Closer shipper-liner partnership : shipper's perspective

Shipping lines are facing fierce competition under current global economy. Forming a closer shipper-liner partnership becomes one of the most important strategies for liners to retain and attract customers in this competitive market. At the same time, shippers also perceive a closer partnering relationship with liners could be a beneficial practice to themselves. This research aims to provide a comprehensive study on closer shipper-liner partnership from shippers’ perspective. A survey was conducted to understand shippers’ perception on closer shipper-liner partnership. Results have been collected from respondents from five different industries. The purpose of the survey is to find out the critical success attributes perceived by shippers and the satisfaction level over these selected important attributes. Current level of shipper-liner partnership was investigated too. The survey results show that current shipper-liner partnership was identified as Type II relationship. Shippers ranked Cost, Flexibility, Trust, and Communication as the four most important attributes of shipper-liner partnership. Significant difference was discovered between the important attributes ranked by shippers and their satisfaction level towards them. It implies carriers do not perform well on the more important attributes which may result from different perceptions of important attribute between shippers and carriers. Moreover, the survey results show that the importance and satisfaction rankings for each attribute differed from industry to industry. Recommendations have been made for improving shipper-liner partnership.Bachelor of Science (Maritime Studies