Less than a container booking process : LCL booking
Maxim, Victoria (2015)
Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu
2015
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 1.0 Finland
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201504224799
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201504224799
Tiivistelmä
Less than a container load (LCL) booking process is a topic of specific interest for importing and exporting small and medium businesses. The growing interest in this sector is due to its cheap price and possibility to have lower volumes transported as well.
The focus of this paper lies on the booking part of the whole marine transportation process. While booking a full container load (FCL) is a relatively simple task, LCL is a more troublesome process. This research paper is an attempt at understanding the roots of this misconception as well as offer recommendations for NVOCC (non vessel operating common carriers) and freight forwarders on how to improve the booking process.
The thesis approaches the topic from two sides. From one side it tries to get insight into the booking process by presenting the NVOCCs point of view, and from another side, it researches what are the businesses' expectations from booking a LCL by conducting interviews.
Another experiment conducted for the purpose of this topic was the price inquiry, during which a price inquiry message was sent to six companies dealing in LCL shipping. The results of the inquiry as well as the quotes received are analyzed and conclusions are drawn.
As it has been found out by the present research, the booking process is complicated because of the number of intermediaries participating in the process. The lack of transparency as well as the lack of online tools for receiving immediate quotes prolongs the entire booking process. Other negative aspects from the shippers' point of view are the elaborate quotes which need separate explanation from specialists in the area.
The thesis might be of good value for sales departments of NVOCC companies, who are interested in improving customers experience throughout the booking process and retaining the clients as loyal customers.
The focus of this paper lies on the booking part of the whole marine transportation process. While booking a full container load (FCL) is a relatively simple task, LCL is a more troublesome process. This research paper is an attempt at understanding the roots of this misconception as well as offer recommendations for NVOCC (non vessel operating common carriers) and freight forwarders on how to improve the booking process.
The thesis approaches the topic from two sides. From one side it tries to get insight into the booking process by presenting the NVOCCs point of view, and from another side, it researches what are the businesses' expectations from booking a LCL by conducting interviews.
Another experiment conducted for the purpose of this topic was the price inquiry, during which a price inquiry message was sent to six companies dealing in LCL shipping. The results of the inquiry as well as the quotes received are analyzed and conclusions are drawn.
As it has been found out by the present research, the booking process is complicated because of the number of intermediaries participating in the process. The lack of transparency as well as the lack of online tools for receiving immediate quotes prolongs the entire booking process. Other negative aspects from the shippers' point of view are the elaborate quotes which need separate explanation from specialists in the area.
The thesis might be of good value for sales departments of NVOCC companies, who are interested in improving customers experience throughout the booking process and retaining the clients as loyal customers.