Factors affecting the satisfaction from the 3PL providers in transportation
Factor analysis is conducted in order to understand the real factors underlying the
selection of the carriers.
A factor is a mother-concept which gives a summary of a subgroup of indicators
that largely measure the same (see Hair et al., 1992 for details of factor analysis). As can
be seen in Table VI, the factor analysis shows that it is possible to represent all 31
selection criteria with seven factors. The values given in the table correspond to factor
loadings.
Factor 1 is composed of: “the ability of the carrier to deliver damage-free goods”;
“advance notice of transit delays if possible”; “shipment security”; “the ability of the
carrier to customize its services to meet specific and/or unique needs to handle
emergency shipment”; “length of promised transit times” and; “the ability to adhere to
special shipping instructions”. In fact all these criteria are specifically related to the
reliability of the carrier. That is why Factor 1 is named as “Reliability of the carrier”.