Title: Utilising quality function deployment to select customer voice-based quality improvement technique for 3PL companies

Authors: Tzong-Ru Lee, Jiun-Hung Lin

Addresses: Department of Marketing and Chairman of Institute of Electronic Commerce, National Chung-Hsing University, No. 250 Kuo-Kuang Road, Taichung 420, Taiwan, ROC. ' Department of Transportation Technology and Management, National Chiao-Tung University, No. 1001, Ta Hsueh Road, Hsin Chu 300, Taiwan, ROC

Abstract: Third-Party Logistics (3PL) help connecting buyers and suppliers in supply chains. Hence, logistics quality significantly affects the performance of the supply chain. An intensely competitive business environment necessitates that firms provide services according to customer demand to retain them and reduce the turnover rate. Selecting an appropriate logistics quality improvement technique for 3PL according to customer demand is an important issue. This study utilises Quality Function Deployment (QFD) with |Quality Attribute Ranking| and |Utility Function Ranking| to select most appropriate quality improvement technique. QFD analysis transforms voice of customer into the preference for quality improvement techniques of 3PL company, enabling the most effective quality improvement technique to be selected. This study classifies 3PL companies into three types according to their organisation characteristics and their customer source. The best quality improvement techniques are determined with empirical data for each type of 3PL company. The difference among the analytical results are compared and discussed further.

Keywords: third-party logistics; 3PL; quality function deployment; QFD; quality improvement techniques; customer demand.

DOI: 10.1504/IJENM.2006.011703

International Journal of Enterprise Network Management, 2006 Vol.1 No.2, pp.179 - 195

Published online: 15 Dec 2006 *

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