Supply chain management is critical for any organization. To improve the performance of a firm's supply chain, it is important to have a freight forwarder evaluation process in place. This paper ...develops an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) methodology to perform a multi-criteria evaluation of freight forwarders. It analyzes different criteria that would be employed in the evaluation and selection of forwarders. The problem of choosing the best freight forwarder is evaluated in terms of quality of service, specialized service, network, competitive price, information and technology, and sustainability. A total of fourteen sub-criteria are considered including quality of service, network, information and technology, and sustainability. The study revealed that specialized service is the most important criterion with a weight of 54.3% followed by quality of service, competitive price, information and technology, network, and sustainability. Proven experience is the most important sub-criterion with overall weight of 36.2% followed by knowing the regulations with overall weight of 18.1%. Freight forwarder B is the best option with the highest weight with respect to proven experience and knows the regulations with values of 3.62 and 1.629, respectively.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
This paper models a public transit system that can serve both passengers and urban freight, i.e., urban co-modality, and investigates the system-wide impacts of co-modality on existing urban freight ...forwarding service, freight carrier and urban transit services. In the co-modal system, we model one transit operator that serves passengers and provides co-modal services, one freight forwarder (an intermediary) that serves freight customers and uses freight transportation services provided by a freight carrier or the transit operator, and one freight carrier that provides services to the freight forwarder. We derive the analytical conditions under which co-modal operations can improve the profits of the freight forwarder, carrier and transit operator, and the consumer surpluses of freight customers and passengers compared with the status quo without co-modality. We also analytically and numerically compare the optimal operation decisions, the three operators’ profits, and the users’ welfare under different games among the operators (non-cooperative and cooperative games). Our results show that when the three operators are in a non-cooperative relationship, the freight carrier might have a profit loss due to the decreased freight units allocated to the direct road channel; whereas, both the freight forwarder and the transit operator would have profit gains from the co-modality. The numerical studies further reveal that to ensure a Pareto-improving co-modal system, the operators have to reduce the freight/transit service fare and co-modal transportation price.
•Modeling the multi-sided strategic interactions among operators in a co-modal system.•Analyzing effects of operation decisions on supply–demand equilibrium of freight/transit markets.•Deriving analytical conditions under which co-modal services benefit both users and operators.•Comparing optimal co-modal operation decisions under non-cooperative and cooperative games.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Understanding the limits of freight forwarders' liability helps to predict the scope of indemnification to the customer in case of damage or loss of cargo. The absence of international agreements ...regulating the limit of the liability limit of freight forwarders makes it difficult for customers to find freight forwarders with the most favorable conditions. A large number of factors, such as the type of forwarding contract, the country of registration of the forwarder, the status of the forwarder, existing international agreements, etc. can significantly affect the degree of liability of the forwarder. In this paper, the legislation regulating forwarding and the activities of the multimodal transport operator will be considered. In addition, the standard conditions of the forwarding contract, the most commonly used in the selected countries, will be analyzed. On the basis of the conducted research, a case study will be presented, which will indicate the practical influence of various factors on the liability limit of the forwarder and the multimodal transport operator.
•We introduce the Air Transportation Freight Forwarder Service Problem (ATFFSP).•A MILP formulation is proposed.•Instances based on real life data are created.•Comparison of costs and service choice ...between model solution and real life solution.•Model used to study the effects of opening a new transhipment facility.
Despite being one of the most relevant figures in international multimodal transportation, freight forwarding companies optimization problems did not receive much attention from the research community. In this work we try to fill this gap by presenting the general features of air transportation from the freight forwarder’s perspective and we introduce the air transportation freight forwarder service problem (ATFFSP). A MILP formulation of the problem is proposed and tested on real-life data coming from an Italian freight forwarding company. We study the performance of the model in terms of optimality gap and time needed to reach the optimal solution. Furthermore we compare the solutions found with the ones provided by the company in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the model and its ability to find good and practical solutions. Finally, we study the possibility of opening a new warehouse facility to better manage services and we analyze the corresponding potential benefits.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Today, the freight forwarder status raises some legal classification troubles. While some still attach it to the figure of the mandate, others insist on the contrary on its own particularities. These ...uncertainties seem to have been a difficulty for all the authors who wrote about this notion since the 16th century. Therefore, the examination of this long doctrinal controversy intends to shed light on the cause of this persistent disagreement.
•Investigate disruption and disruptive innovation in the context of digital platforms.•Introduce a Digital Start-up Disruption framework grounded on the existing literature.•Characterize digital ...platforms and their disruptive potential using four antecedents.•Apply the proposed framework to a case study of a digital freight forwarder.•Help investors and organizations identify opportunities for disruptive innovations.
The emergence of digital platform start-ups poses a threat to disrupt the logistics industry with new business models. Digital freight forwarders offer platforms that challenge the service offerings of the traditional incumbent logistics providers, yet it is not clear whether these digital platforms have the potential to truly ‘disrupt’ the current industry. In this paper, we debate a more comprehensive view on the notion of disruption and disruptive innovation in the context of logistics start-ups leveraging digital platforms. We propose a Digital Start-up Disruption (DSD) framework – grounded on the existing literature – that allows characterizing digital platforms and their disruptive potential using four antecedents: initial target market, ecosystem framing, value creation, and regulatory agenda. Applying the framework of the four antecedents to a case study of a digital freight forwarder reveals important insights pertaining to the dynamics of disruptive and sustaining technologies. These findings can help investors and funding organizations to identify opportunities for potential disruptive innovations.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Freight Forwarders as an intermediary between exporters and importers are also affected by dwelling time performance. This study aims to identify the problems faced by Freight Forwarders in East Java ...in the application of dwelling time at the port. The research method is qualitative with descriptive analysis, with in-depth interviews on some Freight Forwarders and Association on Logistics and Forwarder of Indonesia (ALFI). Respondents are chosen through purposive sampling. Here are the results of the study. The problems faced by the forwarders are the delay of NOA (Notice of Arrival) and DO (Delivery Order) bills from the shipping parties. Overlapping regulations related to the process of export and import documents due to differences of perception among ministries in charge. The next problem is the lack of knowledge of exporters and importers on export and import regulations. There are also problems related to interruption on INSW (Indonesia National Single Window) server and CEISA (Customs Excise Information System and Automation). The random system on imported goods after inspection at CEISA, limited importer warehouse, and no needs over imported goods are also the obstacles faced. The other problem is that importers tend to keep stockpile in containers in the depots because security assurance in the depots is much better than in the importer warehouse.
•Analysis of perceived port attractiveness from users perspective.•Six major port attractiveness factors are validated.•Port connectivity is identified as the most attractive factor.•Green port ...management practices need attention.•Freight forwarders find the port least attractive.
This study evaluates the attractiveness of the Chittagong Port of Bangladesh from the port users’ perspective. Existing maritime literature is focused on major ports of Europe, East Asia and North America, but many secondary ports of the mainline maritime network, which play a crucial role in their countries, are overlooked. Chittagong Port is such a port having an enormous impact on the economy of Bangladesh. The perceived attractiveness of this port to its users is assessed in this study based on six factors: port connectivity, facilities, costs, service quality, policy and management, and green port management practices. Data are collected on a 7-point Likert scale for 25 measurement items, and the port attractiveness measurement model is validated using Confirmatory Composite Analysis (CCA). The results indicate that the port users’ find the port’s connectivity most attractive and green port management practices least attractive. We also observe that port users with a high frequency of port usage find Chittagong Port less attractive compared to less frequent users. These findings have significant policy implications for the port authority and policymakers to enhance the port’s attractiveness, which is in a monopolistic position handling more than 90% of international trade for Bangladesh. Further, a validation of the port attractiveness assessment framework enables researchers and practitioners to use it as a standard instrument for assessing the attractiveness of ports having similar characteristics globally.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Choice of airport is a crucial issue from freight forwarder point of view. Freight forwarder takes into account all airports within an acceptable radius, considering supply of airlines. The supply ...includes total costs, structure of price and quality of connections affecting on transport time of shipment. The goal of this paper is to propose a multi-criteria decision making approach which will help freight forwarders to choose an airport based on selected criteria. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used to structure and rate criteria. The approach is illustrated by example based on real data for Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian market. The results in this paper point out that airports and airlines must develop the capacity and flexibility to accommodate changing trends and volumes of cargo in order to attract more demand. The sensitivity analysis reveals what should be improved by airports and airlines in order to attract more customers, which will further lead to more operationally efficient and sustainable cargo services in the region.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
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