Comparison of Turkey and Afghanistan on third party logistics services

Doing business efficiently is vital in the development of countries overall and for business entities specifically. Recent studies show that logistics is the key and crucial point in facilitating business entities to be competitive in every segment of business markets worldwide. So far so right, businesses owning superior capabilities in logistics are taking the lead over other competitors. Thus, organizations tend to optimize their logistic services in order to gain competitive advantage throughout the supply chain. This important aim encourages business entities to focus on their core competencies rather than doing all activities internally and outsource those services that count non-core in different stages of the supply chain. Rapidly increasing demand for specialized logistic services brought up third party service providers in the frontline which are more expert in providing logistic services for mother companies. Third party logistic (3PL) service providers facilitate the demanded services to these companies in-time and efficiently. The diversity of services provided by 3PLs continuously growing. Nowadays, 3PL service providers are more than just a carrier; they are involved in the long-term strategic development of their customers. Despite some challenges may found, logistic is a fast-growing industry in Turkey. Therefore, considering the vital role of logistics in the performance of business entities, this study aims to comparatively investigate Afghanistan and Turkey's logistic industries; particularly, third-party logistics service coverage capabilities, determining problems and suggesting solutions to improve the performance of logistics sector in Afghanistan. In this context, a prepared questionnaire has been used to collect first-hand data from logistics service providers of both countries. Gathered data has been analyzed using SPSS 22.0 software to make comparisons between two countries. Results indicated that Turkish logistic companies provide broader services and are more experienced than Afghan logistic companies. The research also indicates that Afghan logistic companies' perceptions on problems of logistics industry are different from that of Turkish logistic companies, and also their perceptions of possible solutions are different on certain issues. Keywords: Third Party Logistics, Service Providers, Turkey, Afghanistan.