THE IMPACT OF LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF SUPPLY CHAIN RESILIENCE

Abstract

This paper explores how the operations of logistics management practices affect its performance and specifically whether the concepts of supply chain resilience play a mediating role. The study fills the gap in the knowledge on how various logistics functions play unequally to resilience and performance, particularly in developing economies such as Pakistan. The most important point is that when compared with classic logistics functions, those practices facilitated by technology and processes are more effective. An analytical cross-sectional, quantitative research design was used. Two hundred people were surveyed in the manufacturing, logistics, and other related industries. The research employed the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS to evaluate the measurement and structural models such as reliability, validity and mediation effects. Findings suggest that IT adaptation (β =0.344 p < 0.001), order process management (β =0.213 p < 0.05) and inventory management (β = 0.163 p < 0.05) are significant factors affecting the resilience of supply chains whereas warehousing, transportation, and packaging are not significant. The operational performance is highly affected by supply chain resilience (β = 0.859, p < 0.001) with R = 0.722 and R = 0.738, which ascertains that the resilience has great explanatory power. This research has an added value of illustrating how resilience can be selective as a mediator and emphasizes the increasing significance of digital logistics in comparison with the traditional practices.