Measuring the longitudinal performance of 3PL branch operations

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the longitudinal efficiency of branch operations of a third party logistics (3PL) company for comparative performance measurement and internal benchmarking. Design/methodology/approach – Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is used for measuring the performance of a branch of a 3PL company for 36 months using internal data. Findings – Despite increasing revenues, the branch suffers diminishing efficiencies in recent months. Indirect expenses are identified as a major source of inefficiency. Research limitations/implications – The 3PL company has over 600 branches. However, due to the availability of data and the regulation on information disclosure for publicly traded companies, this study includes information on only one branch. Originality/value – The contributions of this study include demonstrating a novel framework for internal benchmarking with longitudinal data, providing actionable managerial insights, and the use of internal data, which is not accessible to the general public.