Logistics services in Taiwanese maritime firms

This paper examines logistics services and strategic dimensions in Taiwanese maritime firms. This is done by means of a review of previous studies and personal interviews; data collection has also included a questionnaire survey. A factor analysis and a principal components analysis were conducted in order to assess the degree of importance of a large number of service attributes and a small number of underlying dimensions called strategic dimensions (factors). The results revealed that the most important strategic dimension was value-added service, followed by promotion, equipment and facilities as well as speed and reliability. This research attempted to link the relationship between performance and logistics services. While the average profit rate, sales growth rate and return on assets of implemented logistics firms were higher in degree of importance than for non-implemented logistics firms, the difference was not statistically significant. The approach utilized in this research could be useful for shipping practitioners to improve their performance and to enhance their competitive advantage.