Determinants of Customer Satisfaction in Freight Forwarding Companies in Sri Lanka

A A C N Dias,P W G Madhushani,D G N D Jayarathna

doi:10.4038/ijms.v5i2.102

Abstract

Despite bringing enormous profit to the company as well as the development of the country, freight forwarding is still considered as a developing field in Sri Lanka. Freight forwarders usually work with agents, forwarders, small or medium size manufacturers, therefore, having a close customer relationship is a vital role which could sustain the freight forwarding industry competitive. This study investigates the determinants of customer satisfaction in freight forwarding companies in Sri Lanka. Primary data was collected by means of an online questionnaire from freight forwarders in the Western province of Sri Lanka and overall 258 valid questionnaires were used for the analysis. Besides, an auxiliary analysis was carried out using 19 potential influential factors which derived eight factors to determine the overall customer satisfaction which titled as reliability, responsiveness, communication and documentation accuracy, assurance, empathy, branding, technology, efficiency and trust. Hence in a situation where the growth rate for the logistics industry is drastically increasing, this thesis is important for further improvement of customer relationship in freight forwarding companies in Sri Lanka. KEYWORDS : Freight forwarding, Customer satisfaction, Logistics.

Highlights

Since 1980s open economic environment results in a massive growth in imports and exports sector in Sri Lanka which requires efficient freight forwarding solutions in order to cater the trading demand freight forwarding companies and logistics industry had to make a revolution in the industry
There was an issue as the industry was unregulated and had no controlling body to ensure freight forwarders work process where different forwarders in different countries play as per their own terms
Uniformity among freight forwarders is utmost important Sri Lanka Freight Forwarders Association (SLFFA) was officially opened for standardized the industry which is a milestone in freight forwarding industry in Sri Lanka

Summary

Introduction

Since 1980s open economic environment results in a massive growth in imports and exports sector in Sri Lanka which requires efficient freight forwarding solutions in order to cater the trading demand freight forwarding companies and logistics industry had to make a revolution in the industry. Uniformity among freight forwarders is utmost important Sri Lanka Freight Forwarders Association (SLFFA) was officially opened for standardized the industry which is a milestone in freight forwarding industry in Sri Lanka. All of these standard and efficient processes are required for offering a better service to customers as customers are the most important aspect in the service industry. Making loyal customers satisfy in order to retain customers and showing a competitive advantage for attracting new customers is very important In contrast, it is been competitive in Sri Lanka due to the requirement of customized services whilst having well-executed systems

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Conclusion