Aug 16, 2007
Logistics Management awards Quest for Quality
Logistics Management has as its lead story this month, the winners of its Quest for Quality awards in the transportation arena. Check it out!
The basis of their picks, the criteria of ranking is discussed in the article. They include:
Transportation service providers are rated on LM’s five key criteria: On-time Performance, Value, Customer Service, Information Technology, and Equipment & Operations. Due to the nature of supply chain services offered by third-party players, a different set of criteria is used to judge this category. Third parties are rated on the following attributes: Carrier Selection & Negotiation, Order Fulfillment, Transportation & Distribution, Inventory Management, and Logistics Information Systems.
The evaluation itself is a weighted metric. The scores take into account the importance readers attach to each attribute. Each year, readers are first asked to rank the attributes in each category on a five-point scale, with 5 representing the highest value and 1 representing the lowest value. Our research team then uses those attributes’ rankings to create weighted scores in each category.
And the winners in the broad categories as outlined below are:
- National LTL: Impressive Pedigree
- Regional LTL: Strong Down the Stretch
- Truckload:Fast Runners on a Muddy Track
- Rail/Intermodal: Favorites Across the Board
- Ocean Carriers: True Thoroughbreds
- Air Carriers: Sky Sires
- Freight Forwarders: Fast Breakers
- Third-Party Logistics: Global Pace Setters
Some thoughts to savor though,
But while shippers are clearly more satisfied with their core-carriers, we have noticed a somewhat troubling trend that began with our 2006 report. Overall satisfaction and core satisfaction scores are trending downward over the past two years. As a matter of fact, the survey found that core satisfaction scores were down over 2006 findings in every category with the exception of Truckload-Expedited (38.3), Rail/Intermodal (30.69), and Air Cargo (35.00). And while core satisfaction scores continue to be higher than non-core, our team found that the 2007 overall satisfaction scores were down in 13 of the 16 categories compared to the 2006 results.
Tags: Quest for Quality Awards, Logistics Management, Ranking of Transportation Providers