Benchmarking of Russian ports : Case study from ports of Vladivostok and Nakhodka

Every year the processes of globalization and internationalization develop rapidly in the world economy. Economic entities are continuously looking for effective ways to survive in a competitive economic environment and the continuation of activity. Sea ports as the subject of the global economic system is not the exception to the rule. The merger of international relations has its positive side: the distribution of capital and labor, the impact of synergies. In addition, the openness of the economies due to the economic growth in the field of competition, forced seaports to seek new and innovative ways to improve the efficiency of the global economic arena. According to in ternational experience, one of the beneficial and effective ways for sea ports as actors in the international economy is applying benchmarking as a basis for improving the efficiency of their operations. In a competitive environment it is important to determine not only their own position in the market, but also to correctly assess the location of competitors, identify the most similar competitors and take account of their activities. More important is the definition of the so-called leader and the best among the analyzed entity which is done by the application of benchmarking. This thesis is devoted to the analysis of such sea ports and container terminals of one of the largest maritime markets - the Russian Federation. The analysis convers the sea ports of the Far East of Russia, and identifying key factors that affect the efficiency of their operations. It is relevant to use partial performance measures in the thesis work to assess the effectiveness of the Russian ports, and the most suitable methods are SFA approach, DEA-analysis, PPM approach. To compare, first, BCG-Matrix applied in portfolio analysis of Russian sea ports. Then, the portfolio analysis has identified a strategy for further development of maritime ports. Financial analysis of seaports placed an emphasis on the impact of their activities; identifying gaps and weaknesses, as well as the priorities for further development. Proposals regarding the performance improvement of the two compared Russian seaports–Nakhodka and Vladivostok, are reflected in the further research and analysis. These proposals aim to improve the choice of efficiency models, and careful selection of the key performance parameters that affect the maximum efficiency of seaports in general