EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This project says about an analysis of decision making process of customers in choosing the shipping line.

The world has become more competitive than ever. While the fittest one survives the weaker one exits. To survive in this business world everyone should have knowledge about the competitors and their customers. It helps them to design appropriate strategies and gain edge over them. The project analyses the expectation and impact of the customers on shipping line in various aspects. The researcher here studies about the expectation of the customers in sending their cargos to various destinations using several shipping lines and by what are all the factors a shipping lines customer choose that particular shipping line over other service providers. Over the past decade, the shipping industry has emerged as one of the most successful sectors of the global logistics industry. The substantial growth of globalization has led manufacturing to locate to various remote locations around the world. The development of such new economies has increased the demand for international shipping services due to which new companies have been popping up every day. These are the latest happenings that have taken place in this exciting and fast paced industry. So, the researcher here studies about the various shipping line in customer point of view about their dependency level and the needs from the shipping lines. So the researcher takes various customers in and around Chennai to study about the impact and expectation of customers on shipping lines. The researcher used descriptive research as his important study tool which is used for the collection of both qualitative and quantitative type of datas.

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 OVERVIEW OF THE TOPIC

This project says about analysis of the decision making process of customers in choosing the shipping line. There is a wide variety of shipping services available today for both domestic and international shipping. Each has its own policies, shipping methods, pricing, and procedures. The research developed to understand the efficiency of Liners depends upon the services such as cargo tracking, price fixing and other related cargo movement activities. The study reviews the services offered by the liners to their customers in various aspects of imports and exports. So the researcher here approaches various customers of different liners and studies their level of satisfaction and expectation that are gained from their liners. So the researcher here studies for the benefit of liners in terms of satisfaction and good service respectively. A customer before selecting a shipping line has to consider various factors like type of cargo to be shipped, availability of suitable ship with the line and the time frequency of the line operation, urgency of the cargo to be shipped, value added services that are provided by the lines to the customer, total cost using a particular line etc. Liner service is the backbone of international trade in manufactured goods. Liners, sailing on regular schedules along established ocean trade lanes, move vast quantities of consumer, industrial and military commodities ranging from video cameras to night-vision scopes perfume to paint, jeans to milling machines

1.2 INDUSTRY PROFILE

INTRODUCTION TO LINER TRADE This introduction is made to offer the basic understanding of the nature and the scope of Liner Shipping Business. It covers the origin and the history of growth of Liner business as we could see it today from the earlier days of sea Bourne trade. The revolution in the shipping industry and its commitment to various traders dealing worldwide sitting in their territory entrusting their responsibilities on the shipping professional to move either their raw material from a different country to their point of production and their finished goods to the required point of consumption is discussed in detail in the sessions to come. Liner shipping has seen the dramatic changes in the last phase of the 20thcentury. By the beginning of this century the changeover had completed with Containerization supported in some areas by Roll-on/Roll-off services accounting for almost all international movement of manufactured and semi manufactured goods.

HISTORY OF LINERS From the day when people identified and designed a craft that can be floated on the sea, people started moving to different places from one place to another and whenever they had to move, they moved along with their necessaries. As this could have been the very beginning of either men or material started moving in the sea with a craft, in the later stages, whenever people could think of having more comforts while in crafts, redesigned a better craft to accommodate more persons and also more commodity / goods, the same have been carried between two places and slowly between ports across the world. Arab dhows have for centuries engaged in the trade between the Arabian Gulf and East Africa mainly depending upon winds that blow them either northeast or southwest across the Indian Ocean. In the initial stages when people started trading

in the other place/country leaving their own place/country, they started carrying goods that can be traded in the different part of the world, in the ships. In most of the cases, the Merchant happened to be the owner of the ship and he carried his own goods to Trade. As the Trader was performing more roles one as the owner of the ship and another as the trader, he had one another important role to play that was of the Captain of the Ship also to monitor the crew and control the ships activity and ships up keeping. As the Captain he would seek out primly his own cargo to trade for his profits and the concentration on various activities of managing the ship as in the position of a Captain as well as performing the Trade was felt to be a difficult task and this tough task laid the way for the trader or the vessel owner to appoint personnel to take care of the ship activity and to manage it technically. This was the first ever step by the vessel owner to appoint personnel to run the ship on his behalf under his instructions. Though the Merchant had good comfort of engaging professional to run the ship and to upkeep the ship, till the invention of steam power in 1820s, the ships had to fully depend on the wind flow and based on the directions of wind flow only the Merchants were trading. The success of the business and the business profits were entirely based on the fortune of Wind Flow and the successful completion of voyage and hence there was absolutely no fixed sailing of the ships. During 1820s for the first time, ships have become independent of the wind. When the ships could sail on their own without the influence of weather conditions and the wind flows, Merchants could fix certain timetable for the vessels to sail from one port. After 4 decades, during 1860s, when the steam power has become more reliable, larger size vessels were put in operation and this was enabling the vessel owners to offer regular scheduled services in main trade routes. Keeping the above to be the beginning of Liner Service, the seaborne trade was carried out in many forms based on the type of ship. There could be no interchangeability of the cargo from one vessel to another unless both the

vessels are of same nature. When container ships can carry all types of cargo in enclosed containers, specific ships were used to carry products like Grain, Ores and Liquid nature. Ro-ro ships and ferries were used to carry cargo on trucks or other wheeled vehicles. Most of the seaborne trade, say about 90%, is of bulk cargo and homogenous in nature. This consists iron ore, manganese ore, coal, forest products, bauxite, phosphates and grains. Since these type of commodity are traded in bulk in huge volume and one vessel is capable of carrying only one type of cargo (unless and otherwise specific designs are made to carry more than one cargo), the vessels engaged to carry these type of products are called BULK CARRIERS. The size of the ship vary from few hundred tones cargo carrying capacity to a maximum of over 0.3 million tones. Apart from Bulk Carriers, other large group of vessels are designed to carry liquid Cargoes and/or Gas and called TANKERS. These vessels are specially designed to meet the demands of the type of cargo they will have to carry. After the containerization and the change of packing style to accommodate cargo in containers to shipout from one port to another, the volume of growth in container traffic got increased and today many a bulk commodity which were traded on bulk basis now being traded in containers. In total, moving goods by sea or waterways is found to be the most economic method of transport in terms of the cost per tonmile base. It is estimated that 90% of the worlds trade is carried by sea and that this represents some 20 trillion ton miles. Statistics shows that the volume of goods carried by sea has increased nine-fold in the last 50 years.

LINER SERVICE DEFINED Liner shipping provides a fixed frequency and between a set of specified ports according to a prefixed schedule. This resembles a Train time table and assures a predictable time frame of transit for export and import trade who could plan their procurement as well as production. Whether the vessel is full or not, the liner vessels will call on a particular port on the appointed day. Liner vessels also are meant for the trade at large. That means any importer and or the exporter can approach the liners with a space request. Provided space is not fully sold, the liner will accommodate all requests. In this aspect, the liners are common carriers. All legal cargoes will be accepted without discrimination. The number of users of liner vessel is many. To simplify, the space is being sold in retail. This has its disadvantages as we will see later. The tariff is also announced in advance and the cost of carriage is also well factored into by the trade. Any increase in rates for operational reasons is advised to trade at least few weeks in advance. The structure of rates is made clear to all customers from time to time. In ongoing, regular businesses negotiate the rates well in advance and have rate contracts in place. These rate contracts are basically agreements to provide a set of rates which will remain firm or vary according to mutually agreed formula. This makes sense for both parties; the liner would like to have some portion of stable volumes throughout the year which are to be expected with contracts. The trader would like to avoid discussing rates at periodic intervals. He will be better off when he negotiates a larger quantity spread over a period. This gives him a stable rates as well as a firm costing to quote for his products for a longer time in future. The rates in liner service are usually value added products and hence the rates higher than in tramp trade. Again in tramp trade, the quantities involved are huge and hence freight rates are lower. In view of the

complexities involved in liner trade the offices of liner companies are higher. Marketing is involved and hence the number of persons for sales and after sales marketing is higher. Liner shipping has a number of customers as it carries many cargoes for many clients. The customer will look for, besides low freight rates, least transit times, more frequency and high performance in slippages in schedules. A liner service with poor track record of delays will have to offer lower freight rates. Better liners can and do demand higher rates. The connectivity to important ports is vital and the acceptable transit times for sensitive cargoes enhance the marketability of liners. Liners preserve to be seen as a brand rather as a commodity by their market friendly service patterns and attractive freighting policies. The service package, among other things, consists of advising the clients of vessels arrivals, feedback on their cargo tracking, Delivery details and in general keeping the clients advised of any delays to vessels. Nowadays, this kind of service is given 24/7 when the cargo tracking is done on line. The client with the help of the Bill of lading number can access the website of the Liner and can check for himself the status of the cargo. Any line who does not offer such state-of- the-art tracking cannot face the demands of the market place and will have to be satisfied with lower end of the clients. To summarize, Liner service has fixed schedules, regular frequency and a tariff for all destinations and is meant for a large number of customers. Stable rates for a period of time are a must. Predictability in rates, schedule and fixed transit times help sellers and buyers plan their inventory as well as their production programmes. For containerized business it has now become a standard practice to have no less than a weekly service. Some have biweekly service. These services are invariably on fixed day sailings and fixed day arrivals. The entire chain of container movement from one place to another can be predicted well in advance. Trade plans their inventories and sales based on this. This high precision in arrivals reduces the idle stocks and

eliminates safety stocks. In fact, one of the factors behind the successes of globalisation lies in the fact that supply chains are slick and offer reduced costs of the operation of the chain. This improves the volumes as costs are lower. For non containerised business, a fortnightly or a service every 3 weeks may be considered adequate as the client base is small and the trade may not be able to offer regular volumes at shorter intervals. In case of car carriers, the frequency is mutually agreed between the exporter (usually the car manufacturer) and the liner. This could vary from 10 days to a month. Here in most cases, the exporter is one or at most, few car companies. Planning exercise is relatively simple as only few companies are involved. For liner companies, it is necessary to have a large suite of clients as they are committed to a long term schedule and would expect to high percentage of loading consistently. This is all the more important as competition is very stiff and getting high rates is very difficult and hence, the loading has to be near full so that profits are not eroded. In liner service, it is thus important to have an aggressive marketing team which will maximize the loadings. It is also important to have representation in hinterland points as well as in Inland Container depots to canvass for cargo. Liner agency will have subagents or, if the business is vital, their office in off port locations so that cargo interests are always kept in touch with. Traditionally, the shipping was port based but containerization, because of its multimodalism, has ensured that shipping activity moves closer to the actual shippers and consignees, no matter where they are. This aspect of business finds that the better liner companies specializing in containerization having offices in all cargo rich interior points. For example, all shipping companies in India will have an office in New Delhi or in Bangalore in India as these places are full of important exporters and importers. Liner companies also have more persons compared to tramp business as each seller has to be given a bill of lading for his cargo and this will have to be manifested. The documentation

requirement is more as more consignments are handled per vessel call. In addition as we saw earlier, the marketing and customer service is very vital and is person intensive. Besides, every consignment has to be receipted at load port end and at discharge port end; it has to be delivered to the correct consignee. The customs papers have to be prepared at either end which is called manifests. There is again reporting of consignments taken in for the purpose of accounting to the agency and to the principle. Collected freight has to be accounted and repatriated for every single consignment. Then we have claims of short delivery or loss or damage and these claims have a tendency to prolong for interminable lengths of time. All these mean that the liner agency is to be staffed adequately than a tramp agency as documentation needs are very heavy. Paperwork is heavy which is easy to manage these days as computers are helping us cope with the workload. Liner business, to sum up, essentially has a fixed schedule, a renegotiated or pre existing tariff which is fairly stable and fair amount of loyal customers. It is also people intensive as it requires more marketing staff and operational staff.

1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study is all about the decision making process of customer in choosing the shipping line. The study reviews the services offered by the liners to their customers in various aspects of imports and exports and parameters under which shippers choose their shipping lines. So the researcher here approaches various customers of different liners and studies their level of satisfaction and expectation that are gained from their liners. So the researcher here studies for the benefit of liners in terms of satisfaction and good service respectively. The methods of research study used by the researcher to observe in customer point of view are survey method, observation method and case study method. So the surveys can be done personally, telephonic and mail surveys. Observation can be done by structured and unstructured methods. So the researcher prepares a structural questionnaire format to understand customers needs and expectation from the liner. So the researcher after reviewing the various customers about their impact and expectation has to observe the services offered by the liner and has to give a review to know their strength and weaknesses of liner companies. So the researcher hereby has to say that the study is done for the favor of customers, majority of this research is held for the purpose of the growth and diversification of the liner.

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

LINER SERVICE The literature review here reviews about a project done by a consultancy company Drewry on liner shipping services the below things are reviewed and analyzed by the organization as follows: The Drewry team recommended that the client should continue to operate the business unit, having identified strong upwards revenue and profit potential. A medium term strategy for securing appropriate vessel capacity was recommended At the same time, partnership and / or sale opportunities were identified that might provide for a future managed exit from the sector to maximize the realization of tangible and intangible asset values. The client adopted the recommendation to continue operations in this business unit and the positive projections for its profitability were subsequently borne out by results well in excess of the clients own projections at the time of the study. These results have confirmed the validity of the recommendation to retain the business unit, unless a sale at full asset value could be secured

Design and operation of liner service networks The development of liner shipping in the last 30 years has exceeded the growth of world trade volumes. The activity of this very dynamic branch of maritime transport is measured in based on annual container port throughputs. Besides continuous growth in throughput volumes, we also observe a parallel increase in the concentration in the global port system, notwithstanding slight decreases in recent years, notably after the 2008 financial crisis that directly affected traffic

volumes and distributions. Despite those conjectural changes, liner shipping remains built on a series of specific network configurations. Container shipping features a complex combination of end-to-end services, line-bundling services, and pendulum services, which are connected to form extensive shipping networks. Port hierarchy in the container business is intrinsically linked to shipping lines design of these liner service networks in terms of service variables such as service frequency, vessel capacity, fleet mix, vessel speed, and the number and order of port calls (Fagerholt 2004; Notteboom 2006c). Liner service design is a function not only of carrier-specific operational factors (i.e. lower costs) but also of shippers needs (e.g. transit time) and willingness to pay for a better service. In the last two decades, increased cargo availability has led carriers and strategic alliances among them to reshape their liner shipping networks through the introduction of new types of liner services on the main east-west trade lanes. The largest ships operate on multi-port itineraries calling at a limited number of ports. The EuropeFar East trade provides a good example. Most mainline operators and alliances running services from the Far East to North Europe stick to line bundling itineraries with direct calls scheduled in each of the main markets. Notwithstanding diversity in calling patterns on the observed routes, carriers select up to five regional ports of call per loop. Shipping lines have significantly increased average vessel sizes deployed on the route from around 4500 TEU in 2000 to over 7500 TEU in early 2010. These scale increases in vessel size have put downward pressure on the average number of port calls per loop on the Far East North Europe trade: 4.9 ports of call in 1989, 3.84 in 1998, 3.77 in October 2000, 3.68 in February 2006, and 3.35 in December 2009.

Maersk Line, MSC, and CMA-CGM are among the truly global liner operators with a strong presence in secondary routes. Their networks are based on traffic circulation through specific hubs. Productivity has been improved through the use of larger ships, new operational patterns, and cooperation between shipping lines. Container shipping lines have been very active in securing (semi)dedicated terminal capacity in the strategic locations within their liner service networks. It gives an overview of the strategic ports in the worldwide liner network of Maersk Line. Shipping lines also rely on horizontal integration through operating a greements (e.g. vessel sharing agreements, slot chartering agreements, consortia and strategic alliances) and mergers and acquisitions. Alliance structures (cf. Grand Alliance, New World Alliance, and CYKH) provide its members easy access to more loops or services with relatively low-cost implications and allow them to share terminals. In the last few decades, extensive hub-feeder container systems and short-sea shipping networks came into existence to cope with increasing volumes and to connect to other port ranges (Rodrigue and Notteboom, 2010). The economics of transhipment and relay/interlining have resulted in the establishment of intermediate hubs with terminals owned, in whole or in part, by carriers or port operators. In some cases, intermediate hubs were developed within offshore location often on small islands with an implicit local cargo base (Rodrigue and Notteboom, 2010). The development of offshore hubs did not exclude transhipment activities at traditional gateway ports such as in the Western Mediterranean port system, where the distinction between hub ports and gateway ports has become blurred (Gouvernal et al., 2005). The position of pure transhipment hubs is generally more unstable than that of pure gateway ports: once traffic volumes for the gateway ports are sufficient, hubs are bypassed and might even become redundant (Wilmsmeier and Notteboom, 2010). The location of transshipment hubs

remains important, because they lower the deviation distance to/from main trunk lines (Zohil and Prijon, 1999). There remains a subtle combination between centrality (proximity to origin/destination markets) and intermediacy (insertion in carrier networks) in nearly every port (Fleming and Hayuth, 1994).

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLGY

3.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

To find out the factors by which customers are choosing a shipping line. To know various services provided by shipping lines to customers in order to attract the customers To find out the shipping terms and incoterms that are mainly used and how that are beneficial for shipper and shipping lines To know the kinds of value added services that are provided by shipping lines in order to retain their customers for long term To find out the reasons for switching from one line to another by customers

3.2 RESEARCH DESIGN

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The major purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present. In social science and business research we quite often use Research Methodology: the term Ex post facto research for descriptive research studies. The main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no control over the variables; he can only report what has happened or what is happening. Most ex post facto research projects are used for descriptive studies in which the researcher seeks to measure such items as, for example, frequency of shopping, preferences of people, or similar data. Ex post facto studies also include attempts by researchers to discover causes even when they cannot control the variables. The methods of research utilized in descriptive research are survey methods of all kinds, including comparative and correlational methods. Descriptive research does not fit neatly into the definition of either quantitative or qualitative research methodologies, but instead it can utilize elements of both, often within the same study. The term descriptive research refers to the type of research question, design, and data analysis that will be applied to a given topic. Descriptive statistics tell what is, while inferential statistics try to determine cause and effect. The type of question asked by the researcher will ultimately determine the type of approach necessary to complete an accurate assessment of the topic at hand. Descriptive studies, primarily concerned with finding out "what is," might be applied to investigate the following questions: Do freight forwarders hold favourable attitude towards liners in sending cargoes? Descriptive research can be either quantitative or qualitative. It can involve collections of quantitative information that can be tabulated along a continuum in numerical form, such as

scores on a test or the number of times a person chooses to use a-certain feature of a multimedia program, or it can describe categories of information such as gender or patterns of interaction when using technology in a group situation. Descriptive research involves gathering data that describe events and then organizes, tabulates, depicts, and describes the data collection. It often uses visual aids such as graphs and charts to aid the reader in understanding the data distribution. Because the human mind cannot extract the full import of a large mass of raw data, descriptive statistics are very important in reducing the data to manageable form. Descriptive statistics utilize data collection and analysis techniques that yield reports concerning the measures of central tendency, variation, and correlation. The combination of its characteristic summary and correlational statistics, along with its focus on specific types of research questions, methods, and outcomes is what distinguishes descriptive research from other research types. Three main purposes of research are to describe, explain, and validate findings. Description emerges following creative exploration, and serves to organize the findings in order to fit them with explanations, and then test or validate those explanations. Educational researchers might use observational, survey, and interview techniques to collect data about group dynamics during computer-based activities.

THE NATURE OF DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH The descriptive function of research is heavily dependent on instrumentation for measurement and observation. Researchers may work for many years to perfect such instrumentation so that the resulting measurement will be accurate, reliable, and generalizable.

The intent of some descriptive research is to produce statistical information about aspects of education that interests policy makers and educators. There has been an ongoing debate among researchers about the value of quantitative versus qualitative research, But descriptive research spans both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, it brings the ability to describe events in greater or less depth as needed. Descriptive research describes natural or man-made educational phenomena that are of interest to policy makers and educators. Predictions of educational phenomenon seek to determine whether certain students are at risk and if teachers should use different techniques to instruct them. Research about improvement asks whether a certain technique does something to help students learn better and whether certain interventions can improve student learning by applying causal-comparative, correlational, and experimental methods. Some of the common data collection methods applied to questions within the realm of descriptive research includes surveys, interviews, observations, and portfolios.

3.3 SOURCE AND TYPE OF DATA

PRIMARY DATA Primary research data consists in research to collect original data. It is often undertaken after the researcher has gained some insight into the issue by collecting secondary data. This can be through numerous forms, including questionnaires, direct observation and telephone interviews amongst others.

THE 3 BASIC TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH METHOD (METHOD OF PRIMARY DATA COLLECTION) One of the goals of science and business is description (other goals include prediction and explanation). Descriptive research methods are pretty much as they sound they describe situations. They do not make accurate predictions, and they do not determine cause and effect. There are three main types of descriptive methods: observational methods, case-study methods and survey methods. This article will briefly describe each of these methods, their advantages, and their drawbacks. This may help you better understand research findings, whether reported in the mainstream media, or when reading a research study on your own.

OBSERVATIONAL METHOD With the observational method (sometimes referred to as field observation) animal and human behaviour is closely observed. There are two main categories of the observational method naturalistic observation and laboratory observation. The biggest advantage of the naturalistic method of research is that researchers view participants in their natural environments. Laboratory

observations are usually less time consuming and cheaper than naturalistic observations. Of course, both naturalistic and laboratory observation are important in regard to the advancement of scientific knowledge.

CASE STUDY METHOD Case study research involves an in-depth study of an individual or group of individuals. Case studies often lead to testable hypotheses and allow us to study rare phenomena. Case studies should not be used to determine cause and effect, and they have limited use for making accurate predictions. There are two serious problems with case studies expectancy effects and atypical individuals. Expectancy effects include the experimenters underlying biases that might affect the actions taken while conducting research. These biases can lead to misrepresenting participants descriptions. Describing atypical individuals may lead to poor generalizations and detract from external validity.

SURVEY METHOD In survey method research, participants answer questions administered through interviews or questionnaires. After participants answer the questions, researchers describe the responses given. In order for the survey to be both reliable and valid it is important that the questions are constructed properly. Questions should be written so they are clear and easy to comprehend. Another consideration when designing questions is whether to include open-ended, closedended, partially open-ended, or rating-scale questions. Advantages and disadvantages can be found with each type

Open-ended questions allow for a greater variety of responses from participants but are difficult to analyze statistically because the data must be coded or reduced in some manner. Closed-ended questions are easy to analyze statistically, but they seriously limit the responses that participants can give. Many researchers prefer to use a Likert-type scale because its very easy to analyze statistically. In addition to the methods listed above some individuals also include qualitative (as a distinct method) and archival methods when discussing descriptive research methods. It is important to emphasize that descriptive research methods can only describe a set of observations or the data collected. It cannot draw conclusions from that data about which way the relationship goes Does A cause B, or does B cause A? Unfortunately, in many studies published today, researchers forget this fundamental limitation of their research and suggest their data can actually demonstrate or suggest causal relationships. Nothing could be further from the truth.

ADVANTAGES OF DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

Educational research and experiences may contain many variables that cannot be realistically controlled. Educational research may require observations of life experiences Data collection may be spread over a large number of people over a large geographic area The advantages of descriptive research include data collection and life experiences The people being studied are unaware so they act naturally or as they normally do in everyday situation;

3.4 RESEARCH TOOL

QUESTIONNAIRE: A questionnaire is a research instrument consisting of a series of questions and other prompts for the purpose of gathering information from respondents. Although they are often designed for statistical analysis of the responses, this is not always the case. The questionnaire was invented by Sir Francis Galton. Questionnaires have advantages over some other types of surveys in that they are cheap, do not require as much effort from the questioner as verbal or telephone surveys, and often have standardized answers that make it simple to compile data. Questionnaires are also sharply limited by the fact that respondents must be able to read the questions and respond to them.

QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION A questionnaire is a series of questions asked to individuals to obtain statistically useful information about a given topic. When properly constructed and responsibly administered, questionnaires become a vital instrument by which statements can be made about specific groups or people or entire populations. Questionnaires are frequently used in quantitative marketing research and social research. They are a valuable method of collecting a wide range of information from a large number of individuals, often referred to as respondents. Adequate questionnaire construction is critical to the success of a survey. Inappropriate questions, incorrect ordering of questions, incorrect scaling, or bad questionnaire format can make the survey valueless, as it may not accurately reflect the views and opinions of the participants. A useful method for checking a questionnaire and making sure it is accurately capturing the intended information is to pre-test among a smaller subset of target respondents.

3.5 DATA ANALYSIS

The process of evaluating data using analytical and logical reasoning to examine each component of the data provided. This form of analysis is just one of the many steps that must be completed when conducting a research experiment. Data from various sources is gathered, reviewed, and then analyzed to form some sort of finding or conclusion. There are a variety of specific data analysis method, some of which include data mining, text analytics, business intelligence, and data visualizations.

REGRESSION ANALYSIS Regression analysis is a statistical tool for the investigation of relationships between variables. Usually, the investigator seeks to ascertain the causal effect of one variable upon anotherthe effect of a price increase upon demand, for example, or the effect of changes in the money supply upon the inflation rate. To explore such issues, the investigator assembles data on the underlying variables of interest and employs regression to estimate the quantitative effect of the causal variables upon the variable that they influence. The investigator also typically assesses the statistical significance of the estimated relationships, that is, the degree of confidence that the true relationship is close to the estimated relationship. Regression analysis is widely used for prediction and forecasting, where its use has substantial overlap with the field of machine learning. Regression analysis is also used to understand which among the independent variables are related to the dependent variable, and to explore the forms of these relationships. In restricted circumstances, regression analysis can be used to infer causal relationships between the independent and dependent variables.

Qualitative Data Analysis Qualitative research is much more subjective than quantitative research and uses very different methods of collecting information, mainly individual, in-depth interviews and focus groups. The nature of this type of research is exploratory and open-ended. Small numbers of people are interviewed in-depth and/or a relatively small number of focus groups are conducted. Participants are asked to respond to general questions and the interviewer or group moderator probes and explores their responses to identify and define peoples' perceptions, opinions and feelings about the topic or idea being discussed and to determine the degree of agreement that exists in the group. Principles of questionnaire construction. The participants went through fifteen main principles guiding the development of quality questionnaires. Each principle was illustrated with sufficient examples. Differences between qualitative research and quantitative research. It was felt that understanding the differences between the two was necessary in understanding the appropriateness of each type of research, appreciating the methods of collecting and analyzing data

Methods of qualitative data collection: o Highly structured interviews, o Semistructured interviews, o Unstructured interviews, Handling qualitative data

 Transcribing qualitative data o Analysis of qualitative data: o More simple schemes Content analysis, simple valence analysis, constant comparative analysis; o More complex schemes Effects matrices, developmental research sequence. Presentation of qualitative findings.

.Quantitative Data Analysis The term quantitative data is used to describe a type of information that can be counted or expressed numerically. This type of data is often collected in experiments, manipulated and statistically analyzed. Quantitative data can be represented visually in graphs, histograms, tables and charts. Nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio scales of measurement. Sufficient examples and practical exercises were given to 5 participants using samples of questionnaires to identify the scales of measurement for various questionnaire items. Considerations in levels of scale measurement

3.6 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Descriptive studies can yield rich data that lead to important recommendations. On the other hand, descriptive research can be misused by those who do not understand its purpose and limitations. For example, one cannot try to draw conclusions that show cause and effect, because that is beyond the bounds of the statistics employed.

The opinion of the respondent may be subjective Few respondents were reluctant to while answering questionnaire due to their busy schedule Time constraint High Cost Reliability of data

CHAPTER 4 FACTORS INFLUENCING CUSTOMER

Shipping cargo from one country to another is a lengthy process but with the help of clearing agents and freight forwarders it can be significantly shortened and made a lot easier. The question then becomes: do we know what shipping line is the best for our freight transportation? There are some valuable factors that must be taken into consideration if you want to use a ship line to import or export your goods to and from South Africa. Some people look for high quality service whereas others search for the cheapest deal. Here are some important factors that you should consider when choosing a shipping line company There are certain criteria that you should follow when looking for the best shipping line to transport your goods. Many people who use freight shipping believe that good service is one of the main factors that they hope to receive when moving their cargo. Good service is all about delivering on promises made. If you need your cargo transported in a certain time frame, it is important that your line makes that happen. Whilst some look for good service, others are in a hurry to have their goods transported and opt for a line that can produce the fastest results. Some possessions are more fragile and specialised so people who are looking for quality transport instead of quantity will choose a shipping line that offers customised shipping services. This might cost more owing to the fact that your cargo might be separated so that there is a less chance of damage. The amount of space that a freight offers also might make you favour a certain company due to the size of their ships, letting them transport a large volume of your cargo at one time. Price may be rather tricky when looking for a shipping line. Many online sites show a certain price that is lower than the actual cost. This is because the other additional costs are not usually included in the shipping price. Other costs might include taxes and tariffs, fuel surcharges and

other costs. Once you have found out how much these charges will be, you can then compare various prices and decide on which company will be best for you and meet your needs. You should also look into the different pricing plans that each shipping line has. Some shipping lines charge according to volume, whereas others might charge on the number of containers used. People who ship cargo regularly find themselves preferring a certain shipping line because it works for them. Whatever you are looking for in a shipping line, make sure that you receive what you have paid for. There are many factors to this equation, like Price Service Accessibility E-Commerce Frequency

There is a wide variety of shipping services available today for both domestic and international shipping. Each has its own policies, shipping methods, pricing, and procedures. Here are a few things to look for when selecting a shipping company to protect your pocketbook and your merchandise.

Bonded and licensed Shipping services that are bonded and licensed can give you peace of mind because their services are guaranteed to meet your requirements satisfactorily or you'll be reimbursed financially. Being bonded gives the company validity to its claims of good customer service.In addition to being bonded, a shipping company that is licensed by a governing authority (such as an air cargo or maritime cargo authority) has agreed to uphold the values and standards set forth by the governing agent. Therefore, you can be assured that the company is not a fly-by-night shipping service. Shipping services may also be approved as members of certain organizations that can greatly add to their validity.

Shipping requirements ,added services & fees Look for shipping services that have the least shipping requirements (within reason), added value for your money, and reasonable fees. Shipping requirements can vary from one company to the next. To put it simply, some shipping services make it easy to work with them while others make it almost impossible. Consider all the steps required to use their services and don't be afraid to ask why these steps are necessary to ship your package. Shipping internationally does require more paperwork, fees, etc. with larger cargo, but be sure the company is being reasonable in their dealings.. Delivery Shipping services are available for air freight, ship freight, and domestic freight by truck. These have varying prices from company to company. The method of delivery usually determines how quickly your packages will reach their destination. Air freight shipping is much faster than truck

or ship deliveries, but is also usually more costly. With some international shipping services, air freight can mean the difference between two days and two months for delivery! So it's wise to consider the method, cost, and duration of the shipment before signing on with a freight company. Discounts Some shipping services offer huge discounts to their regular customers. If you own a business and plan to ship products to customers on a regular basis, ask each shipping company about possible discounts for using their services frequently. You might be surprised at the savings you'll enjoy simply by comparing these offers. Luckily, there are many resources available online to help you compare shipping companies, prices, and methods. With all the shipping services available today, you can easily find one that fits your needs and your budget.

CHAPTER 5 LINER SERVICES

LINER SERVICES There may be considerations of integration of services with its network of hinterland services or with other services at the hub points. This is very important and complex and will be seen briefly here. The liner service is a round trip from Port A to Port B. We shall take a simple case of a liner wanting to operate a liner service between Indian sub- continents to Europe. We shall see this project in some detail to understand the basics of liner service design.The starting point is Colombo. Colombo is chosen as this is suitably situated as a hub for all peninsular ports like Chennai, Cochin, Tuticorin, Vizag besides Calcutta and Chittagong. The presence of regular feeders from these ports makes it an ideal port for collecting good volume of cargoes. These ports also have a large volume of imports and hence they may contribute well. Colombo is a good hub as the mainliners are assured of a fast turnaround and cargo collection for transhipment is smooth and fairly cheap. For developing this study we shall be assuming some figures which may be slightly at variance with the actual. We also want the Indian cargoes from the North as well as west and decide to call Mumbai ports. That could be Old Bombay port or Nhava Sheva International Container terminal (NSICT) OR Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNP). Then we want to call Felixstowe in UK from where we can connect all places in UK as there is very reliable grid haulage in place. The next port of call is Antwerp which is an efficient port which has good connectivity to all nearby cargo rich areas including Rotterdam. In fact, the decision to call either Antwerp or Rotterdam may be a close one as either port has lot of merits. Then we call at Hamburg which is the farthest we go before embarking on long voyage back to Colombo. In all the ports, we do load and discharge simultaneously which reduces the time in port. As we start calculating the time required for port stay as well as the ocean passages, we need some idea of the productivity we expect from the terminals as well as the sea distances. We shall

tackle this as we go along. At Colombo, we will be discharging Peninsular India containers as well as Calcutta and Chittagong containers. We presume that the vessel is about 1600 teus of capacity and about 600 will be filled up in Colombo. This means that the exports will be 600 Teus and taking matched imports, the total throughputs will be 1200 Teus. We assume for the sake of simplicity that all are 20 only. With 3 gantries working with 25 moves per hour, the number of hours required will be 16 hours (= 1200/25 x 3). This is only an approximation. As the vessel nears completion, all 3 gantries will not work as only the gantry with maximum moves will keep working. This will extend the berth stay. Also we need to provide for berthing and un berthing of the vessel or any tidal times for such activity. Later, we need to provide for lashing and checking the containers as well as for any port procedures etc. it is prudent to provide 1 day for such eventualities. Overall we will provide 2 days for entry and exiting port of Colombo. If we have a mixture of 20 and 40, the numbers of containers will be less although the Teus will be same. In such a case the berth stay will be even less. Likewise, we keep calculating the times spent in the port as well as on the sea passage keeping in mind always the times are rounded off to the next higher full days to provide for suitable cushion for any slippages in schedule. In case of European ports, the productivity is high and highly reliable and hence 0.5 days can be taken as standard. Also a minor point; as vessel sails east bound, the vessel will sail against the clock as the transits will appear to be for more than 24 hours per day of sailing but this can be ignored for all practical purposes as the reverse will be true when vessel is west bound. For persons who are not convinced, for every degree of sailing east the local clock is ahead by 4 minutes and the ship would appear to have sailed for one hour and 4 minutes but in actuality, it would have sailed only for 1 hour.

From the above, we realize that the total time for the complete voyage is 42 days. That is, this vessel will be back to Mumbai just after 42 days. That is 42 days divided by 7 days. This means that to provide a weekly service we need 6 units. If we use larger vessels of same speed, the sea passage times will remain same but the stay at ports will increase as the vessel may be given same number of gantries but through puts in each port may be higher. Hence with larger vessels, the total time will increase and more number of vessels will be required for a complete service. If we add some more ports like Port Said or Barcelona to cover east med and west med ports, the port stays and slight deviation will increase the total voyage time. More number of units will be definitely required as the total voyage time will increase. Taking this designing of the liner service further, we have presumed the exports at Colombo as 600 teus per week. We need to break this up further in terms of who is going to offer this kind of volume on a weekly basis. Traditionally, Colombo freights are low enough as some east west carriers call at Colombo and top up any unfilled slots and hence rates are rock bottom. Assume the following indications from load ports on their volume and rate indications for European direct ports.:

COMMON CARRIER Common carrier is a carrier who holds himself ready to carry from place to another the goods of any person for a hire or reward. One type of such a carrier is a ship that offers the regular scheduled service is called a cargo Liner. A vessel engaged in transporting goods for reward and offering space to all who wish to take advantage of offer, then it is called a liner service. A vessel is operating as a common carrier in a regular scheduled route and in regular schedule of time, it is said to be in a Liner Service. Until the demise of Sea Passenger Services in the 1960s, many Liners provided a combined service with Cargo, Passengers and Mail. As the Liner faced

few a problems since it happened to have a dual functioning, it got divided into functional types namely The Passenger Ships and Cargo Vessels. While the passenger ships carried limited quantities of mail also, cargo vessels were not allowed to carry passengers. The main requirements to recognize a service, as a Liner Service will have to have the following:

FIXED SCHEDULE A vessel should have a fixed sailing schedule. If a vessel is expected to be available in a port either for loading or discharge, it has to be made available irrespective of the cargo availability. For example if the ETA of the vessel is made as 01-02-008, the vessel has to call on that particular port as scheduled. Depending upon weather conditions and unexpected technical faults of the ship, the variance of arrival date to a particular port will not affect the basic and basis of liner shipping function, since the delay is beyond the control of the vessel operator .Every Liner used to give regular advertisement announcing its arrival and departure schedule enabling the merchants as well as their agents to plan for the shipments and to make the cargo available in the port in order to ensure loading of the cargo in the vessel. Any cargo moved towards the port before the window / gate opening of the particular vessel, shall have to wait till the gate is opened enabling the port to receive the cargo / container in the respective yard.

FIXED ROUTE Fixed Schedule goes with fixed route. A vessel expected to cover various ports will have to have a fixed time schedule to call at the respective port. No deviation from the route will be allowed because of non-availability of cargo at any one of the ports in the trade route fixed already. To

summarize, Liners Services sail on scheduled dates, ply on a regular scheduled service between groups of Ports, irrespective of Cargo availability.

REGULARITY Liner Service as seen above, it is a Common carrier having fixed trade route and a fixed schedule. With all these, regularity in service is also one of the main characteristics of a Liner Service. Regularity means, operating in a trade route as per schedule and just any one or Trial service in the region and calling off the service from the route. Any trial service in a route may be an ad-hoc service and this cannot be recognized as a Liner Service.

LINER TRADE ROUTES After having understood the characteristics of Liner Services, it becomes easy to have an idea about the trade routes in which generally the Liner Services are made available or operational. The main ingredient of a Liner Service being the common carrier operating in a fixed schedule and in a fixed route, the trade routes of the liner companies are basically depending upon the potential in the proposed trade route and the economics of scale .Fixed schedule at a fixed route is justified not only on the potential of the market and the economics of scale of operation but also on the strength of the operator to penetrate the market and to obtain his share of cargo in order to make the vessel operation viable. Penetration of market and capturing of cargo to the vessel is though based on offering of direct services and better transit time, this alone cannot fetch the cargo and hence enough of consideration being given on the pricing also. The Liner freight rate structure and economics are discussed in detail in the ensuing sessions. The prime Liner Routes in which the shipping companies operate are outlined for the basic understanding.

It is essential for the students to know how the shipping companies operate in the open sea covering the entire globe sector wise and the availability of various trade routes. Until about 50 years ago, the important Liner Trade routes were predominantly those, which connected the European powers with their colonial empires and the USA. The geographical routes were

mainly in the North / South orientation. After the Second World War, a number of important political and economic changes occurred which eventually altered this trading pattern completely. Trade routes developed with gradual colonization of the continents of the world. When the wind power was relied and no timetable was there, the Mediterranean saw the movement of Roman fleets, while Chinese junks carried goods around the coasts of Eastern Asia. The major sailing ship routes were as below, just prior to the advent of steam power. When sailing ships were built in larger size, trading patterns and different routes were established. A large proportion of the cargoes exported from Europe were manufactured goods except for coal transported in bulk.

CHAPTER 6 SHIPPING TERMS AND INCOTERMS

There are four shipping terms in total that are followed in shipping in modern days and that are illustrated below.

SHIPPING TERM

RESPONSIBILITY

LOADING

UNLOADING

FIO (Free In and Out) FILO (Free In Liner Out) LIFO (Liner In Free Out) FLT (Full Liner Terms)

Shipper Pays

Consignee Pays

Shipper Pays

Carrier Pays

Carrier Pays

Consignee Pays

Carrier Pays

Carrier Pays

INCOTERMS The Incoterms rules or International Commercial terms are a series of pre-defined commercial terms published by the INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (ICC) widely used in international commercial transactions. A series of three-letter trade terms related to common sales practices, the Incoterms rules are intended primarily to clearly communicate the tasks, costs and risks associated with the transportation and delivery of goods. The Incoterms rules are accepted by governments, legal authorities and practitioners worldwide for the interpretation of most commonly used terms in international trade. They are intended to reduce or remove altogether uncertainties arising from different interpretation of the rules in different countries. First published in 1936, the Incoterms rules have been periodically updated, with the eighth versionIncoterms 2010having been published on January 1, 2011. "Incoterms" is a registered trademark of the ICC. The Incoterms rules began development in 1921 with the forming of the idea by the International Chamber of Commerce.[1] In 1936, the first set of the Incoterms rules was published.[2] The first set remained in use for almost 20 years before the second publication in 1953. Additional amendments and expansions followed in 1967, 1976, 1980, 1990 and 2000. The eighth and current version of the Incoterms rulesIncoterms 2010 was published on January 1, 2011.

EXW Ex Works

EXW means Ex Works and is followed by a named place, for example EXW Dallas. EXW means the seller's responsibility is to make the goods available at the seller's premises. The seller is not responsible for loading the goods on the vehicle provided by the buyer, who then bears the full cost involved in bringing the goods from there to the desired destination.

FCA Free Carrier

FCA means Free Carrier and is followed by a named place, for example FCA Brownsville. FCA means the seller fulfills its obligation to deliver when it has handed over the goods, cleared for export, into the charge of the carrier named by the buyer at the named place. If no precise point is indicated by the buyer, the seller may choose within the place or range stipulated where the carrier shall take the goods into its charge.

FAS Free Alongside Ship

FAS means Free Alongside Ship and is followed by a named port of shipment, for example FAS New York. FAS means the seller is responsible for the cost of transporting and delivering goods alongside a vessel in a port in his country. As the buyer has responsibility for export clearance, it is not a practical incoterm for U.S. exports. FAS should be used only for ocean shipments since risk and responsibility shift from seller to buyer when the goods are placed within the reach of the ship's crane.

FOB Free On Board

FOB means Free On Board and is followed by the named port of shipment, for example FOB Baltimore. With FOB the goods are placed on board the ship by the seller at a port of shipment named in the sales agreement. The risk of loss of or damage to the goods is transferred to the buyer when the goods pass the ship's rail, i.e. off the dock and placed on the ship. The seller pays the cost of loading the goods.

CFR - Cost And Freight

CFR means Cost and Freight and is followed by a named port of destination, for example CFR Sydney. CFR requires the seller to pay the costs and freight necessary to bring the goods to the named destination, but the risk of loss or damage to the goods, as well as any cost increases, are transferred from the seller to the buyer when the goods pass the ship's rail in the port of shipment. Insurance is the buyer's responsibility.

CIF - Cost, Insurance And Freight

CIF means Cost, Insurance and Freight and is followed by a named port of destination, for example CIF Miami. CIF is similar to CFR with the additional requirement that the seller purchases insurance against the risk of loss or damage to goods. The seller must pay the premium. Insurance is important in international shipping, more than domestic US shipping, because U.S. laws generally hold a common carrier to be liable for lost or damaged goods.

CPT Carriage Paid To

CPT means Carried Paid To and is followed by a named place of destination, for example CPT Kansas City. CPT means that the seller must pay the freight for the carriage of the goods to the named destination. The risk of loss or damage to the goods and any cost increases transfers from the seller to the buyer when the goods have been delivered to the custody of the first carrier, and not at the ship's rail.

CIP - Carriage And Insurance Paid To

CIP means Carriage And Insurance Paid To and is followed by a named place of destination, for example CIP Boston. CIP has the same incoterm meaning as CPT, but in addition the seller pays for the insurance against loss of damage.

DAF Delivered At Frontier

DAF means Delivered At Frontier and is followed by a named place, for example DAF El Paso. DAF means that the sellers responsibility is complete when the goods have arrived at the frontier but before the customs border of the country named in the sales contract. This buyer is responsible for the cost of the goods to clear customs.

DES - Delivered Ex Ship

DES means Delivered Ex Ship and is followed by a named port of destination, for example DES Vancouver. DES means the seller shall make the goods available to the buyer on board the ship at the place named in the sales contract. The cost of unloading the goods and associated customs duties are paid by the buyer.

DEQ - Delivered Ex Quay

DEQ means Delivered Ex Quay and is followed by a named port of destination, for example DEQ Los Angeles. DEQ means the seller has agreed to make the goods available to the buyer on the quay at the place named in the sales contract.

DDU Delivered Duty Unpaid

DDU means Delivered Duty Unpaid and is followed by a named place of destination, for example DDU Topeka. The seller has to bear the costs involved in shipping the goods as well as the costs and risks of carrying out customs formalities. The buyer pays the duty and has to pay any additional costs caused by its failure to clear the goods for import in time.

DDP - Delivered Duty Paid

DDP means Delivered Duty Paid and is followed by a named place of destination, for example DDP Bakersfield. The seller has to pay the costs involved in shipping the goods as well as the

costs and risks of carrying out customs formalities. The seller pays the duty and the buyer has to pay any additional costs caused by its failure to clear the goods for import in time. DDP should not be used if the seller is unable to obtain an import license.

CHAPTER 7 VALUE ADDED SERVICES

Value added services is a term that is used to refer to service options that are complimentary to but also ancillary to a core service offering. The term is utilized widely in a number of industries, most notably telecommunications Value added services are often introduced to customers after the client has purchased the core service that these ancillary offerings center around. In some instances, a value added service is something extra that is provided to a customer at no additional charge. At other times, the ancillary service is offered to an existing customer as an added service that is available for a modest additional fee. The actual pricing structure for value added services will usually depend on whether the providers sees the services as amenities that are intended to create a stronger rapport with customers or as an additional revenue stream.

One of the easiest ways to understand the concept of value added services is to look at the nature of audio teleconferencing services. The core service provided with an audio conference call is the ability of multiple attendees to gather into a common telephone conference. However, a number of non-core services are offered to complement the basic conference call, enhancing the desirability of the core service. For part and full ships cargoes, whether you opt for the flexibility of time chartering or the reliability of liner services, Seatrade has a truly comprehensive service offering for you:

full cargo monitoring throughout the process storage prior to ships arrival (partially free at some destinations) dockside cold storage (ensuring cold chain integrity at all times) multimodal inland transport options (road, rail, water) direct transhipment when needed

full document handling (in compliance with local legislation and procedure) cost-efficient and high quality stevedoring a single bill of lading for each transaction, regardless of destination or onward mode of transport

Some services :

Insurance Warehousing Packaging Palletization Door to door delivery Cargo Consolidation

INSURANCE Some liner arranges for the transportation of goods, it provides the owner of the cargo financial protection against all risks of physical loss or damage from any external cause. The insurance provides risk coverage for ocean, Air, and Road freights. They have tie-up with leading insurance companies providing maximum Insurance coverage to the customers all over the world. Cargo insurance provides extra peace of mind for the valued customers

WAREHOUSING Some liner provides its customers strategic benefits of warehousing. Located in the close proximity to the International Airports, provide warehouses that are well laid out, staffed by experienced personnel, and are supported by the latest inventory management, security and specialized storage systems. The facility consists of completely modern systems and material handling equipment. Thus, allowing the company to offer customers very high levels of operational efficiency.

PACKAGING With unparalleled understanding of transportation technologies, they offers custom packaging and shipping for heavy, over sized and fragile items, including machinery and industrial equipment. Packaging experts utilize state-of-the-art packing and custom crating processes to protect goods during shipping. They also specialize in properly packing fragile and high-value items including antiques, art, electronics, crystal and porcelain.

PALLETIZATION Value added services include Palletization of export consignments. The Palletization services are designed for safe loading and unloading of products. It also involves fumigation of pallets for pest control, preventing shipment from possible damages. The experts from make sure that the

base of the pallets are accessible for pallet- jacks on two sides with a minimum clearance, allowing easy handling during loading and unloading of the goods.

DOOR TO DOOR DELIVERY They offers door-to-door delivery services for customers, who want to simplify logistics management, reduce costs and minimizes the risk of loss or product damage while focusing on core business. By leveraging the breadth and reliability of global network, can remove days from the supply chain, delivering goods from overseas directly to the desired destination. Shipments can clear customs while still in air enabling delivery by the end of the next possible business day, saving the time and money.

CARGO CONSOLIDATION facilitate cargo consolidation (By Air/Sea) for our customers which includes the transportation of cargo to the stuffing point, stuffing of cargo in container, custom process of shipping documents, use of Premium Air/ Shipping lines and we make sure that the cargo will reach at the respective destination well before the time given by our reputed customer. We follow very carefully all the important shipping instructions given and take care by warehousing it until shipment is physically effected.

EXPECTED CONCLUSION

CONCLUSIONS:
This is the step where the researcher concludes about the research project where he describes the nature of how the project is done and who are the targets in his research and what is the optimum result that he obtained from doing this research project. The research here says about the satisfaction level of the customers and how the liners meted out their expectations, the researcher says the service offered by the liners are at the very best level to the customers. Similarly the freight rates offered and the value added services rendered are also in a good level, but the customers are expecting a valuable solutions providing from the liners. The customers are having a good relationship with the freight forwarders for more than 5 to 15 years that makes them comfortable to move smoothly with the liners. So the research is done through various surveys like mail, interview and observation methods. So the researcher hereby concludes that the satisfaction levels of the customers are at a high level and the expectations are clearly meted out by the liners in an effective and in a precise manner.

BIBLIOGRAPHY