Logistics strategies for short sea shipping operating as part of multimodal transport chains

Abstract

Numerous studies about logistics strategies have been carried out but more often than not researchers have adopted a descriptive rather than a quantitative approach. The quantitative approach was addressed for the first time in 1987 and much of the work performed has been focused on North American based companies, thus creating a bias. Most studies have addressed product-oriented companies rather than service ones and the logistics strategies identified are of a general nature and often based on the work performed by Bowersox and Daugherty 1. To reverse this trend, this research investigates by means of a questionnaire specific logistics strategies that short sea operators can implement to integrate short sea shipping into multimodal transport chains. To achieve this, 75 potential best-practices were reduced by using factor analysis into a list of 13 functional strategies, of which eight were considered logistics strategies. The term best practice refers to a management idea that is supported by proper processes and provides superior performance; when associated with other management ideas, best-practices help to develop a logistic strategy that gives an organization a competitive advantage.