Abstract
This article solves an operational performance measurement problem of a global logistics firm through an internal benchmarking tool. The intended impact is to enable logistics firms to form a deeper understanding of their own internal processes and metrics. The methodology of this in-depth action research involves a sequential approach with a series of interviews, questionnaire-based surveys, operations data collated through observations and process mapping yielding real-world data. A series of statistical tests are conducted to analyse the collated data. Strategic priorities of the firm are integrated with the firm’s operational performance to ascertain the effective performance by considering both the tangible and intangible measures. The outcomes inform both practitioners and academics how the firm could improve its freight forwarding business’s profitability by ensuring that its operations meet the prioritised criteria. The ‘best practice’ derived from internal benchmarking forms an intermediate step towards external benchmarking. The outcomes facilitate investigating the current business strategy, the standard operating procedures and the scope of improving those.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 614-631 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Production Planning & Control |
Volume | 29 |
Issue number | 7 |
Early online date | 4 Apr 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 16 May 2018 |
Keywords
- Freight forwarding industry
- operational performance
- internal benchmarking
- logistical strategies
Profiles
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Arijit Bhattacharya
- Norwich Business School - Associate Professor in Operations & Supply Chain Management
- Innovation, Technology and Operations Management - Member
Person: Research Group Member, Academic, Teaching & Research