Innovative maritime logistics in achieving higher flexibility and resilience : a two-stage QFD approach to improve maritime supply chain resilience

Abstract

Maritime logistics providers face a volatile environment characterized by uncertainty and risks imposed by supply chain and their own actions. Using liner companies as representative of maritime service providers, this paper aims to find innovative measures to increase the resilience.

Extensive study on previous researches was conducted regarding risks faced by and resilience measures taken. In consultancy with professionals from liner industry, the important customer requirements, risks and resilience measure were selected.

By conducting questionnaire surveys and interviews with professionals from one liner company, the importance of customer requirements, risks and resilience measures are quantified as well as the correlation between customer requirements and risks and between risks and resilience measures.

Adopting the method of two-stage QFD (Quality Function Deployment) model, the relative severance of risks as well as the relative importance of resilience measure were calculated. Based on the results of the QFD models, the key resilience measures are identified. The findings can benefit the liner industry by proposing the key measures to increase agility and resilience to effectively and efficiently respond to risks and uncertainties.