Respondents from medium and large firms believed that freight consolidation approach could directly influence collaborative freight distribution. The findings of the study extend the existing knowledge of Sutherland (2003) and showed that partner selection in collaborative freight distribution is influenced by freight consolidation approach. The results revealed that sample firms are likely to evaluate partner’s goals and objectives regarding to an intention to improve inbound and outbound of product flow, reduce distribution costs, improve delivery flexibility, and improve the flow of product returns through optimizing the location of the
226 freight consolidation terminal. Respondents also perceived that potential partners are required to be intended to improve delivery time at each drop-off point, reduce travel distance, and decrease fuel consumption by considering an appropriate geographical coverage of the consolidation terminal. Moreover, firms are likely to investigate partners’ capabilities and complementary skills regarding to vehicle sharing for the purpose of reducing transportation costs, as well as decreasing the number of delivery vehicles and drivers for improving transport mode utilization. Nonetheless, respondents perceived that peer relationship between top management is critical. It would allow firms in the relationship to accelerate joint distribution operation and make decision regrading to location of freight consolidation terminal, geographical coverage, and transport modes utilization. This is supported by Faisal and Akhtar (2011) who asserted that top managements have power to redesign and reform firms’
organization structure, vision, mission and policy. Moreover, they are able to persuade employees to act accordingly. Hence, employees would be encouraged to learn new working environment. Overall, freight consolidation approach could influence partner selection in collaborative freight distribution.
With respect to fair benefits and risks sharing that would be influenced by freight consolidation approach, respondents perceived that it is essential to consider location, geographical coverage of the terminal and vehicle utilization, in order to improve sales and on-time delivery of all firms in the relationship. For example, firms in the relationship could improve on-time delivery and sale when the freight consolidation terminal is located at the most appropriate location.
This would also allow newspaper companies to cover geographical region more effectively. As the result, all newspaper companies in the relationship could reduce delivery time fairly.
In the aforementioned process, information technology would play an important role (Esper &
Williams 2003; Mentzer, Foggin & Golicic 2000). Respondents believed that effective information sharing with respect to location of newspapers that need to be delivered would allow all firms in the relationship to manage product flow more effectively. For example, newspaper companies could improve services level by assigning newspapers from the closest alliance freight consolidation terminal to a particular destination via market-based system or collaborative planning and forecasting-based systems. Similarly, a requirement to improving vehicle utilization would lead to an implementation of advanced information technology. For instance, the delivery truck could optimize space usage when real time information about the location of freight (i.e. newspaper) is visibility and effectively shared among consolidation
227 terminal. Thus, the required quantity of newspaper would be more accurately loaded and space would not be wasted. Overall, freight consolidation approach is critical to influencing collaborative freight distribution.
Regarding to research objective of achieving sustainable distribution through freight consolidation, the findings indicated that freight consolidation could directly influence sustainable distribution in Thai context. Respondents believed that freight consolidation approach would help them to achieve environmental sustainability in their distribution processes through the reduction of water pollution, visual pollution, odour pollution and solid waste. The present study makes noteworthy contribution to the study of Lewis et al. (2010) and Merrick & Bookbinder (2010) that freight consolidation can reduce negative environmental effects of business processes, as it can reduce pollution from freight distribution activities. This is because freight consolidation would allow firms to reduce visual and odour pollution from the fuel combustion by consolidating many small shipments for each delivery round. As a result, pollutant emissions from each delivery vehicle would be reduced, due to fewer delivery rounds and number of vehicle employed.
In term of economic sustainability, respondents perceived that freight consolidation could boost firm’s reputation, lower risk of business operations, identify easier ways to attract external sources of sponsorship, broaden market and improve condition for sale increase, and improve market opportunity. The present study contribute to the current knowledge of González-Ramírez & Askin (2009) that freight consolidation can improve freight distribution performance and cost saving, and reduce risk of business operation when the vehicle is efficiently loaded and eliminate the less-than-truck-load (LTL) incidences. In Thai newspaper industry context, freight consolidation approach would allow more small shipments of newspapers to be loaded on the single delivery vehicle. Thus, less gasoline would be used due to the reduced delivery vehicle usage. As a result, risk of high operation costs that derive from price of gasoline would be reduced. Another possible competitive advantage would stem from delivery time efficiency. As stated in Chapter 2, time management is one of the greatest concerns for improving business performance and reduce risk of business operation in the newspaper industry, since newspaper is a time-sensitive product and would lead to economic loss if distributed late. Freight consolidation would allow each newspaper edition to reach the destination faster, since more delivery vehicles would be available when more newspapers are loaded onto the single vehicle. Thus, more available delivery vehicles with a better truck load
228 can deliver newspapers to a greater number of routes within the specified time limit. Overall, freight consolidation could lower the risk of business operation, improve reputation, improve market opportunity and sustain sale volume.
Regarding to social sustainability, respondents perceived that freight consolidation could not only subside social costs as assert by Forkenbrock (1999), but it could also enhance human capital value, increase employees’ motivation and enhance the contribution to community development. For example, more staff would be required, in order to load the newspapers onto the delivery vehicle faster. As a result, freight consolidation operation would create new jobs, directly benefitting the community. Moreover, freight consolidation would enhance value of human capital when more training is required for improving distribution procedures, such as loading and driving skills. Thus, employees would be more skilled and have better job opportunities in the same industry, as well as elsewhere. Therefore, freight consolidation could influence companies to enhance social sustainability.
Moreover, the results extend the existing knowledge of González-Ramírez and Askin (2009), Lewis, Fell, and Palmer (2010), and Aronsson and Brodin (2006), who asserted that a freight consolidation approach could directly reduce pollutant emissions from distribution process, improve delivery performance, and minimize distribution costs. This study demonstrated that freight consolidation can also indirectly influence sustainable distribution via collaborative freight distribution approach. The results presented in this study demonstrate that freight consolidation approach must be considered by every firm in order to effectively implement collaborative freight distribution practice, which in turn facilitate sustainable distribution. In Thai newspaper industry context, all newspaper companies, transporter and newsagents in the relationship should reconfigure their freight distribution operations structure in line with the freight consolidation and collaborative freight distribution approach. Once all parties agree on location of the consolidation centre, geographical coverage, utilization of transport modes, appropriate partners, fair benefits and risks sharing, and optimal implementation of information technology, they would have capabilities to cooperate in newspaper distribution operations to achieving sustainable distribution.