. c. Inventory management 4.2
8.d. Reduction in error rates 4.14
8. e. Cash flow management 4.04
8.f. Reduction in loading and unloading
time and quality
4.16
8.g. Risk management 4.12
Table 4: Mean values for the factors that need improvement
The above table shows the average responses for the factors that can be addressed by
the logistics companies to establish an efficient warehouse management. In other
words, these factors indicate the KPIs that can be addressed by these companies for an
effective warehouse planning and management. The responses were collected on a
scale of 1 to 5 with 1 denoting least favorable and 5 denoting most favorable. It is seen
that all the 7 factors mentioned in the table have average values more than 4, which
indicates that all these factors are significant and the companies should incorporate
these in order to implement efficient warehouse planning and management.

36RESEARCH PAPER
5. DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
It has been found from the study that the logistics sector of Singapore faces quite
a few major challenges that create obstacle for their efficient functioning. Warehousing
or warehouse planning and management are a part of the logistics operations and
hence, efficient functioning of the warehouse is essential to have efficient logistics
operations. According to a report by Ie.enterprisesg.gov.sg (2019), the logistics industry
of Singapore is not only growing globally, but is also evolving with latest technology and
business needs. Singapore was ranked first in Asia in 2014 by a study on the logistics
services by World Bank. There is excellent connectivity and world-class infrastructure,
large investments, a base of leading industry players and customers and leadership and
knowledge on the logistics operations and businesses, all of which has helped the
logistics industry of Singapore to grow substantially and rapidly. Along with that, the
industry provides services like transportation, warehousing, point-to-point delivery,
reverse logistics, vendor managed inventory, pick/pack and assembly, distribution
centre management, site selection, crossdocking, transloading and e-commerce, all of
which has been emphasized as warehousing services and capabilities in this sector by
the employees who participated in the survey for primary data collection. Thus, it can be
said from the survey findings that these services are included in the industry, however,
the pick/pack and assembly, e-commerce and distribution centre management are three
major warehousing services and capabilities provided by majority of the logistics
companies in Singapore. Furthermore, the sector has gained international reputation for
high class quality and reliability, which has made Singapore a preferred logistics and
supply chain management hub in the Asian market.

37RESEARCH PAPER
As stated by Ajol, Gran, and Ali (2018), some common warehouse problems are
lack of communication, space management, high cost of labor and other equipment,
inefficient use of automation technology, lack of inventory accuracy, redundant
processes and picking optimization. From the primary data analysis, some factors are
found that are common with the above mentioned ones. Thus, it can be said that the
primary data analysis is valid as the findings are similar with that from some secondary
sources.
Another report by Edb.gov.sg (2019) shows that the nature of logistics industry is
changing across the world and Singapore is no exception. The trading opportunities in
Asia are growing massively, which is helping the logistics industry grow rapidly.
Moreover, the rise of e-commerce across the world has changed the dimensions of the
logistics industry in the domestic as well in the international market. From the survey
results, it has been seen that along with e-commerce, the traditional services are still
present in the logistics and warehouse operations in this industry of Singapore,
however, there is a need for improved technology, such as, warehouse management
software for achieving more efficiency in the operations and increase profitability of the
industry. The average response pattern in the survey showed that majority of the
respondents believe that implementation of software or technological improvement is
highly necessary to overcome challenges in warehouse planning and management.
Digitalization is helpful in both large and small scale logistics companies in establishing
efficient planning and management of the warehouse, which includes inventory
management, space management, reduction in errors in packing, shipping and delivery,
cost, transportation etc. These aspects of warehousing are extremely essential for any

38RESEARCH PAPER
type of goods, such as, finished or semi-finished and perishable or non-perishable. The
findings from the secondary information on the industry are thus aligned with the
findings from the primary data analysis.
According to a study by Huang (2019), the implementation of Warehouse
Management System (WMS) is essential for maintaining and enhancing the
competitiveness of Singapore as the leading logistics hub of the world. The author
found that the implementation of WMS in small scale in the logistics industry of
Singapore can be attributed to the small players in the market and hence, a government
support is required for full and large scale adoption of the WMS in these small
companies to help them to increase their scale of operations. The authors also stated
that merging of the small players with the larger ones will be beneficial for the sector as
that would help both the companies to reduce their errors and implement more efficient
control measures. It has also been found that there is significant difference in the level
of warehouse sophistication between the small and medium-large warehouses and
hence, the operational efficiency also differs significantly. Thus, WMS can be used in a
large number of functionalities, such as, technology contents, and automation in
planning and management. However, the smaller logistics companies are weak in their
ability in integrating the software and supporting the warehouse automation. The
warehouses in Singapore are evolving towards more and more automation to reduce its
cost and increase profits, and hence, the WMS developers can be benefitted from this
business opportunity. The author also highlighted that the deployment status of the
WMS in the small companies are lesser than the perceived usefulness and hence, there
are scopes of improvement in the business functionalities with proper implementation of

39RESEARCH PAPER
the WMS in the logistics sector. Thus, the findings from the primary data is aligned with
is study.
The primary data also highlighted the major problems faced by the logistics
sector of Singapore and more specifically the challenges of the warehouse planning and
management in that sector. It has been found that although the industry has earned
international expansion and reputation for quality and reliability, there are quite a few
challenges that affect the efficient functioning of the warehousing and logistics in
Singapore. Under the logistics operations, as per the survey results, the major issues
are tracking of the orders and supplies, cost of operations, loading and unloading times,
shipping, packing and delivery errors, manpower planning and lack of technology. All
these are extremely essential aspects of the business operations of the companies and
all need to be paid high attention. The synchronization of all these functions helps the
companies to achieve efficient business operations.
Regarding the challenges of warehouse planning and management, it has been
found from the survey that space crisis and management, manpower, transport, lack of
advanced information technology and software, inventory management, and packing,
shipping and delivery accuracy are the major issues for the companies, especially for a
new and small company like XYZ Logistics, which also faces a challenge of high cost of
operation, resulting in inefficient services to the clients. Warehousing includes all these
services and according to the average responses on these, the companies should focus
on all these factors for improving their performance.

40RESEARCH PAPER
5.1 Recommendations
The survey participants were asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 on the factors that
can be addressed by the companies to enhance their warehousing and logistics
performance. It has been found that according to the participants, the logistics
companies should focus on the following aspects for improving their efficiencies.
 The companies, especially the small scale companies, like XYZ Logistics, should
pay attention on ensuring accuracy in timely shipping and delivery of products. In
order to achieve this, the supply and distribution network has to be strong. The
companies should not only try to establish a string network with the suppliers and
distributors, but also should ensure that the internal functionalities, that is, timely
packing is done with minimized errors. It will help in reducing cost of wastes and
also will reduce the reverse logistics through returns and exchanges.
 Efficient manpower planning is very crucial. The employees should be given
training on their particular job roles, so that the operations become less time
consuming overtime and the human errors in receiving order, sorting, packing,
assembling, shipping the right product to the right address and delivery time are
minimized. This will also help in reducing the operational cost and increase profit
for the business.
 Inventory management is another crucial factor for warehouses. As seen from
the survey results, perishable goods consists of a large portion of the goods
warehoused and hence, it is extremely essential to not only store those properly,
but also distribute those to the proper places in a timely manner so that the

41RESEARCH PAPER
products are not wasted. That would help the companies to reduce their cost of
operations.
 Following the above point, the companies should also focus on cash flow
management. By implementing software and efficient human resources, the
errors should be minimized, which will benefit the company in increasing profits
by reducing the business losses through waste of products and delivery errors
and times.
 For operating with a large scale client, as seen in case of XYZ Logistics and its
client, Samsung Asia Pte Ltd., the company should reduce the loading and
unloading time and maintain the quality of the products during loading and
unloading. This can be followed from the efficient manpower, in which the
employees should be trained to maintain the quality check for the products during
loading and unloading and at the same time, reduce the time for these activities.
 Warehousing and logistics operations are subject to risks in the global business
situations and economic cycles. The logistics company must be prepared for any
type of contingencies as it handles inventories for different industries. Hence,
along with inventory management, the companies should also focus on risk
management regarding its products that are warehoused and the types of
services they provide. Hence, risk management software should be installed for
automated and efficient risk calculations and management operations.
 Space management is also an important aspect of the warehousing. The new
and small companies often face this challenge of efficient space management for
the inventories due to lack of experience in planning. Hence, the companies

42RESEARCH PAPER
should implement technology, that warehouse management software for efficient
space management and other operation planning. Vertical storage should be
implemented for efficient utilization of space. Application of such software will
benefit the companies to automate various functions and planning as well as will
help the companies to achieve efficiencies through reduction in errors, and time
in dispatching and delivering the right products at the right addresses. This way,
the companies can reduce its losses and increase profitability.
 Internal communication should be improved under all circumstances. Lack of
communication results in commotion among the teams and sometimes with the
customers. When the logistics companies fail to establish the open
communication with the clients, especially for the shipping of products, it has a
negative impact on the future profitability of the businesses. Lack of
communication also leads to lack of coordination among the teams affecting the
business negatively. Hence, XYZ Logistics and other such companies should
focus on establishing a good communication network among the employees and
also with the customers so that internal business problems can be identified
faster and also a network with the customers can be established which will
benefit the business in the long run.
Thus, it can be said that new and small logistics companies in the logistics industry of
Singapore should focus on implementing technical tools, like warehouse management
software (WMS) to reduce its time and errors in business operations like packing,
shipping and delivery, space management, inventory management, manpower planning
and training, cash flow management and quality management. Along with that, there

43RESEARCH PAPER
should be improved internal communication regarding all activities in the business
operations.
6. CONCLUSION
The objectives of the study were to explore the logistics industry of Singapore,
evaluate the challenges faced by the logistics companies that affect their business
performances and have impact on the stakeholders, and to investigate and recommend
the factors that can be addressed to overcome the business challenges. Hence, it can
be said that the nature of the study was exploratory, as the factors or challenges of the
logistics industry were investigated and evaluated to understand their impact on the
logistics business. Primary data was collected through a survey on 50 employees of
various logistics service providers to gain an idea about the warehousing and logistics
problems in Singapore. The survey results were converted into numeric values and the
descriptive statistic were performed on the variables to get the average values of the
response pattern to conduct this exploratory study.
It is found from the survey results that majority of the logistics companies that the
survey respondents belonged to are involved in e-commerce supply and distribution,
pick/pack assembly and distribution centre management. There are other services and
capabilities also such as, transloading, cross docking, vendor managed inventory and
site selection. Thus, the range of services and capabilities for these companies are
large and warehousing is one of the major parts of the logistics business, which has
some different challenges than the overall logistics businesses. However, there are also
some common challenges, such as lack of communication, inefficient utilization

44RESEARCH PAPER
manpower, lack of transport infrastructure, errors in packing, shipping and delivery,
increased time and quality defect during loading and unloading, inefficient risk
management, cash flow management, problems in space and inventory management,
and delivery accuracy. From the primary and secondary data analysis, it can be said
that although Singapore is becoming the international hub of the logistics business
among the Asia, the small players in the market face quite a few challenges as
mentioned above. The large logistics companies operate globally and they have better
infrastructure, capital and supply and distribution network and hence, the challenges
faced by the big companies can be handled efficiently. However, the small logistics
companies mainly operate in the domestic market and they lack the adequate capital for
implementing expensive WMS technology or handle other challenges efficiently. These
companies not only require efficient manpower management, but also require
equipment and technology for space management, risk and cash flow management,
and inventory management. The supply and distribution network also be built in a strong
way to maintain and enhance the business relationships with the clients.
One significant aspect can be highlighted in this study that implementation of
software is always beneficial for the warehousing and logistics industry. Without
automation or technology application, the companies need to depend on the manpower
to handle every warehousing activity, which has resulted in large number of human
errors. From organizing the inventories, picking up the right product as per the order,
packing, shipping and accurate delivery, all these aspects are influenced by human
error, which affect the business of these companies negatively. Hence, to maintain a
profitable business, the logistics companies must reduce their delivery time and

45RESEARCH PAPER
increase the accuracy of delivery. Implementation of technology, such as, warehouse
management system or software, is highly beneficial as it introduces automation in the
business operations, which helps in reduction of errors in the warehousing activities.
The spaces can be efficiently planned and utilized, the schedule of the employees can
be managed effectively, risk and cash flow management can be easier and faster and
delivery accuracy can be increased by reducing the human errors with the help of the
WMS. Hence, the small scale logistics companies of Singapore should focus on
implementing WMS to enhance their business performance.
Thus, from the study, it can be said that despite Singapore being an international
hub for logistics business, the government should focus on improving the domestic
sector of logistics and warehousing by providing support to the small companies so that
they can implement better technologies and management systems and enhance their
business performances.
6.1 Future scope of study
This study has focused on exploring the factors or challenges faced by the
companies in the logistics industry of Singapore. Thus, it is an exploratory study and
through the survey and secondary literature analysis, various issues have been
identified that have significant impact on the warehousing and logistics sector of
Singapore. Thus, the future researchers can focus on any of these challenges and can
evaluate the impact of that particular challenge on the business performance of these
companies. A large scale logistics company can also be studied to understand its
business operation strategies and that can help the small companies in the industry in
improving their business operations by implementing new techniques. The impact of

46RESEARCH PAPER
these specific factors can also be studied on the relationship with the clients of the
logistics companies.

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Appendix
Survey Questionnaire
1. Please mention your years of association with the logistics company
a) Less than 1 year
b) 1 – 5 years
c) 6 – 10 years
d) More than 10 years
2. What kind of products your company warehouse?
a) Perishable
b) Non-perishable
c) Finished
d) Semi-finished
3. Which of the following Logistics service your company is providing and with what
percentage in the downstream supply chain? (Please select all that apply)
10%-25% 25%-50% 50%-75% 75%-100% N/A
Carrier
selection
Warehousin
g
Inventory
management
Customs
clearing

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Freight
forwarding
Distribution
Packaging/
labelling
Import/
export
management
Others
(Please
specify..)
4. Please rate what according to you are the major problems in the logistics in your
company? (1 = least challenging, 5 = Most challenging)
1 2 3 4 5
Lead time
Tracking
Cost
Loading and
unloading
times
Reliability

54RESEARCH PAPER
Shipping
errors
Packing
errors
Delivery
errors
Manpower
planning
Technologica
l issues in
logistics
management
5. What are the warehousing services and capabilities of your company? (Please select
all that apply)
a) E-commerce
b) Pick/pack and assembly
c) Crossdocking
d) DC management
e) Site selection
f) Transloading
g) Vendor managed inventory
6. Please rate the warehousing problems that create challenges for your company (1 =
least challenging, 5 = most challenging)

55RESEARCH PAPER
1 2 3 4 5
Space crisis
and
managemen
t
Manpower
managemen
t and
planning
Transport
infrastructure
Lack of
information
technology
and software
Inventory
managemen
t
Cost
Rate of
packing
errors
Shipping

56RESEARCH PAPER
errors
Delivery
accuracy
7. Do you agree that the efficiency of the warehouse planning can be improved by
implementing warehouse management software?
a) Strongly disagree
b) Disagree
c) Neutral
d) Agree
e) Strongly agree
8. Please rate what factors can be addressed to improve the efficiency of the
warehousing of the logistics company (1 = least favourable, 5 = most favourable)
1 2 3 4 5
Accuracy in
timely
shipping and
delivery
Efficient
manpower
planning
Inventory
managemen
t

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Reduction in
error rates
Cash flow
managemen
t
Reduction in
loading and
unloading
time and
quality
Risk
managemen
t
Gantt chart
Month
Task 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Making a strategy
Making a framework
Literature review
Primary data collection
Conducting survey
Data analysis
Presenting the findings
and discussion
Providing the
conclusion
Thesis submission

58RESEARCH PAPER
(Created by author)