Introduction/ background of study
In the logistics market, the demands for halal product are growing in the logistics industry. We know that, nowadays, logistic plays a key role in keeping the Halal status of any given product over logistic activities like proper transportation, storage, procurement and handling within the supply chain, until it reaches to finished product or consumer. Halal is used to define anything permissible under Islamic law, in dissimilarity to haram, that which is forbidden. For halal products, the production and consumption of halal food has been traditionally the main focus in logistic industry. Halal is spreading both upstream, for example, animal feed and the downstream like food services for the value chain and include logistics. The main factors of the Halal industry in logistics rely heavily on logistics service management capabilities in make certain the integrity of Halal products.
Furthermore, the logistic service management encompasses the collection, consolidation, storage handling, value added, track and trace and controls of the movement and storage of Halal products. For these purposes, Logistic Service Providers (LSPs)play a key role in realizing this goal for the Halal industry. As we know, separation goods from Halal and non-Halal goods for cross-contamination prevention are the core element of protecting the Halal status. Among the elements of monitoring ‘Halal’ in logistic activities are checking Halal routines controls in transportations activities and the movements by any type of transportation mode must comply with the principle of Shariah.
However, regarding on this main issues, maintaining the Halal performance responsibility through transportation process also a big challenge. Monitoring Halal integrity of product is very precarious because many researchers see the potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to develop the Halal services in logistic activities. Use of ICT may growth the effectiveness and organization of the Halal supply chain.
Therefore, the resolve of this study is to explore the factors that influence the Halal LSPs in applying ICT for Halal controls transportations. To improvement in-depth understanding, the contributing factors such as environment, organizational, government’s responsibility and the Halal assurance element factors that contribute confidence and positive attitude towards Halal are being focused.
Based on the exploration of the cases of Halal LSPs adopting ICT, the second drive of this study is to propose a framework of ICT adoption for Halal LSPs. The proposed ICT adoption framework contains of four dimensions (technological related factors, Halal assurance connected factors, structural and environmental factors), which are partly based on some ICT adoption frameworks used in.
Technologies application and why choose them
Technologies application that they use in industry halal logistic is ICT because it increases the effectiveness and organization of the Halal supply chain. However the acceptance of ICT in Halal industry is fairly new. The concept of adopting reflectivity technologies for security management purposes such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) and global positioning systems (GPS) is still fairly new despite the fact that the demand by logistics end-users who communicated their interest in the use of RFID and GPS as forms of logistics security management is high. The use of technology in logistics is presently focused on warehousing, procurement, bar coding and transportation management systems.
In industry logistic use ICT because the low adoption of RFID system is due to the high first set up cost and less mature of such technology across the ASEAN region. They also want focus on Halal transportation’s operation in Halal logistic, the impact of ICT on Halal performance productivities also being explored. There have been many research efforts targeted at identifying factors and practices indicating how technological innovation may support company in practicing Halal controls and management in their logistics services. LSPs can show important roles to develop and ultimately control the entire Halal logistical concept by mean leading organization with a specific and advanced ICT to make logistic operations transparent and controllable.
The issue why industry halal logistic applying ICT because it can determine whether the food product come from the country which is specified on its packaging. Environmental also provide significant forces for adoption wherever the issues relating to market climate and the firm’s standing in the market directly influence the uptake of technology.
ICT in Halal transportation is needed for Halal controls. The typical stated, an organization will establish and apply a traceability system that allows the identification of the inbound goods and/or cargo for the dealing out stages in the transportation chain services, the past of direct suppliers and the details of distribution ways for delivering Halal goods must be verified.
The reason for choosing this method because was to provide qualitative data that can help us better understand how ICT is began within the Malaysian Halal LSPs organizations and to description factors that supported ICT diffusion. ICT adoption process also explores the ICT application used to display Halal performances control in transportation’s operation. Besides, all Halal LSPs had used ICT systems that maintained communication and document management in their logistic activities and supply chain management.
In the end, The Halal LSPs in Malaysia choose this technology because they have experienced numerous benefits from the usage of the ICT in their Halal logistic activities. There are two key reasons why the Malaysian Halal LSP’s wants to adopt ICT in monitoring Halal integrity. Firstly, they want to assist assurance of Halal integrity through the supply chain, and second, they want to increase efficiency of the logistics performance. These are very like to the benefits found in other collected works which include the increase in Halal transparency during food production, increase in consumer trust on the Halalness owed to the increase in the amount of information about the production process, food-safety control, and making information available beside the supply chain.
Benefits /drawbacks of that technology
The benefit of this technology is created opportunities to other Halal LSPs to encourage in evolving an ICT solution and adoption for tracking purposes. Four attributes that are relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, image and cost which will be modified in this framework to test the influences on ICT adoption process. These incentives will be encourage new investments in ‘Halal’ logistics services for the export market and to raise the use of modern and state-of-the-art machinery, ICT and equipment in creating high quality ‘Halal’ services that also fulfil with the international standards.
On the other hand, this technology can avoid the risk towards Halal being compromised, current control measures, providing Halal assurance system need to be implemented by LSPs. By using this technology, it can give encourages confidence in the safety also the Halal integrity of products and hence promotes both confidence in the Halal industry and constancy of Halal businesses. Furthermore, many Halal LSPs (CsA, CsB, and CsC) have known the advantage of ICT adoption through previous experience likes customer are more confident when they see some ICT investment useful as value added service to their product handling.
The custom of the existing ICT that the LSPs have used to monitor Halal controller in transportation’s operation can be categorized into three areas like’s data communication technologies, identification technologies and, data acquisition technologies. Technology like RFID characteristic is tracking and tracing are seen as compatible with the Halal transportation guide track and trace goods beside the supply chain. Moreover the study regards the expectation of remunerations of new ICT that Halal LSPs try to adopt as the perceived advantage.
Therefore, technologies also have drawbacks in industry Halal Logistics. At the same time, in the Halal LSPs already using existing ICT for Halal control, and it involves costs that cause a critical barrier. The adopter of ICT (CsB and CsC) is unwilling to improvement the information systems or to adopt other advanced ICT service uses because of the high adoption cost.
The technological organized with Halal knowledge of employees and their management capability can be a barrier to the acceptance and extension of the information systems. Some CEOs (CsC and CsB) in logistics are worried about the overview of new advanced ICT like just to cater Halal controls. This is because of the fear that their employees might be not acquainted with it.
Conclusion
Totally Halal LSPs (CsA, CsB and CsC) in the industry logistics have used an ICT service platform provided by Halal Development Centre (HDC), which have played a main role in providing many programs and training linked to ICT adoption in Halal sector. For the information, this initiative is to create awareness and knowledge amongst its employees in handling halal products as well as ensure its effectiveness in terms of application. The CsB and CsA will send their Halal officer to link the Halal training course once a year to dominant in Halal transportation’s issues.
The research conclusions show that technology related factors and Halal related factors backed positively to efficient Halal LSPs operation while the government can reduction of the main barriers and the making of the atmosphere of ICT adoption in Halal LSP sector. These factors also influence factors that give impact to the course of ICT adoption in Halal transportation. Moreover, this study also categorized technological mechanisms of ICT adoption for Halal controls in transportation into three types such as location and tracking, identification of goods or cargo and data communication.
Lastly, the study discussed the improvement in Halal services after they achieved the profit and the satisfaction of the ICT usage which have taken into thought several factors. This study also contributes to the progression of knowledge through the application of Halal concept into logistics service practices. The needs to be innovative in starting more logistics services that are based on Halal concept are crucial in conference the needs of the increasing demand by the customers especially the Muslim’s customer.
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