Overseas Agent Selection for International Logistics Companies: A Case Study

Abstract

International logistics companies (ILCs) have aggressively participated in the supply chain systems of production industries as part of global trade development. They have adopted diversified and multinational models by expanding their overseas services to align with the various characteristics of regional economic patterns. Assigning specific local agents for their forwarding operations has been one of the key strategies for overseas services. Notably, the performance of these selected agents has significantly influenced service quality in their respective regions. In collaboration with the top management of an ILC, this study proposes an evaluation framework comprising 4 criteria and 16 subcriteria for selecting overseas agents. A fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, combined with rank pairwise comparison, was employed to incorporate the opinions of executives within the hierarchical organization of this ILC. The study then evaluated the potential of its agents across 13 regions worldwide. The analysis revealed that the criterion of agents' business strategies and advantages was the most critical. Within this criterion, the subcriterion of financial capital scale advantage was ranked as the most significant. The current agents of this ILC in eight regions were ranked first among at least three candidates. However, agents in other areas may need to enhance their service levels or seek partnerships with more competitive agents.