Governance of Halal Logistics Compliance

Abstract

The sudden turbulence in the economy because of the pandemic in 2020 did not deter logistics operations. The ability of many logistics networks was put to the test when being overwhelmed by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As an industry trying to realise the fourth industry revolution (4IR) with blockchain technology, challenges are perceived in terms of commitment among companies involved in the supply chain, mainly the logistics of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Visualising itself as a leading global Halal hub, Malaysia needs to zoom in on the logistics SMEs to understand their readiness for halal compliance to support them in halal traceability issues possible to be solved with 4IR technology. Currently, only the manufacturer or producer of food is required to be awarded halal certification, instead of every company within the supply chain, bringing out doubts on how the transportation and movement of the products comply with the halal integrity and regulations. This study zooms into the operational level of logistics SMEs by performing qualitative research on a few logistics SMEs approachable during the pandemic year. Case studies on the responding companies are produced based on the interview survey and observations made on the business processes during the interview. The results from the interview survey are summarised in terms of issues and challenges at ground zero that need to be considered for the governance of halal logistics compliance. The outcome of this study is the proposed framework of 3Es for the Governance of Halal Logistics Compliance.