Freight forwarding in Greece: Services provided and choice criteria

Abstract

Freight forwarders are intermediary companies involved in Logistics. Their task is to manage all functions involved in transport after the buy process of merchandise is complete. The main objectives of the present work are to evaluate the criteria on which production companies choose particular freight forwarders, to point out the elements that affect quality and to differentiate services provided in various customer categories. In addition, this work presents the characteristics of freight forwarding companies that are active in the Greek market, analyzing their field of specialisation regarding various services and the profile of their manpower, as well as measuring the level of information technology usage in their operations. For the aim of this work, a questionnaire was drawn up and sent to a sample of 98 companies of the sector, selected mainly for their size and their location. Twenty‐four questionnaires were returned, covering roughly 10% of the companies in the market. The companies were asked to evaluate the various choice criteria regarding the carriers they chose to collaborate with and the criteria on which they are selected by their customers. The conclusion is that Greek freight forwarding companies consider that quality is more important for their customers than cost and that small companies seem to evaluate the price of services offered, the offering of special privileges, personal treatment and experience as relatively more important than big companies do.