Performance measurement of road freight transportation: A case of trucking industry

Abstract

The aim of this study is to measure the current state of the trucking business and its performance in existing literature and transportation management system. The research question is to what extent the performance measurement systems contribute in preference-based strategic decision-making in trucking industry and draws a path to their desired levels of success. This study integrates Balance Score Card (BSC) with Imprecise data envelopment analysis (IDEA). A systematic review of academic literature, trade journal, and the magazine has been conducted to develop the key performance measures based on four perspectives of the Balance Score Card (BSC): financial; customer; internal processes; learning, and growth. This study explored the different inputs and outputs to measure the performance and subsequently, data have been collected from the eighteen transporters, and the preference degree approach is used for comparison and ranking of the efficiency intervals of the transporters. The results show that the financial perspective requires special attention, which indicates that the operational cost due to the competitive market and underutilization of fleets contributes to the lower financial performance of the transporters. Furthermore, the study also reveals that there is considerable scope in customer service improvement. These findings will help practitioners to analyze their business from different perspectives and give suggestions for taking timely corrective action when necessary.