Freight forwarder selection criteria in logistics: A case in textile sector in İzmir

With the impact of the globalization, foreign trade has increased rapidly. Nowadays, wherever, a product is produced, it can be consumed in a different corner of the world. The logistics sector has a critical role in this consumption. Since the logistics activities are a cost element, the success of logistics activities have a potential to affect the competitiveness. Freight forwarding companies have an active role in the solution of the problems with their experience and the connections by being present in the sector for many years. Thus, all problems can be solved without being reflected to the parties. At this point, the selection of the freight forwarder company becomes more important. The cost and competitiveness of the firms can be affected by the decision that selecting one of a brokerage firm in the sector. In this study, a survey has been conducted to the textile companies those are operating in İzmir and who prefer a freight forwarder for their logistics activities, to determine the selection criteria and its importance levels. With the help of the SPSS software, the findings of the analyzes show the importance levels as payment term, transit time and quotation for selection criteria; investment requirements, organizational structure and competition structure for "factors influencing the outsourcing decision"; cost reduction, optimize the logistics capabilities and increase the customer satisfaction for "advantages"; lacks in perceiving the strategical objectives, privacy concerns about the commercial informations and lack on the control of the logistics operations for "problems"; communication skills, payment term and quotation for "The criteria to be developed".