Proposed Method For Measuring Customer Orientation Of Companies In Freight Transport Sector

The freight transport industry is growing rapidly. There is great interest in improving processes and operations to make them more efficient and customer friendly. Freight transport research traditionally focuses on demand modeling, mode choice, and operational optimization. In contrast, this paper addresses a new field: development of a customer-oriented measurement system for freight and logistics companies. The measurement system was developed as part of research carried out for the Swiss National Railways Cargo Division and is based on professional expertise and data from stakeholders in all parts of the logistics chain. The proposed method is an indicator-based system built on a theoretical foundation, informed with the help of a workshop with experts, and validated with real-world data. The method can be used to measure the customer focus of logistics service providers over time and thus enable them to improve and benchmark a pool of logistics companies. The proposed method can also be customized to evaluate other specific customer needs by adjusting weights and indicators within its computational structure.