Performance evaluation of carriers by North American logistics service firms

Abstract

Performance evaluation in the US transport system is well under way according to the trade press; its use by Canadian firms is less well known. This paper reports some of the preliminary findings of the second phase of a threephase research study now under way to examine the assessment of carrier performance by users and suppliers of North American transportation services. Phase I examined the approaches of cargo suppliers (manufacturers) to the evaluation of their transport suppliers' performance, in order to understand the business practices taking place. The results of this activity were reported in Volume 18, Number 1 of Transport Reviews. Detailed case studies of user companies is the part of Phase I that remains to be completed. Phase II examines similar elements from the viewpoints of carriers and a small number of logistics service firms. This paper describes the views of a number of logistics service firms, and completes a preliminary exploration of the practices of these firms in their dealings with carriers.