Core criteria affecting intention to select a supplier of less than container load (LCL) import service in Ho Chi Minh

Abstract

Importers and manufacturing factory in Vietnam are using more of their no inventory strategy to reduce storage cost and catch up with the changing need of the market. Thus, there is significant change on quantity of import purchase order, from Full Container Load (FCL) into Less Than Container Load (LCL), but more in frequency of shipments. The consolidator who is supplying the shipping service for LCL import shipments must always respond to their customers’ demand to ship LCL cargo with competitive cost, short transit time and good at handling service quality. This study was conducted to fin/d out the variables which impact the customer’s intention to select the supplier of LCL import service. Understanding the customer’s behavioral intention will be one of the keys to competitive advantage, which improves the organization’s service level. The requirements for LCL import service providers are becoming more severe, customers want their cargo must be shipped on time without delay and fastest service, cargo must be handled safely and always receive a willingness on resolving troubles and updating information also. The criteria selected to examine the impact on customer selection intention to use the LCL import supplier based on the previous studies written by authors of the same topic in the world. The result of research did showed that all six factors included Responsiveness, Rate, Resource, Assurance, Empathy, Reliability would positively affect customer intention to select the company's service, while the Responsiveness, Reliability, Empathy factors were the best significant impacts. The findings will be the foundation for choosing strategy to develop a better service and getting more on LCL import shipping market share. Keywords: Selection Intention, Less than container import service, Ho Chi Minh City.