Interpersonal and inter organisational relationships in supply chain integration: An exploration of third party logistics providers in South Africa
Reid Hoffman, co founder of LinkedIn, was quoted saying, 'No matter how brilliant your mind or strategy, if you are playing a solo game, you will always lose out to a team' Increased competition, globalisation, commoditisation, uncertainty, complexity and demanding customers have changed the business landscape by increasing the importance of product availability (Christopher 2016:15) As a result, firms are driven to act as integrated entities (Vermeulen, Niemann Kotze 2016:2) Through integration, firms can increase the reliability of delivery and improve responsiveness to the changing business landscape (Danese, Romano Formentini 2013:126) Concomitantly, Porter Orientation: Third party logistics (3PL) providers act as integrators between suppliers, manufacturers and retailers whilst providing product movement and logistics information flow throughout the supply chain. Firms have been integrating their supply chains and strengthening relationships with 3PLs to enhance supply chain performance, achieve cost reduction, improve service and shorten lead times. However, the innate association between interpersonal relationships (IPRs) and supply chain integration (SCI) has received little attention in literature.