KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND LOGISTICS: WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE MIGHT GO TO

Abstract: By the commonly accepted theory, today's logistics processes and systems are characterized by an increasing complexity and by the need for global networking to cope with the growing diversity of logistics problems; because of this, knowledge is becoming more and more a strategic resource in logistics. But some questions remain unanswered: How far has implementation of knowledge management methods gone in the logistics practice? To what degree does the supposed (theoretical) relevance of investments into knowledge and knowledge management match the actual priority of several knowledge management activities as shown by the respective investment volume? How do knowledge-related investments change a company's logistics performance? In order to answer those questions, a survey was run with German and Portuguese logistics companies on the relevance of knowledge and knowledge management for executing logistics processes, on the need of investment into knowledge and knowledge management activities in logistics, and on the eventually existent relationship between knowledge and logistics performance. To analyze the impact of knowledge management on a company's logistics performance a model has been developed which contributes to an economic assessment of knowledge management and the analysis of its potentials. As a result, a qualitative determination of the state-of-the-art in implementing and applying knowledge management in the logistics practice was produced. Specifically, severe differences between the German and Portuguese reality turned out, although it has been quite challenging to derive statistical benchmarks for an optimal use of knowledge in logistics from the small amount of responses received. The paper will present conclusions drawn from the use of the methodology and a list of recommended actions derived from this respectively.