Analysing Bottlenecks in the Logistics flow of Finnish Freight Forwarding Companies : a study on efficiency and optimization.

Abstract

Bottlenecks within the freight forwarding industry, which disrupt the smooth flow of goods, may results in delays, increased costs, and dissatisfied customers. Therefore, this study aims to identify these bottlenecks in sea transportation of selected freight forwarding companies in Finland and suggests potential improvements in efficiency and optimisation. The chosen method is qualitative with an inductive approach where common ground theories and themes are identified and organised in the analysing process. Data is collected from four open-ended, semi-structured interviews with sea freight experts from respective companies. From that, the author seeks to answer the research questions by thematising and evaluating the received answers. The main findings are categorised based on the three-flow model in logistics. In information flow, delays, errors, and added costs are the effects caused by a non-universal and non-standardised information system. Material flow bottlenecks remain in the difficulties in tracking shipment’s status and congestions at ports. In capital flow, fluctuated freight rates and potential money risk when operating with certain partners are considered to be challenging for freight forwarders. According to these bottlenecks, suggestions for efficiency and optimisation improvement are given, with an emphasis on the development of information flow by utilising AI and recent technology in the field. The results are somewhat surprising and unexpected, as there were few previous studies regarding this specific transport mode to compare with. Due to its limited scope in focusing only on sea freight, the work offers good opportunities for future studies in risk management of other modes such as air, road, and railway transport in Finland as well as other Nordics countries.