Creating knowledge and promoting innovation in logistics services with 'personal-touch': a case of Yamato transport

摘要

"TA-Q-BIN" parcel delivery service by Yamato Transport Co., Ltd (hereafter Yamato Transport) is regarded equivalent to a social infrastructure in Japan. Since its start in 1976, Yamato Transport has extended services' reach and volume, realising nationwide coverage in 1997 and achieving around 30 billion accumulated deliveries by the end of March 2017. Behind this achievement is the company's continuous innovation of their service offerings not only by enhancing its digital information systems and its physical logistic networks but also by keeping analogue "personal-touch" and improving the service beyond customers' expectation. Personal touch at the point of delivery triggers new knowledge which becomes the source of competitiveness. Grounding on the organisational knowledge creation theory, this paper aims to explain how Yamato Transport was able to enhance competitive advantage through creating new knowledge by pursuing both the "personal-touch" and the digitalisation, and ultimately realising innovation, and ultimately co-creating value for the society.