Modelling and defining logistics service dimensions in electronic commerce

U XXI veku došlo je do značajnih promena u B2C odnosu usled razvoja različitih digitalnih tehnologija. MeĎutim, taj odnos se nije promenio u smislu načina, mesta i vremena u kome se poslovanje/kupovina odvija, već se promenila sama priroda odnosa i širi kontekst ponašanja kupaca. Izvršene su funkcionalne, suštinske i kontekstualne promene u B2C odnosu, pri čemu su izmenjeni i poslovni i socijalni okviri takvog odnosa. Sam koncept B2C interakcije stoga je redefinisan u smislu motivatora i vrednosti, pri čemu su kupci mnogo više aktivniji i participativniji, što B2C odnos čini simbiotičnim. Za prodavce je vaţno da identifikuju najbolje prakse i afirmativne aspekte odgovarajućih kanala prodaje. Čvrsto poslovno razmišljanje, vizionarsko voĎstvo, temeljna analiza konkurencije, finansijska analiza i artikulacija dobro osmišljene strategije e-trgovine od suštinskog su značaja za uspešnu e-prodaju. Prepoznavanje pokretača promena u offline i online prodaji od vitalnog značaja je za kreiranje boljeg kupovnog iskustva. Primenom omni-channel strategije prodavci nastoje da povećaju zadovoljstvo svojih kupaca čije potrebe iz dana u dan postaju sve veće i raznovrsnije. Kupci danas rado prihvataju prednosti koje donosi digitalna tehnologija, npr. uvid u cenu proizvoda jednim klikom miša, iščitavanje komentara ostalih kupaca i eksperata itd. MeĎutim, takoĎe ţele da iskoriste i prednosti koje nude tradicionalne prodavnice, kao što su npr. interakcija licem u lice sa osobljem prodavnice, isprobavanje proizvoda na licu mesta itd. Svaki prodavac treba da ponudi kupcima ono što kupci od njega ţele, a jedan od načina da u tome uspe je da im planirano i precizno pribliţi različite kanale prodaje. Generalno, proces kupovine započinje odabirom proizvoda, zatim sledi isprobavanje ili testiranje, potom se proizvod isporučuje, i na kraju se prihvata/preuzima ili vraća u nekim slučajevima. Poznavanje kretanja kupaca tokom procesa kupovine je od presudne vaţnosti za omni-channel prodavca. S druge strane, nemoguće je kreirati besprekorno kupovno iskustvo ako ne postoji koordinacija izmeĎu svih logističkih procesa. Da bi se zadovoljila potraţnja kupaca sa bilo kog mesta (do bilo kog mesta), odluke o dizajnu mreţe, upravljanju zalihama, skladištenju i transportu trebaju biti usklaĎene sa opcijama realizacije porudţbina i obećanim vremenima isporuke. U dizajniranju mreţe vaţno je uzeti u obzir da je osim za ostvarivanje ekonomije obima i troškovnih benefita, neophodno obezbediti i lokalno prisustvo prodavca. Bez lokalnog prisustva prodavca gotovo je nemoguće kupcima ponuditi kratka vremena isporuke proizvoda. Pored toga, zalihe trebaju biti vidljive u realnom vremenu na svim lokacijama, kako bi prodavci mogli ponuditi različite opcije realizacije porudţbina. Sistemi upravljanja skladištem i transportom moraju se isprojektovati na način da se operacije iskladištenja, pakovanja i transporta obavljaju u okviru obećanog vremenskog roka. Koji kanal prodaje/distribucije je najbolji, odnosno kada se očekuje da će omni-channel strategija zaista dodati vrednost poslovnim ciljevima prodavca, pitanja su koja treba paţljivo obraditi, i koja su upravo obraĎena u ovoj disertaciji. Predmet istraţivanja ove disertacije su dimenzije logističke usluge koje vode ka stvaranju pozitivnog kupovnog iskustva i različiti kanali distribucije u e-trgovini. Na bazi sistematizacije dosadašnjih teorijskih i praktičnih doprinosa u istraţivanjima sistema distribucije proizvoda u e-trgovini, posebno sa aspekta dimenzija logističke usluge, u radu su razvijena dva modela: jedan koji obezbeĎuje podršku odlučivanju o dimenzijama logističke usluge u e-trgovini, i drugi za vrednovanje najpogodnijeg kanala distribucije u e-trgovini sa aspekta e-kupca, e-prodavca i logističkog provajdera. TakoĎe, u disertaciji je predstavljen i alat za merenje i praćenje zadovoljstva korisnika u odnosu na odreĎene dimenzije logističke usluge u e-trgovini. Pomenuti modeli, kao i merni instrument (skala) omogućiće e-kupcima, e-prodavcima i logističkim provajderima da bolje sagledaju i vrednuju različite kanale distribucije u e-trgovini, ali i da definišu ključne dimenzije logističke usluge u e-trgovini koje će dovesti do zadovoljstva krajnjih potrošača.In the 21st century, there have been significant changes in the B2C relationship, due to the development of diverse digital technologies. Nevertheless, this relationship has not changed in terms of the manner, place and time in which a business/purchase takes place; rather, the very nature of the relationship and the broader context of customer behaviour have altered. Functional, essential and contextual changes have been made in the B2C relationship, and both business and social frameworks of such a relationship have been transformed. The very concept of B2C interaction has therefore been redefined in the sense of motivators and values, with customers being much more active and participatory, making the B2C relationship symbiotic. For salespeople, it is important to identify best practices and affirmative aspects of appropriate sales channels. Strong business thinking, visionary leadership, thorough competition analysis, financial analysis, and the articulation of a well-designed e-commerce strategy are essential for successful e-commerce. Identifying the initiators of change in offline and online sales is vital to creating a better shopping experience. By applying the omni-channel strategy, retailers strive to increase the satisfaction of their customers, whose needs are becoming greater and more diverse day by day. Customers today are eager to accept the benefits of digital technology, e.g. insight into the price of the product by a click of the mouse, reading the comments of other customers and experts, etc. However, they also want to take advantage of the benefits offered by traditional stores, such as face-to-face interaction with store staff, on-site product testing, etc. Every salesperson should offer customers what customers want from them, and one of the ways to succeed in that is to bring them closer to different sales channels in a planned and precise manner. Generally, the purchase process begins with product selection, followed by trial or testing, after which the product is delivered, and finally accepted/taken or returned in some cases. Knowing customer movements during the purchase process is crucial for an omni-channel retailer. On the other hand, it is impossible to create a flawless shopping experience if there is no coordination between all logistics processes. In order to meet customer demand from any place (to any place), decisions about network design, inventory management, warehousing and transportation need to be aligned with order options and promised delivery times. When designing a network, it is important to consider that, in addition to achieving economies of scale and cost benefits, it is necessary to ensure the local salesperson presence. Without the local presence of the salesperson, it is almost impossible to offer customers short product delivery times. Additionally, inventory should be visible in real time at all locations, so that retailers can offer different order options. Warehouse and transport management systems have to be designed in such a way that warehousing, packaging and transport operations are completed within the promised timeframe. Thinking which sales/distribution channel is the best, i.e. when the omni-channel strategy is expected to really add value to the retailer’s business goals, implies questions that need to be carefully addressed, and that have been addressed in this dissertation. The research topic of this dissertation are the dimensions of the logistics services that lead towards the creation of a positive shopping experience and different distribution channels in e-commerce. Based on the systematization of previous theoretical and practical contributions in the research of product distribution systems in e-commerce, especially from the aspect of logistics service dimensions, two models have been developed in the thesis: one that provides support to decision-making on logistics service dimensions in e-commerce, and the other for the evaluation of the most suitable distribution channel in e-commerce from the aspect of the e-customer, e-retailer and logistics provider. In addition, the dissertation also presents a tool for measuring and monitoring customer satisfaction in relation to certain dimensions of logistics services in e-commerce. The mentioned models, as well as the measuring instrument (scale), will enable e-customers, e-retailers and logistics providers to understand and evaluate different distribution channels in e-commerce better, but also to define key dimensions of logistics services in e-commerce that will lead to the end-customer satisfaction