Orientation: Personal relationships within the context of supply chain management is one of the least understood and researched areas in this field.Research purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the complexities relating to the interaction between buyers and suppliers of logistics services when personal relationships are involved.Research design, approach and method: A descriptive qualitative research strategy was used. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 suppliers and 8 buyers of logistic services within the South African third-party logistics industry.Main findings: The main findings indicate several benefits related to building personal relationships with a buyer or supplier of logistics services. These benefits include enhanced personal and business understanding, enhanced communication, enhanced trust, increased business volume, ease of doing business, enhanced problem-solving abilities, ease of conflict resolution and risk mitigation. Subsequently, aspects affecting the nature of the personal relationship were also identified. These include gender, relationship asymmetry, and the ability to adapt to different personalities.Practical implications: A long-term commitment towards a buyer or supplier was identified as essential in order to reap the associated benefits of forming personal relationships.Contribution: The main theoretical contribution of this study can be argued as empirically testing an existing personal relationship framework, confirming the transferability of the framework. Testing the framework in a different context yielded four additional benefits of personal relationships, four supplementary factors influencing the interaction between buyers and suppliers and an additional aspect influencing the nature of personal relationships, thus expanding the body of knowledge of this topic.

This study aims to provide insights into the prevalent physical distribution challenges that organisations face in emerging markets in Africa. Emphasis is placed on the adaptations organisations make to overcome these challenges. The study focused on multinational organisations operating in the fast-moving consumer goods, third-party logistics and retail industry, mostly from the perspective of the South African division. Method:A generic qualitative research design was employed. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with middle to senior managers who have knowledge of their organisation's distribution operations in African markets. Results:The findings highlight the existence of prevalent challenges identified in the literature, namely, border congestion, informal markets and weak infrastructure, while providing insight into the sources of these challenges. Furthermore, other challenges, such as warehouse system misalignment, order processing times and variable border legislation are highlighted. Adaptations to these areas are discussed. Conclusion:The study provides further academic understanding of the challenges multinationals are facing and adaptations they are implementing when trading in emerging African markets. Theoretically, the body of knowledge of physical distribution is enhanced by addressing distribution challenges in the African context. Additionally, the study assists organisations to understand how they can possibly adapt their physical distribution operations.

Environmental, social and economic concerns experienced over the past few decades have raised the need to address sustainability in supply chains, hence the concept of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM). Supply chains play a crucial role in contributing to sustainability. Focal firms face mounting pressures to ensure that their supply chains are managed for sustainability. The need to manage buyer-supplier relationships with the goal of transforming the supply chain to a more sustainable one is ever more evident. Grounded in social capital theory, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the role of buyer-supplier relationships in navigating a sustainable supply chain. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with buyers and suppliers of logistics services in the Gauteng province, operating throughout South Africa. The interviews took place in Gauteng but covered the nationwide operations of the firms. Data was analysed using a thematic analysis revealing prominent themes and sub-themes. The main findings indicate that aligning sustainability goals and values should occur prior to or very early on in a relationship. Structural capital in the form of interactions, information sharing and supplier evaluations regarding SSCM were found to be lacking in participant firms. Theoretically, this study extends the application of social capital theory to SSCM. For managers, insights are provided into how goals and objectives regarding sustainability should be aligned with supply chain partners, methods of communication regarding SSCM are explored and potential direction is given on how supply chain relationships can be geared towards SSCM. I CARRIM A AGIGI W NIEMANN K MOCKEThe role of buyer-supplier relationships in enhancing sustainable supply chain management in a logistics services context

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