Performance Evaluation of Logistics Service Providers

With the national economy developing, logistics activities in Brazil are growing rapidly. As a result, the logistics service provider sector is growing more and more in the country, as outsourcing logistics is proving to be a viable alternative. Therefore, this paper investigates the relative efficiency of 33 logistics service providers (3PL) in Brazil in 2016, using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). DEA is a non-parametric mathematical tool that uses linear programming to calculate the relative efficiency of decision-making units (DMUs). The purpose of this study is to be able to compare each unit, forming a ranking according to the efficiency of the production processes, and also to be able to find the benchmark companies, i.e. the ones that stand out the most out of all. In this way, company managers will be able to select the best logistics operators and those best suited to their employer’s reality.