The Effects of Electronic Commerce on the Freight Transport Industry

This paper investigates changing business transaction under the e-commerce environment and their implications on freight transport industry with some case studies. It shows that an efficient and reliable delivery system is essential for e-commerce as business industries are faced with the stricter and more diversified demands of customer. In addition, many aspects of business practices such as small batch, customized production and just-in-time distribution in the e-commerce environment, in turn, bring about a number of changes in the volume and service patterns of freight transport. E-commerce requires longer transport distances and often higher delivery frequencies. It also entails to a certain extent a modal shift towards truck and air freight transport modes. On the one hand, the logistical requirements of e-commerce goods may stimulate greater complexity in existing supply chain management, causing higher costs. However it is true that the increased visibility of goods through more efficient information flow allows more efficient and effective transport management in the logistics system.