Towards Freight Forwarder Selection Criteria: Exploration of BWM and PROMETHEE Method

Freight forwarders are crucial to the global supply chain and their efficiency and capacity can improve a country’s logistics performance. This study aims to explore factors influencing the selection of freight forwarders by exporters and importers. An analogy between ocean and air freight forwarders is investigated based on perceived operational efficiency and capacity-related factors. The study also explores choosing international ocean freight forwarders to maintain a competitive advantage over air services. By applying the Best Worst Method (BWM) and Preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluation (PROMETHEE) I and II methods, this study provides the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis framework to determine the significance of decision criteria for freight forwarder selection. Results suggest that faster services, commitment and responsiveness are significant operational efficiency-related decision criteria for freight forwarder selection, while competitive rates, financial strength, and tracking and tracing are significant capacity-related decision criteria.