Enhancing a Competitive Advantage Through Logistics Management in SMEs: A Case Study of

After the economic crisis in 1997, the Thai government launched the çOne Tambon, One Product (OTOP)é project to boost Thailandûs economic growth and seek competitive advantages that would enable tambons to exceed customersû expectations and enhance market and financial performance. The literature led to the conclusion that OTOP logistics had been overlooked as the Thai governmentûs policy had not given importance to logistics management as a strategic and power tool for creating competitive advantage. The aim of this paper is to examine issues and extend the body of knowledge related to logistics strategies of OTOP entrepreneurs in Thailand. A total of 120 questionnaires were sent out and 106 usable completed questionnaires were received, generating a response rate of 88.3%. The hypothesis was statistically tested using SPSS version 10.0.5. The results indicated that there were strong relationships between OTOP entrepreneursû logistics needs and implementation and enhancing competitive advantage. In addition, factors had strongly contributed and affected logistics operations and implementation. The implications reflected that building and adopting an effective logistics strategy offered opportunities to create sustainable competitive advantage. Further research in the area of logistics design and implementation particular to each OTOP product should be conducted.