The rise of cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) has accelerated the adoption of drop-shipping as a preferred fulfillment model among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), enabling global market access with minimal inventory costs. However, decentralization of control in drop-shipping creates significant logistics service quality (LSQ) challenges, particularly in cross-border contexts where fulfillment processes are fragmented across retailers, suppliers, and third-party logistics providers (3PLs). This study applies the LSQ framework to conceptually analyze six critical dimensions: information quality, order accuracy, timeliness, flexibility, communication, and security, within the drop-shipping fulfillment chain. The findings reveal that LSQ issues are rooted not only in operational gaps but also in governance deficiencies that undermine accountability and service consistency. To address these challenges, the study proposes strategic pathways for resource-constrained retailers, including leveraging platform-mediated fulfillment services, adopting lightweight digital tools for improved visibility and communication, and forming selective supplier partnerships.
Kong et al. (Thu,) studied this question.