The assessment of service quality for third-party logistics providers in the beverage industry

Figures & data

Table 1. Service quality assessment items collected and synthesized from the literature (draft version)

1. Tangible
1.1	The company has enough modern facilities and equipment to ensure customers service.
1.2	The driver’s uniform is neat and clean.
1.3	The company uses appropriate vehicles for beverage transportation.
1.4	The company has appropriate and effective equipment for protecting goods and avoiding damage during transport.
1.5	The company’s vehicles, both inside the container and outside, are clean and sanitary.
1.6	The company employs information technology and a communications system to facilitate the ordering process.
1.7	The company employs information and communications technology or an online system to track the delivery status.
2. Responsiveness
2.1	The staff is always willing to help customers out.
2.2	The company’s transportation is instant after receiving the order.
2.3	The company can quickly respond to any unexpected or urgent order.
2.4	The staff is good at solving emergency problems and situations.
2.5	The company is flexible about payment methods.
2.6	The staff is available to respond to customer requests and never too busy to fulfil their expectations.
3. Reliability
3.1	The company’s staff always provides services on-time and in the expected manner.
3.2	The company’s staff delivers goods accompanied by an invoice.
3.3	The company’s staff accurately issues a receipt and a purchase order document.
3.4	The company’s staff informs customers of the exact time a service will be performed and finished.
3.5	The company’s staff can maintain the service quality performance.
3.6	The company’s staff can deliver goods without flaws or damage.
3.7	The company staff always calls to confirm the placed order.
4. Assurance
4.1	The company’s staff makes customers feel secure and confident when using the service.
4.2	The staff and drivers have proper manners when providing services and communicating with customers.
4.3	The company has a convenient procedure for returning goods.
4.4	The company’s staff and drivers are competent and have expertise in their duties. They can always answer the customer’s queries.
4.5	The company has reasonable sales conditions.
4.6	The company has a warranty option in case goods are damaged during transport.
5. Empathy
5.1	The company’s staff consistently gives personal attention and remembers personal details.
5.2	The company offers attractive promotions for customers to enhance customer satisfaction and maintain long-term relationships.
5.3	The staff understands the customer’s specific needs and difficulties.
5.4	The company has a convenient opening time for clients.
5.5	The company’s drivers park in appropriate areas that are not illegal and do not disturb the local society.

Figure 1. Depiction of quadrants.

Table 2. IOC results

SERVQUAL dimensions	Items	Expert 1	Expert 2	Expert 3	Expert 4	Expert 5	Expert 6	Average IOC
1. Tangible	1.1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
	1.2	1	1	1	0	1	1	0.83
	1.3	1	1	−1	1	−1	0	0.17
	1.4	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
	1.5	1	1	1	0	1	1	0.83
	1.6	1	1	−1	1	−1	−1	0.00
	1.7	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
2. Responsiveness	2.1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
	2.2	1	0	1	1	1	1	0.83
	2.3	1	0	1	1	1	1	0.83
	2.4	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
	2.5	0	0	−1	−1	−1	−1	−0.67
	2.6	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
3. Reliability	3.1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
	3.2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
	3.3	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
	3.4	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
	3.5	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
	3.6	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
	3.7	1	0	−1	1	−1	−1	−0.17
4. Assurance	4.1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
	4.2	1	0	1	0	1	1	0.67
	4.3	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
	4.4	1	1	1	0	1	1	0.83
	4.5	1	0	−1	1	−1	−1	−0.17
	4.6	1	1	1	0	−1	−1	0.17
5. Empathy	5.1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00
	5.2	1	1	1	1	0	0	0.67
	5.3	1	1	1	1	1	0	0.83
	5.4	1	1	1	0	1	1	0.83
	5.5	1	1	1	1	1	1	1.00

Table 3. Cronbach’s alpha values for the five SERVQUAL dimensions

Dimensions	Tangible	Responsiveness	Reliability	Assurance	Empathy
Cronbach’s alpha values	0.8400	0.8923	0.8699	0.8701	0.9206

Table 4. Service quality assessment items for the beverage transportation service (the final version)

1. Tangible
1.1	The company has enough modern facilities and equipment to ensure customers service.
1.2	The driver’s uniform is neat and clean.
1.3	The company has appropriate and effective equipment for protecting goods and avoiding damage during transport.
1.4	The company’s vehicles, both inside the container and outside, are clean and sanitary.
1.5	The company employs information and communications technology or an online system to track the delivery status.
2. Responsiveness
2.1	The staff is willing to help customers out every time they are asked.
2.2	The staff provides instant transportation service after receiving an order, following the commitment.
2.3	The staff can quickly respond to any unexpected or urgent orders.
2.4	The staff is good at solving emergency problems and situations.
2.5	The staff is available to respond to customer requests and never too busy to fulfil their expectations.
3. Reliability
3.1	The company’s staff always provides services on-time and in the expected manner.
3.2	The company’s staff delivers goods accompanied by an invoice.
3.3	The company’s staff accurately issues an invoice (delivery order), a receipt, and a purchase order document.
3.4	The company’s staff informs customers of the exact time a service will be performed and finished.
3.5	The company’s staff can maintain the service quality performance or the performance is stable, as promised.
3.6	The company’s staff can deliver goods without flaws or damage.
4. Assurance
4.1	The company’s staff makes customers feel secure and confident when using the service.
4.2	The staff and drivers have proper manners when providing services and communicating with customers.
4.3	The company has a convenient and concise process for returning goods.
4.4	The company’s staff and drivers are competent and have expertise in their duties. They can always answer the customer’s queries.
5. Empathy
5.1	The company’s staff consistently gives personal attention and remembers personal details.
5.2	The company always launches activities to promote its long-term relationships with customers.
5.3	The staff understands the customer’s specific needs and difficulties.
5.4	The company has a flexible opening time for customers.
5.5	The company’s drivers park in appropriate areas that are not illegal and do not disturb the local society.

Table 5. The gap analysis

Dimension	Item	Avg. P	Avg. E	Avg. gap (P-E)	Std. P	Std. E	P-Value
1. Tangible	1.1	4.19	4.20	−0.01	0.80	0.73	0.850
	1.2	4.39	4.25	0.14	0.65	0.74	0.151
	1.3	4.23	4.22	0.01	0.67	0.80	0.955
	1.4	4.29	4.08	0.20	0.65	0.77	0.031*
	1.5	4.17	4.11	0.06	0.79	0.84	0.626
2. Responsiveness	2.1	4.36	4.20	0.16	0.71	0.91	0.143
	2.2	4.34	4.23	0.11	0.69	0.90	0.407
	2.3	4.04	4.17	−0.13	0.86	0.95	0.261
	2.4	4.12	4.08	0.04	0.82	0.94	0.698
	2.5	4.35	4.22	0.13	0.72	0.81	0.200
3. Reliability	3.1	4.35	4.29	0.06	0.67	0.82	0.604
	3.2	4.48	4.34	0.14	0.72	0.85	0.149
	3.3	4.53	4.43	0.10	0.73	0.76	0.188
	3.4	4.05	4.12	−0.07	0.91	0.96	0.644
	3.5	4.24	4.18	0.06	0.64	0.83	0.485
	3.6	4.20	4.22	−0.01	0.73	0.90	0.793
4. Assurance	4.1	4.43	4.25	0.18	0.65	0.84	0.046*
	4.2	4.48	4.30	0.18	0.67	0.84	0.035*
	4.3	4.10	4.17	−0.07	0.86	0.93	0.633
	4.4	4.22	4.06	0.16	0.73	0.95	0.158
5. Empathy	5.1	4.23	4.11	0.12	0.69	0.86	0.253
	5.2	3.88	4.05	−0.17	0.93	0.89	0.186
	5.3	4.04	4.02	0.01	0.78	0.98	0.784
	5.4	4.24	4.15	0.10	0.75	0.92	0.394
	5.5	4.38	4.15	0.23	0.76	1.01	0.030*
Average		4.25	4.19	0.07	0.74	0.87

*P-Value < 0.05 The null hypothesis is rejected at 0.05 level of significance

Figure 2. Matrix plot of the average perception versus the average expectation.

Table 6. Ranking order of the five dimensions and their descriptive statistics

Ranking order	SERVQUAL dimensions	Mean	Std.	Median	Group mean	Group Std.	Group median
1^st	3. Reliability	0.313	0.162	0.25	0.313	0.162	0.25
2^nd	5. Empathy	0.190	0.102	0.20	0.185	0.103	0.20
	4. Assurance	0.180	0.104	0.20
3^rd	1. Tangible	0.162	0.111	0.15	0.1585	0.123	0.125
	2. Responsiveness	0.155	0.134	0.10