Selecting a transport and forwarding company for meeting a customer’s needs when organizing international road cargo transportation

Abstract

The object of this study is the process of planning the work of a manufacturing enterprise that needs transport and forwarding services when exporting goods to counterparties in different countries of the world. The problem being solved is predetermined by the need to devise recommendations for choosing a transport and forwarding company when serving an individual customer, based on its individual needs and conditions of cooperation. A simulation model for the selection of a transport and forwarding company was constructed and implemented to meet the customer’s needs when exporting goods, applying the GPSS World simulation automation package. The model provides for the optimization of the choice of a transport and forwarding company for servicing counterparties based on the assessment of their activity indicators over previous periods of cooperation. When building the model, the types of commercial conditions of the exporter’s cooperation with the transport and forwarding company, indicators of the quality assessment of the basic level of service and the duration of service at all stages of the foreign trade operation were taken into account. The application of the constructed model in practice will enable exporters and importers to choose a transport and forwarding company depending on the individual needs of customers in the delivery of goods. The simulation results reflect the performance indicators of the provision of transport and forwarding services by various specialized enterprises. This will make it possible to involve in the transport and forwarding service of a separate counterparty an organization that will meet all the requirements of goods buyer in accordance with the terms of the international economic contract. At the same time, the duration of choosing and agreeing the terms of cooperation could be reduced by 12–15 % while the efficiency of transport and forwarding services would increase by 13–16 %