Abstract

Purpose - Along with the rapid growth of the economics and IT industry, E-commerce appears as the next potential area of world economics. For this no-entity shops commerce style, logistics is crucial for the success of E-commerce. Research design, data and methodology - In this paper, Dangdang.com, the largest online marketplace in China, is studied and a conceptual model is present, to develop a practical way to develop the logistics system in E-commerce situation. Results - This research finds that following 4 factors are critical success factors for E-commerce logistics: 1) logistics centres are very important to control the inventory management; 2) keep good cooperation with third-party logistics (3PL) can guarantee good quality shipping service and also can reduce delivery costs; 3) build strong information system; 4) quick response system also needed for an efficient logistics system. When E-commerce firms are developing their logistics systems, they should pay more attention to these 4 critical success factors. Conclusions - In summary, successful 3PL management is vital for competing regionally and globally throughout the logistics value chain. We see information system as an enabler in logistics management to get the right products to the right place in the right quantity at the right time and to provide quality services to satisfy the customer's needs.