EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF EXPRESS DELIVERY SERVICE PROVIDER.docx

1、EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF EXPRESS DELIVERY SERVICE PROVIDER外文原文EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF EXPRESS DELIVERY SERVICE PROVIDERBASED ON ANALYTIC NETWORK PROCESS METHODABSTRACTExpress delivery service has become a newly developed area in logistics industry, due to its advantage of speed, service and p

2、rofit. This paper analyses the development situation of Chinese express delivery market and find out that international express enterprises, China EMS and private express companies are the major three competition parties in this market; meanwhile international express, intercity express and inner-ci

3、ty express service are the main business type of this market. Because of the notable differences on business network, market focus, information management and service quality of those three competitors, there are a certain degree of difficulty for customer to select a proper express service provider

4、. Based on the analysis of Chinese express delivery market, a set of evaluation index for express service provider is established. Applying analytic network process (ANP) method, an evaluation model is built according to the established index. Utilizing this ANP model, a selection and evaluation pro

5、cess is simulated for a client company. The result indicates that the established model can authentically evaluate different service providers; the application of ANP method will help client company to select a proper service provider easily and conveniently.1 INTRODUCTIONExpress delivery is a speci

6、al logistics service which initiated from 1960s. It is defined as: consignee deliver shippers goods to the destination or to customer with the fastest transportation mode (Xu and Shi, 2007). The major objects of express delivery are business documents, files, drawings, trading billings and small par

7、cels such as samples, high value products, business gifts and home belongings. The operation mode of express delivery is different from that of post system for its speed, safety, high efficiency, door-to-door ability and accurate enquiry of goods information. There are three kinds of service provide

8、rs in Chinese express delivery market, who lead their segmented market respectively. Based on the analysis of each providers characters, this paper simulates a service provider selection process by applying the analytic network process (ANP) method according to the service demand of a freight forwar

9、ding company.2 THE OVERALL STRUCTURE OF CHINESE EXPRESS DELIVERY MARKETThe general environment of Chinese express delivery market can be described as “the Three Kingdoms involve three parts”. In terms of those “three parts”, it refers to the three market sections: namely international express delive

10、ry market, intercity express delivery market and inner-city express delivery market. These three express delivery businesses have different production element, operation mode, running rule and service object in each segmented market. This dissimilarity therefore requires different service providers

11、in different segmented market. In terms of those “three kingdoms”, it refers to the three types of service providers joining in the competition. The classification of those providers is as follows:􀁺 The joint ventured companies which are composed of international express delivery giant (suc

12、h as the Giant Four: UPS, TNT, FedEx and DHL) and local express delivery companies;􀁺 The traditional express delivery company which have a strong government administration background, its representative is China Express Mail Service (EMS);􀁺 Local companies which have neither foreig

13、n investment nor administration background, its representative are numerous private express delivery companies. The three different types of enterprises compete at different market layer, which make Chinese express delivery market formed a diversified competition situation.2.1 International GiantInt

14、ernational express companies have all built powerful global delivery networks, so as to help construct a solid foundation of effective and fast customer service. It is well known that service coverage is the root of express company, so business network is the guarantee for all. To enlarge their mark

15、et share in Chinese booming market, the Giant Four synchronously put their development keystone on the construction of network. Nowadays the Giant Four have occupied about 70% of Chinese international express market (Research group, 2006). Their business is focused on Chinese coastal areas and cente

16、r cities where gathering many foreign investors and running great number of business affairs. By doing this, they successfully increased their yield and avoiding unnecessary expenditure. Moreover, another important victor strategy of those international express giants is to take the advantage of the

17、ir positive worldwide brand image to develop overseas customers who have the demand for international transmittal with Chinese companies. Meanwhile, the huge domestic express market is always drawing their attention. In recent years, they are enjoying an increasing market share in Chinese express ma

18、rket. Depending on the strong financial support and advanced management experience, International Giants have applied many cut-edged information technologies into express business, such as free customer service telephone number, real-time enquiry system, and Custom connected EDI system. In addition,

19、 Chinese express companies cannot catch up with their foreign competitors who can provide a completed logistics solution and all-dimensional service to clients.2.2 China EMSChina Post EMS possesses a nationwide transportation and mailing network, which covers almost all the cities and counties in Ch

20、ina. Besides, Chinese post system has its own logistics network, which embody a special advantage in the practice of e-commerce and product distribution. In virtue of the network of Universal Postal Union (UPU), the service of EMS has reached over 200 countries and more than 1900 cities in China (Zh

21、ou, 2006). Now China EMS has become an express service provider with the largest business scale and service coverage. Currently, China EMS is the leader of domestic express market, especially on the business of intercity delivery. However, different from other logistics companies, China EMS is actua

22、lly a logistics company stemming from China Post. Depending on the strong credit from the government as well as the advanced mailing network and comprehensive transportation ability, China EMS obtains a strong competitive advantage in Chinese express market especially in the central and western area

23、s. In terms of information ability, the basic communication network of China Post has covered most logistics nodes, nevertheless the internal share of information has not realized, not to mention provide the real-time track-and-trace service for customers. The logistics system of scheduling, invento

24、ry and order management is necessary to be developed and perfected. Thanks to the good brand image and extensive brand awareness, China EMS has promised to continuously launch various high quality services. Even more, to satisfy its customers, it has planned to provide customized service in a proper

25、 time2.3 Private express companyPrivate companies launched the business of express delivery service not long ago; therefore, the construction of distribution network has not been perfected. A nationwide network is much needed to be completed. However, private companies focus on the regional business

26、, a mature regional distribution network has been operated in every concentrated market, especially in Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. Moreover, by means of renting and cooperation private companies obtain the air transportation capability across several regions so that they can run expre

27、ss service among those regions. Private companies target a clear and special market position to avoid the direct competition with its powerful rivals. Over 90% of their business comes from those companies carrying import-export business, such as foreign invested enterprises, international freight fo

28、rwarding companies, shipping companies, Custom, Commodity Inspection Bureau, travel agency and so on (Wei, 2005). Thus, private express companies focus themselves on the business of commercial express delivery. Although private express company is relatively young and does not have strong capital pow

29、er, it still spent a great investment on the construction of advanced information system in order to enhance customer satisfaction. The advantage of private companies comes from its flexibility which remedies the market gap by means of providing customized and special service to customers. In short,

30、 private companies compete domestic network and price with International Giants; compete speed and information with China EMS. They can realize the lowest price and best service in certain regional market.3 EVALUATION INDEX FOR EXPRESS DELIVERY PROVIDERBecause International Giant, China EMS and priv

31、ate express company are the three typical service providers in Chinese express market. These three have there typical characters in network coverage, market position, information management and service quality. Therefore, it becomes crucial to select a proper service provider according to the users

32、service demand. In the course of cooperation, the relation of the two parties is not merely a trading relation. Companies usually wish to establish a stable and long lasting cooperation relation. In modern competition, high-quality delivery service has become a very important component in the overal

33、l concept of a product. The most critical factor (such as cost) in traditional trade may be substituted by the requirement on service quality and customer satisfaction. Based on the characters of express delivery business and consulting some related literatures (He et al., 2006, Hu et al., 2006), this paper put forward the following index for evaluating express service provider: