Assess the impact of IT on the logistics costs in business supply chain management in Hanoi

The use of information technology (IT) is considered a prerequisite for the effective control of the logistics cost in the operation of today's complex supply chains. Despite the recognized importance of the use of IT for logistics cost management in supply chain management (SCM), the actual number of studies to assess the effectiveness of the use of IT in Supply chain management is still very much limited. In logistics operations, logistics cost is an important factor affecting the competitiveness of enterprises. Enterprises use IT as an ability to enhance competitive advantage through cost-cutting logistics, thus reducing the total cost of goods and services. This study has three basic objectives: (1) to analyze activities in logistics distribution (logistic outbound); (2) to identify the factors that apply IT in SCM and their impact on logistics cost distribution business; and (3) to propose solutions related to the application of IT in logistics cost management to enhance enterprise competitiveness. The study was done by quantitative research methods. Quantitative research is conducted through a questionnaire sent to the objects who are working for IT departments regarding logistics fields of commercial companies in Hanoi. Results of 200 samples are used to serve for quantitative research. Alpha Cronbach coefficient analysis results, explore factor analysis (EFA), and multivariate regression analysis through SPSS 16.0 shows that the logistics cost distribution in supply chain management at the Hanoi Trade Corporation is influenced by the elements arranged in order from the strongest to weakest: IT inventory management, IT management, logistics, IT transportation management, and IT order processing. Results of the study help the businesses understand the impacts of IT application on the cost of logistics distribution, which helps enterprises reduce the costs but still maintain reasonable level of services for the customers. This study only collects samples from the companies in Hanoi city and IT research activities for the distribution of goods in the supply chain, so that the size and quality of the samples is also limited, will not reflect the entire business in Vietnam and the entire supply chain system.