LOGISTICS POTENTIALS IN BUSINESS COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE CREATION

Background: Companies constantly search for ways to achieve and sustain long-term competitive advantage. Among the factors influencing the competitive advantage creation there are so called logistics potentials, which constitute a component part of a business strategic potentials. Logistics resources, logistics capabilities and logistics competences are the main components of the logistics potentials structure and hierarchy. Methods: In order to recognize the logistics potentials which determine the competitive advantage creation one may use the assumptions and elements of contemporary management concepts, including strategic management. In particular the article deals with Resource-Based View (RBV), Dynamic Capabilities Concept (DCC) and - first of all - Competence-Based Management (CBM). Results and conclusions: Several significant research projects have presented a wide scope and a large number of possibilities of logistics potentials (and logistics competences in particular) influence on business competitive advantage creation. The article briefly presents the research results conducted by: (1) Michigan State University (USA), (2) European Logistics Association (ELA) in cooperation with A.T. Kearney, (3) Computer Sciences Corporation and (4) Capgemini. The research results have pointed out to differentiated but at the same distinctive symptoms of logistics competences influence on competitive advantage creation. The article also refers to the results of the research carried out by the Chair of Logistics & Marketing at Opole University (Poland) in companies operating in Poland. The research has been mainly dealing with the significance of logistics competences in competitive advantage creation.