Research agenda for e-business logistics based on professional opinions

This study investigated what should be the major research and development areas regarding the logistics of electronic business. The method of study consisted of five elements: the creation of a preliminary e-logistics vision; focus interviews of e-business and logistics experts, identification and categorisation of the key R&D topics, a panel workshop to critically analyse the preliminary findings and prioritise the R&D topics, and formulation of a research agenda to guide future research work in the field of e-business logistics. The two-phased process, where the interviews were followed by the workshop, enabled the evaluation and prioritisation of the preliminary findings. The requirements of e-business on the national logistics infrastructure were found to be one of the focus research areas. According to the study, integrated supply network structure with suitable visibility and usage of real-time data transfer is another area of great importance. Research and development of new logistics service concepts should also be promoted as well as research on the effects and possibilities of using new product data management and product identification methods. Introduction With the growth in new information and communication technologies, managing the flow of information has become as vital as managing the flow of material (Demkes et al., 1999). It is now possible to separate the information flow from the physical material flow if necessary. Furthermore the Internet makes it possible to connect all of those working within a single supply chain, which creates new challenges for enterprises. New technologies are used to try to optimise the supply chain, with the final goal of planning all the enterprise’s activities in as close a relationship to the demands of clients as possible. The outcome of the process should be profitable growth (Ranagan and Adner, 2001). The research register for this journal is available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregisters The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0960-0035.htm Appreciation is extended to the National Technology Agency of Finland for support of this project. The authors wish to thank Jan Holmström, Eila Järvenpää, Juha Luoma and John Sillincer for their helpful suggestions on the earlier drafts of this paper and Hanna PajunenMuhonen, Jarkko Lehtinen and Hannu Yrjölä for active participation during the project.