Enhancing Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in International Freight Forwarding Operations: An Empirical Study

In essence, freight forwarding is a customer service-based business,
yet there have been very few empirical studies which have
considered what actually drives customer satisfaction in this
industry, particularly in the context of the Indian mid-market. This
study attempts to answer that question by utilizing primary data
collected from 54 international freight forwarding logistics
professionals and examining the impacts of six service quality
dimensions Documentation Accuracy, Customs Clearance, Cargo &
Warehouse Handling, Shipment Coordination, Reliability &
Responsiveness and Technology Adoption on customer satisfaction.
The analysis employs Pearson Correlation, Multiple Regression
analysis, Cronbach's Alpha coefficient and ANOVA; all six service
dimensions are statistically significant predictors of customer
satisfaction, although the degree of significance varies by dimension.
Cargo & Warehouse Handling had the highest correlation (r =
0.6655; ß = 0.3952). While the correlation between Technology
Adoption and customer satisfaction was modest, the regression
coefficient indicates strong predictive power when controlling for
other factors. The evidence supports the hypothesis that digital
capabilities add additional satisfaction value over and above standard
operational performance. All six hypotheses were supported at the
95% significance level and were found to be consistent across
respondent groups; therefore, a single, well-designed performance
improvement initiative could be implemented with little change to the degree of satisfaction achieved by the
different groups.
Keywords: Service Quality, Freight Forwarding, Customer Satisfaction, SERVQUAL, Cargo Handling,
Technology Adoption, Indian Logistics.