STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OF DHL PVT.

LTD

PROJECT REPORT

Submitted by

Ashwin Nair

Reg No. 1625N0013

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of

BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

NEHRU ARTS AND SCIENCE COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS)

COIMBATORE-105

MARCH 2019

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

1
 Certified that the Project Report entitled Customer Satisfaction Of DHL
Pvt. Ltd is the bonfire work of Ashwin Nair, carried out under my supervision.

GUIDE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

Dr. G. Murali Manohari
HOD, BBA Department
Nehru Arts and Science College

Submitted for the Internship Training Viva-Voce examination held on

___________

Internal Examiner External Examiner

DECLARATION

2
I, affirm that the Internship work entitled Customer Satisfaction Of DHL Pvt.
Ltd being submitted in partial
Fulfillment for the award of Bachelor Of Business Administration is the
Original work carried out by me.

Name of the student: Ashwin Nair

Register No: 1625N0013

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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A project work is the process of experiencing a long way in helping up a person
in his respective profession and a group of kind hearts is behind its success. So
we have taken this golden opportunity to acknowledge those who molded up
this study.
Initially I express my valuable and deep sense of gratitude and thankfulness
goes to my Ever Worthy CEO & Secretary Dr.P.KRISHNAKUMAR, Nehru
Group of Institutions who is always caring and dedicated towards the
institution.
I sincerely thank our beloved Principal Dr.B.ANIRUDHAN, Nehru Arts and
Science College, who add more value to this training.
I am extremely grateful to the indebted Head of the Department
Dr.G.MURALI MANOHARI, Nehru Arts and Science College, who has helped
me in arranging this training.
Then gratitude goes to my supportive and encouraging internship
Guide------------------, Assistant Professor, Department of Business
Administration Nehru Arts and Science College, for their support throughout
the course of my study and his timely advice and kind co-operation.
Then my hearty gratitude goes to the honorable FACULTY MEMBERS of
Department of Business Administration Nehru Arts and Science College for
their support extended whenever required.
Last but not the least I take this opportunity to thank the almighty, my Parents
and friends for their encouragement and cooperation

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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S.No. Topic Page No
Chapter-1: Introduction
 Overview of Industry as a whole

 Profile of the organization

 History of the Organization

 Competitor’s Information

 S.W.O.T Analysis of the Organization

 Objectives of the study

 Scope of the study

 Research Methodology
Chapter-2: Conceptual Framework
Main topics & Sub Topics

Chapter-3: Data Analysis and interpretation

Chapter-4: Summary and Conclusion

 Results of the study

 Limitations

 Suggestions and Recommendations

Bibliography -
 Appendix -

CHAPTER I

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INTRODUCTION

 Overview of Industry as a whole

A multitude of companies today has already identified the need to create a loyal customer

base and acknowledges that maintaining existing customers and extending business with

them is significantly less expensive than acquiring new customers. Empirical proof of the

proliferation of such customer loyalty efforts in the business world is e.g. provided in the

form of loyalty programs, which many companies have installed during the past years. By

engaging in efforts aimed at creating customer loyalty, which in turn fosters financial success

in monetary terms firms react to increasing competitive challenges.

Within research, the investigation of customer loyalty gained importance when the classic

marketing paradigm with its instrumental and transactional orientation proved unsuitable in

the context of longer-term business relationships. Instead, the relationship marketing

approach, which is specifically concerned with the study of relational ex-changes, gained

importance within research, serving as a conceptual foundation for the majority of customer

loyalty researchers.

The question of how loyalty develops has been subject to an abundance of research, leading

to an expansive body of literature on loyalty determinants. The extant literature exploring

different factors and their constituent effects on loyalty, however, reveals a strong focus on

consumer goods and industrial equipment settings, while industrial services have received

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relatively little attention so far. In addition, the majority of articles incorporates merely a few

potential determinants and thus fails to draw a comprehensive picture of the mechanisms of

customer loyalty formation.

Place: Chennai

Just like other businesses, logistics service providers (LSPs) are faced with increasing

competitive pressure that urges them to concentrate not only on operational business

processes, but also on an efficient and effective customer management. In the US alone,

LSPs’ revenues grew from US-$ 31 billion in 1995 to US-$ 85 billion in 2004 and logistics

outsourcing expenditures as a fraction of total logistics expenditures are at over 40% and

expected to rise even further. One way to meet this challenge of rapid growth and expansion,

according to Langley et al. is to focus on establishing, maintaining, and developing

relationships with customers.

An often proposed driver of logistics outsourcing is the need to develop and maintain

competitive advantage, which customers of LSPs intend to achieve through concentrating on

core competencies and re-engineering. Another important driver is the ongoing globalization,

which several authors regard as the most important challenge that companies are facing. In

this context, LSPs can play an important role as facilitators of global trade. Along with

globalization, however, companies that outsource logistics activities increasingly try to

consolidate the number of LSPs they use globally. Therefore, LSPs do not only have to devise

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sustain-able growth strategies, but also have to develop intercultural management

competencies, a challenge hardly ad-dressed in LSP management literature.

While intercultural management deals with the influence of culture on management styles in

different countries, it is also arguable whether a one best way management paradigm is

applicable even within national confines. LSPs’ customers are extremely diverse and

similarly, relationships between LSPs and their customers can be expected to exhibit

momentous differences. As such, it is a crucial management issue for LSPs to de-sign their

customer loyalty efforts in a manner that accounts for both cultural context and different

relationship characteristics.

Research goals

As outlined in the preceding section, LSPs are confronted with diverse management

challenges that result from continuous growth, globalization, and customer diversity. The aim

of the present study therefore is to identify determinants of customer loyalty in relationships

between LSPs and their customers by explicitly considering different characteristics and

cultural contexts of such relationships. In this sense, the present research is positioned at the

interface of marketing and logistics and is intended to contribute not only to logistics

research, but also to research in marketing, customer loyalty, and cultural studies.

In order to address the concept of customer loyalty, it is important to understand the

mechanisms underlying loyalty in the logistics outsourcing context. For this reason, the

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starting point of the present research will be the study of Wallenburg, who studied customer

loyalty within relationships between LSPs and their customers. On this basis, factors that can

be surmised to determine customer loyalty in such relationships will be proposed and

interdependencies between these factors will be identified. The resulting comprehensive

explanatory model of customer loyalty will not only provide insights into the constitution of

customer loyalty, but will also serve as the basis for subsequent analyses.

As stated previously, a globalizing marketplace and the need of LSPs to render logistics

services on an international scale requires intercultural management competencies. Before

being able to apply such management techniques, though, a thorough understanding of

cultural differences between different countries is necessary. The present study will therefore

provide a starting point for such analyses by investigating cultural differences between two

important markets for logistics outsourcing, the USA and Germany. Particular differences

between Germany and the USA will be identified and applied to the previously devised

customer loyalty model. As a result, differences between the two countries with respect to the

formation of customer loyalty can be inferred.

Finally, this study will investigate in how far different relationship conditions influence the

development of customer loyalty. For this purpose, important relationship characteristics will

be identified and their moderating influences on the customer loyalty model will be

examined. This will provide information on the robustness of the customer loyalty model

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versus relational contingencies and will suggest if it is necessary to differentiate customer

loyalty efforts accordingly.

Customer Satisfaction

The term logistics is often misinterpreted to mean transportation. In fact, the scope of

logistics goes well beyond transportation. Logistics forms the system that ensures the

delivery of the product in the entire supply pipeline. This includes transportation, packaging,

storage and handling methods, and information flow. The impact of logistics in the ability of

a company to satisfy its customers cannot be overstated. All other efforts at modernization

within a company would not bear fruit until the logistics system is carefully designed to

facilitate the smooth and efficient flow of goods in the system.

The topic of logistics is relatively new in India. There have been some companies that have

done work in this area, but a large number of companies are only now beginning to realize

the benefits of designing and managing the entire supply chain. With India joining the global

marketplace, the role of logistics assumes greater importance.

The industrial policies in India have prompted manufacturers to build plants in remote,

backward areas due to inexpensive land and tax benefits. This poses some serious logistical

problems. Apart from a poor road and transportation network, the existing communications

system in India leaves a lot to be desired by any international standard. It is in this context

that logistics has to be considered in India.

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Customer Satisfaction in 7 Steps

1. Encourage Face-to-Face Dealings

This is the most daunting and downright scary part of interacting with a customer. If you're

not used to this sort of thing it can be a pretty nerve-wracking experience. Rest assured,

though, it does get easier over time. It's important to meet your customers face to face at least

once or even twice during the course of a project.

2. Respond to Messages Promptly & Keep Your Clients Informed

This goes without saying really. We all know how annoying it is to wait days for a response

to an email or phone call. It might not always be practical to deal with all customers' queries

within the space of a few hours, but at least email or call them back and let them know you've

received their message and you'll contact them about it as soon as possible. Even if you're not

able to solve a problem right away, let the customer know you're working on it.

3. Be Friendly and Approachable

A fellow Site Pointer once told me that you can hear a smile through the phone. This is very

true. It's very important to be friendly, courteous and to make your clients feel like you're

their friend and you're there to help them out. There will be times when you want to beat your

clients over the head repeatedly with a blunt object - it happens to all of us. It's vital that you

keep a clear head, respond to your clients' wishes as best you can, and at all times remain

polite and courteous.

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4. Have a Clearly-Defined Customer Service Policy

This may not be too important when you're just starting out, but a clearly defined customer

service policy is going to save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. If a customer has a

problem, what should they do? If the first option doesn't work, then what? Should they

contact different people for billing and technical enquiries? If they're not satisfied with any

aspect of your customer service, who should they tell? There's nothing more annoying for a

client than being passed from person to person, or not knowing who to turn to. Making sure

they know exactly what to do at each stage of their enquiry should be of utmost importance.

So make sure your customer service policy is present on your site -- and anywhere else it may

be useful.

5. Attention to Detail (also known as 'The Little Niceties')

Have you ever received a Happy Birthday email or card from a company you were a client

of? Have you ever had a personalized sign-up confirmation email for a service that you could

tell was typed from scratch? These little niceties can be time consuming and aren't always

cost effective, but remember to do them.

Even if it's as small as sending a Happy Holidays email to all your customers, it's something.

It shows you care; it shows there are real people on the other end of that screen or telephone;

and most importantly, it makes the customer feel welcomed, wanted and valued.

6. Anticipate Your Client's Needs & Go Out Of Your Way to Help Them Out

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Sometimes this is easier said than done! However, achieving this supreme level of

understanding with your clients will do wonders for your working relationship.

7. Honour Your Promises

It's possible this is the most important point in this article. The simple message: when you

promise something, deliver. Clients don't like to be disappointed. Sometimes, something may

not get done, or you might miss a deadline through no fault of your own. Projects can be late,

technology can fail and sub-contractors don't always deliver on time. In this case a quick

apology and assurance it'll be ready ASAP wouldn't go a miss.

Customer Loyalty

Obtaining a thorough understanding of customer loyalty is a prerequisite for the execution of

the research at hand. For that, the development of customer loyalty research within the

framework of relationship marketing will be presented first, before different customer loyalty

concepts will be introduced. From these concepts, a definition of customer loyalty for use in

this study will be derived, before both consequences and antecedents of customer loyalty will

be portrayed.

Since the beginning of the 1990s, customer loyalty has gained importance both in relationship

marketing research and in business. In business, this can be attributed to changing market-

and competition-environments. Due to a shift from a sellers’ to a buyers’ market and because

of an increasing degree of globalization, most industries find themselves confronted with new

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challenges. In a first phase, firms tried to face these challenges by focusing on their internal

processes and organizational structures, trying to achieve cost reductions by concentrating on

internal improvements. A second phase of external focus followed, where firms directed

attention to their customers, trying to retain existing ones and to win over new ones

(churning). Since “acquiring new customers is much more expensive than keeping them”.

And “loyal customers are the bedrock of any business”. A loyal customer base represents a

barrier to entry, a basis for a price premium, time to respond to competitor innovations, and a

bulwark against deleterious price competition. Loyalty is critical to brand volume, is highly

correlated to market share, and can be used as the basis of predicting future market share;

consequently, understanding loyalty appears critical to any meaningful analysis of marketing

strategy.

In marketing research, two trends mark the development of customer loyalty. While

individual transactions initially were in the center of marketing research, the focus shifted

towards analyzing relationships states that the ‘traditional’ marketing concept of the

marketing mix with its ‘4 Ps’, developed in the middle of the last century, had been the

established approach until the 1990s. This approach, how-ever, focuses solely on

transactions, a deficit tackled by the relationship marketing approach. At the core of it is the

study of relationships between buyers and sellers of goods or services, in contrast to merely

examining transactions. An often cited and comprehensive definition of relationship

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marketing is provided “Relationship marketing refers to all marketing activities directed

toward establishing, developing, and maintaining successful relational exchanges.”Therefore,

the relationship marketing approach pro-vides a suitable environment in which customer

loyalty research can be nested.

While the development of relationship marketing began in the early 1970s, it was not until

the late 1980s that works from the ‘Nordic School of Services’. Initiated a paradigm shift that

geared marketing towards the creation, conservation, and extension of buyer-seller

relationships. Although relationship marketing today is widely accepted among marketing

researchers, its promoters do not postulate the replacement of the transactional approach, but

rather juxtapose the two approaches. For example, delineates a strategy continuum, in which

different goods require different degrees of transaction- and relationship-based marketing

strategies. As a result of the focus on relationships in marketing research, customer loyalty

gained importance within research.

Before determining which stream the present study can be associated with, however, it is

important to create a clear understanding of different customer loyalty concepts prevalent in

research. This will be accomplished in the following section.

Customer Loyalty Concepts

Reviewing research, it becomes obvious that the notion of customer loyalty is blurred. At its

core, customer loyalty deals with relationships between suppliers and their customers and can

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be distinguished from other loyalty aspects, such as brand loyalty, which refer to a more

abstract attachment, such as that towards a brand. Within German customer loyalty literature,

the notion of customer loyalty is even more faceted, encompasses both ‘customer loyalty’ and

‘customer retention’ distinguishes an active, supplier-focused component and a passive,

customer focused component of customer loyalty.

In the supplier-focused perspective, customer loyalty is seen as a bundle of measures that aim

at improving relationships with customers. The supplier is in the center of attention and the

customer is only regarded as the factor at which success of customer loyalty becomes

manifest. Here it becomes clear that this approach contains a conceptual deficit. It is the

customer who eventually decides on whether customer loyalty management is successful or

not, because all activities undertaken by a supplier can only be geared at influencing

customers to be loyal. A customer-focused perspective therefore has to be added to evaluate

the success of customer loyalty management.

Within the customer-focused perspective, customer loyalty is conceptualized taking into

account customers’ complex characteristics. These can either be approached as customers’

directly observable actions and/or take into account their attitudes and intentions. Since

customers’ actions are directly influenced by their attitudes and intentions, it is obvious that

these have to be scrutinized to understand and manage loyalty. A third perspective is a

synthesis of the former two approaches. The relationship-focused perspective directly

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examines the relationship between suppliers and customers. Accordingly, the objects of study

in this perspective usually are buying behavior in retail contexts and long-term relationships

marked by frequent interaction between suppliers and buyers in industrial contexts.

It is clear that the supplier-focused perspective with its instrumental approach is significantly

different from the other two approaches. Distinguishing the customer- and the relationship-

focused perspective, however, is difficult, because both focus on the customer.

Behaviorist customer loyalty concepts

Behaviorist concepts of customer loyalty have been at the core of early marketing research

and focus on customers’ observable behavior, as e.g. in purchasing behavior. Accordingly,

customer loyalty is established, when customers demonstrate consistency in their choice of

supplier or brand. “Hard-core” loyalty, when one product alternative is exclusively

repurchased and of “reinforcing” loyalty, when customers switch among brands but repeat-

purchase one or more alternatives to a significant extent. Similarly, customer loyalty as “the

proportion of times a purchaser chooses the same product or service in a specific category

compared to the total number of purchases made by the purchaser in that category“. Pegging

customer loyalty to purchasing behavior, however, is very critical, there can be a multitude of

factors affecting purchasing behavior, such as product availability or special deals, which are

not grasped by looking at purchases alone. A main deficit of the behavioristic approach thus

is that it does not look at the drivers’ behind purchasing behavior.

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Another disadvantage of behavioristic customer loyalty concepts is their ex-post approach.

When loyalty is only expressed through purchases, information on customers’ actual loyalty

status in between purchases is not available. Consequently, decreasing loyalty is only

recognized after it manifests itself through changed purchasing behavior. Only in

relationships with frequent interaction can a supplier integrate further aspects, such as

complaints, into customer loyalty management. The reason, why behavioristic concepts may

still be valuable, is because the measurement of customer loyalty in this approach does not

necessitate involvement by the customer. The assessment of attitudes and intentions would

always imply customers’ cooperation through participation in surveys. By simply recording

purchases, e.g. through delivery records in the industrial context or customer cards in a

consumer context; the assessment of customer loyalty poses little difficulty. Particularly in

areas, where most purchases can be easily ascribed to individual customers, as is the case

with mail-ordering or book-stores on the internet, the behavioristic approach is useful for

identifying different customer groups and their characteristics. Such firms, however, can only

assess purchases of their own products, while purchases of competing products go unnoticed.

Firms can therefore neither draw conclusions about relative changes of purchasing behaviors,

nor evaluate their comparative market position.

Neo-behaviorist customer loyalty concepts

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These narrow technical definitions do not adequately capture the richness and depth of the

loyalty construct implicit in a relational framework.” Consequently, neo-behavioristic

customer loyalty concepts start at the shortcomings of the behavioristic approach by

examining the causes of loyalty. As early as 1969, Day concluded that “loyalty should be

evaluated with both attitudinal and behavioral criteria” otherwise accidental repeat-purchases,

merely resulting from situational exigencies, would be regarded as indicators of loyalty.

There is no agreement, however, on the question, whether attitudes are part of customer

loyalty or merely an antecedent of it. Some authors propose that only positive attitude can

lead to ‘true’ customer loyalty. If attitude then is a necessary prerequisite of customer loyalty,

some drivers of loyalty cannot be explained. Transaction cost theory, for instance, provides

the concept of asset specificity. Relationship-specific investments create economic switching

barriers and therefore increase customer loyalty. However, the mere repeat purchase of goods

or services for reasons of economic constraints would not qualify as loyalty, as positive

attitudes are not involved. In order to avoid the outlined problem, it is useful to abstain from

defining positive attitude to be a necessary antecedent of loyalty. Instead, researchers usually

consider intentions and observable behavior to be the constituting elements of customer

loyalty.

Determinants of Customer Loyalty

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In order to be able to gear marketing activities towards the creation of customer loyalty, its

determinants and their precise effects have to be known. Accordingly, many researchers have

investigated this topic. In order to gain an overview of the determinants identified in these

works, they can be structured in three dimensions:

(1) Company-related determinants refer to the supplier itself or to the goods or services

offered. It is a prerequisite for the existence of customer loyalty that the offered goods

or services create utility for the customer and that they are available. In this respect, an

assessment is usually performed by examining quality. In order to evaluate the price-

performance ratio, customers will pay attention to prices. Customer loyalty will also be

influenced by the reputation a company has and ultimately by customer loyalty programs

offered.

(2) Relationship-related determinants play a significant role in long-term relationships.

Factors regarding the interaction between supplier andcustomer, such as relationship quality,

previous experiences, and trust are important. Commitment, which provides evidence of

emotional closeness and moral or normative feelings of obligation, takes a central role in

relationships.Specificity and dependence can lead to economic, psychological and social

switching barriers.

(3) Customer-related determinants are mainly influenced by customers’ characteristics. In

this respect, affect and involvement, and consequently also the importance of the good or

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service to the customer, are important. In addition to the above delineated areas, the

effects of the market environment and competition are researched, as is the link between

satisfaction and loyalty, which plays an important role in the research of customer

loyalty and is often placed in one of the three dimensions. However, as most other

determinants influence satisfaction, it cannot be clearly separated and should therefore be

listed as a distinct category.

 Profile of the organization

Logistics market is all set to experience a period of explosive organic growth, judging by

independent market analyst Datamonitor's latest research. The Datamonitor report, "India

Logistics Outlook 2007," predicts high double-digit growth rates for both outsourced and

contract logistics in India.

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With India's gross domestic profit (GDP) growing at over 9% per year and the manufacturing

sector enjoying double digit growth rates, the Indian logistics industry is at an inflection

point, and is expected to reach a market size of over $125 billion in year 2010.

Strong growth enablers exist in India today in the form of over $300 billion worth of

infrastructure investments, phased introduction of value-added-tax (VAT), and development

of organized retail and agri-processing industries. In addition, strong foreign direct

investment inflows (FDI) in automotive, capital goods, electronics, retail, and telecom will

lead to increased market opportunities for providers of 3PL in India."

However, as a result of the under-developed trade and logistics infrastructure, the logistics

cost of the Indian economy is over 13% of GDP, compared to less than 10% of GDP in

almost the entire Western Europe and North America.

As leading manufacturers realign their global portfolios of manufacturing locations, India

will have to work on such systemic inefficiencies, in order to attract and retain long-term real

investments.

3PL/outsourced logistics is the outsourcing of a company's logistics operations to a

specialized firm, which provides multiple tactical logistics services for use by customers as

opposed to the respective company having a business unit in-house to oversee its supply

chain and transportation of goods.

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Some Facts:

 Market Size US $ 1.5 Billion

 Growth rate between 15 to 20% per annum

Different Gateways are:

 International gateways:

 Mumbai

 Delhi,

 Chennai

 Domestic gateways

 Mumbai,

 Delhi,

 Kolkata,

 Chennai,

 Bangalore,

 Hyderabad,

 Pune,

 Salem,

 Ambala,

 Gauwhati,

 Ahmedabad,

 Nagpur.

Some other facts are:

 Employs over 1.2 Million people

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 Air express witnessed maximum growth in the air cargo market

 In 2007 over 1.70 Billion shipments handled

 Air traffic grows faster than anywhere in the world

 Total cargo traffic increased by 21.5 % in 2006-07

 126 airport

 14 int‘l airport account for 96 % of total freight traffic

 Estimated market size US$ 1.5 Billion

 High growth rate

 Express market expected to grow more than 20 %

 India‘s Express industry bigger than tea and entertainment industry

 2nd fastest growing major economy

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  History of the Organization

DHL is a Deutsche Post World Net company of Germany that provides international Mail,

Express, Logistics and Finance. The company was founded in 1969 by Adrian Dalsey, Larry

Hillblom, and Robert Lynn.

The trio initially provided a courier service between the Continental United States and

Hawaii then expanded the business from there. In 1998, Deutsche Post World Net began to

acquire shares in DHL, finally reached majority ownership in 2001, and completed the

purchase in 2002.

DHL's global headquarters are located in Bonn and London (its Exel subsidiary).

Headquarters for the Americas are located in Plantation, Florida, while its Asia Pacific &

EEMEA headquarters are located respectively in Singapore & Bahrain/Brussels.

DHL owns its own cargo airlines, European Air Transport, originally based in Brussels, and

DHL Air, based at the East Midlands Airport in the United Kingdom. EAT moved from

Brussels Airport in Belgium to Leipzig/Halle Airport in Germany in Spring 2008 with its fleet

of Boeing 757SF freighters and Airbus A300 B4 freighters. Leipzig is now DHL major

European Airline hub with dedicated brand new facilities.As on 2006 DHL employees

around 2,85,000 people across the various locations.

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REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Logistics

After having presented the necessary fundamentals of customer loyalty in the preceding

section, this section will elaborate on the reference point of the research project, i.e. logistics.

For that, the first section will present different views on logistics and lay the notional basis

for the understanding of logistics embraced in this study. As relationships between logistics

service providers and their customers are to be analyzed, the logistics outsourcing

phenomenon will be detailed, before taxonomy of logistics service providers is provided.

Nature of Logistics

Logistics is an established discipline both in theory and in practice, yet there is no agreement

on a universal definition of logistics. One widely accepted view stems from the Council of

Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP). In their latest definition (CSCMP 2005),

logistics management is seen as “that part of Supply Chain Management that plans,

implements, and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverses flow and storage of

goods, services and related information between the point of origin and the point of

consumption in order to meet customers' requirements.”This view is clearly marked by the

economic objectives of effectiveness and efficiency and regards logistics as part of supply

chain management.

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Other definitions e.g. that of Weber and Kummer are broader and refer to logistics as a flow-

oriented design of all value-creation processes. At the base of their understanding is the

empirically backed assumption that there are different stages of maturity in logistics. While

there are several researchers that also argue for stage models of logistics development, there

is no unity as to how many stages such a model has. The model that will be briefly examined

in this section stems from Weber, who identifies four maturity stages. These stages are

determined by the level of logistics knowledge present in a firm and require path-dependent

development from the lowest to the highest level of logistics knowledge:

In the first maturity stage, logistics is a specialized service function that provides

transportation, handling, and storage services that are necessary for an efficient flow of

materials and goods. Weber states that this stage of logistics maturity was first observable in

the 1950s, when markets changed from suppliers’ to buyers’ markets, requiring improved

materials flows to succeed in the changed market environment. This is in line with Bowersox

and Daugherty, who confirm that advanced logistical organizations barely existed at that

time. Effects of this paradigm-change were two-fold. On the one hand, logistics optimization

was achieved through process improvements and advances in forecasting and planning

techniques. On the other hand, organizational changes took place, as many companies

institutionalized their logistics functions in dedicated departments and therefore created a

27
specialized service function that was separated from other functions such as procurement or

manufacturing.

The second stage of logistics maturity was initiated by contextual changes in the economic

environment. In addition, advances in technology facilitated communication and networks

between different departments in companies’ state. As a result, firms realized that efficiency

could be increased by improving the coordination of materials flows from inbound streams in

procurement through the value creation process in manufacturing to outbound streams in

distribution. Through this focus on the integration of different functions, cost and

performance benefits were achieved. Weber provides coordination of lot-sizes and just-in-

time supply and production as examples of these benefits.

The following third stage of logistics maturity was necessitated by further changes of the

market environment. Simon points out that the intensity of competition increased, an effect

attributable to over-capacities, and a world-wide convergence of product quality, shortened

product-life-cycles, and a strengthened focus on customer demands. The required

simultaneous focus on differentiation and cost leadership was not feasible under the prevalent

functional structures and rigid organizational systems. Instead, a process-oriented intra-

company value chain that reduces complexity was needed to succeed in the changing market

28
environment. Hence, logistics evolved from a mere functional concept to a management

concept or, as from operational to strategic orientation.

The fourth and, for the time being, last maturity stage of logistics development is again

driven by market pressures. When companies realized that optimization potentials within the

organization had been largely exploited, the focus of attention was furthered to include

upstream and downstream partners in the supply chain. In this sense, the view of logistics as a

management concept from the third maturity stage is ex-tended over company boundaries and

can be labeled supply chain management (SCM).

This underlines the outstanding importance of logistics for companies, which can realize

significant economic benefits by allocating management capacities to the improvement of

logistics and the creation of flow-oriented organizations. A way, in which many companies

presently try to accomplish this, is by outsourcing parts or all of their logistics activities to

third parties.

Logistics Service Providers

If a company employs an outside provider to perform some or all of its logistics activities,

this outside provider is termed a logistics service provider. These LSPs were originally only

offering a very narrow spectrum of services, mainly consisting of transportation or

warehousing services. In order to react to changing demands from their customers, as pointed

29
out in the preceding sections, LSPs have started to offer integrated service portfolios that

include a multitude of different services. According to, five types of LSPs can currently be

distinguished: carriers, couriers & express & parcel/postal (CEP), freight forwarders, third-

party LSPs (3PLs), and fourth-party LSPs (4PLs), which will be briefly described below.

Carriers are firms that own assets for transportation purposes. These as-sets are usually

confined to road, sea, air, or rail transportation. In some cases, however, carriers own several

of the aforementioned transportation assets. management of capacity and load-factor

optimization are at the core of the carrier business. CEP providers are also transportation

providers. As opposed to carriers, CEP providers send parcels or mail though their networks,

employing different transportation vehicles and incorporating handling at hubs. In this way,

they can virtually supply door-to-door services anywhere in the world, without having to rely

on any third parties. Core competencies of CEP providers are the operation and management

of highly complex distribution networks.

Freight forwarders are intermediaries between suppliers and buyers of transportation services.

In most cases, brokers carry out additional ser-vices, such as transportation planning and

management, including the associated provision of information systems. In some cases,

brokers also dispose of their own transportation assets. Bundling and coordination of demand

for transportation services are the core competencies of brokers.

30
In contrast to the aforementioned LSPs, 3PLs or contract LSPs offer their customers logistics

solutions that often include management capacities. These solutions most commonly include

several services, such as warehousing and pick/pack operations that are carried out on a

longer-term contractual basis. Sometimes, customers’ value chains, such as fleet

management, order handling, complaints management, call centers, or assembly services. A

recent addition to the list of types of LSPs comes in the form of 4PLs. While there is no

universal agreement on the definition of the 4PL, the cur-rent state of the debate establishes

4PLs as suppliers of complete logistics systems, without carrying out the services themselves.

Instead, 4PLs sub-contract all operations from other LSPs and confine themselves to the

management of logistics systems. Thus, they do not dispose of any logistical assets and are a

neutral intermediary between businesses and asset-based LSPs.

As 3PLs form the point of reference for logistics outsourcing as dealt with in this study, the

existing notional ambiguities in research have to be examined. Author to identify different

types of 3PLs. To him, there are four distinct classes of 3PLs:

(1) asset-based 3PLs use their own assets (e.g. trucks and warehouses) to offer

dedicated logistics services;

(2) management-based 3PLs supply logistics management through information

systems or consulting;

31
(3) Integrated 3PLs use their own assets to provide logistics services, but also

subcontract from other vendors if necessary; and

(4) administration-based 3PLs mainly offer administrative management (e.g.Freight

payment).

CHAPTER II
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Social Exchange Theory

Social exchange theory deals with “the relational interdependence, or relational contract, that

develops over time through the interactions of the ex-change partners.” While this concept

has only entered marketing theory in the 1980s, the discussion goes as far back as to the

Greek philosopher Aristotle, who distinguished social exchange from economic exchange in

his Nicomachean Ethics. Later, sociologists such as Blau and Emerson, as well as social

psychologists such as Thibaut and Kelley worked on the concept of social exchange.

On the basis of a thorough investigation of social exchange literature, Lambe, Wittmann, and

Spekman summarize the following four foundational premises of social exchange theory,

which will be detailed below:

 Exchange interactions result in economic and/or social outcomes,

32
  These outcomes are compared over time to other exchange alternatives to determine

dependence on the exchange relationship

 Positive outcomes over times increase firms’ trust of their trading partner(s) and their

commitment to the exchange relationship, and

 Positive exchange interactions over time produce relational exchange norms that

govern the exchange relationship.

In contrast to pure economic theories, social exchange theory thus incorporates both

economic and social outcomes, highlighting the fact that social as well as economic

considerations are made when evaluating the value of relationships. This value results from

an assessment of both utilities and costs of a relationship, and parties will choose to uphold a

relationship as long as the cost-utility-ratio is satisfactory. The exact composition of utilities

and costs varies from individual to individual, and more emphasis may be put on either social

or economic aspects.

When appraising the value of a relationship, parties will not only consider current and past

costs and utilities, but also potential future benefits, and may forego present benefits for

benefits in the future. Therefore, an important factor in social exchange theory is trust, which

results from multiple and beneficial interactions over time. Only if the trading partner is

trusted, will one be willing to reciprocate the abdication of cur-rent benefits for future

benefits. Another important aspect of social exchange theory is commitment, which is

fostered by trust. This causal relationship between trust and commitment is based on the

33
principle of generalized reciprocity, because commitment entails vulnerability and parties

will seek only trustworthy partners.

Social exchange theory’s foundational premises indicate that relation-ships are not only

governed by contracts, but also by norms, which develop as a consequence of repeated

interaction and “increase the efficiency of relationships because by agreeing to the manner in

which interactions take place, the degree of uncertainty may be reduced.” As with trust,

norms are adhered to because rewards are expected.

While social exchange theory can be very useful conceptually, it is mainly criticized for its

lack of empirical foundation. Factors such as commitment and trust should be able to

substitute (at least in part) contractual governance structures, but this cannot be confirmed

empirically. Presumably, this is attributable to social exchange theory’s neglect of

opportunism.

Equity Theory
Equity theory represents an extension of social exchange theory by adding the aspect of

fairness. While the concept dates back to Homans, equity theory was primarily coined by

Adams. At that time referred to as “theory of inequity”, it was introduced to explain wage

inequities. The basic assumption underlying equity theory is that each party in a relationship

compares its input-output-ratio to that of the other party. Analogous to social exchange

theory, social as well as economic considerations are incorporated in the evaluation of

fairness.

In case the ratio is balanced, the perception of being fairly treated is conveyed. Otherwise,

one feels unfairly treated, arousing distress for both the over-benefited and the under-

benefited parties, which may lead to emotional and behavioral consequences. In order to re-

create fairness, parties can change their inputs, adjust their expectations, influence the other

party, or terminate the relationship.

34
As in social exchange theory, the input-output-ratios of the involved parties do not have to be

in balance at any given time. Instead, parties must trust that outcomes be split equitably in the

long-run

Commitment Trust Theory

Morgan and Hunt in 1994 first introduced commitment trust theory in their article on

successful relationship marketing. According to them, commitment and trust function as key

mediating variables between five antecedents (relationship termination costs, relationship

benefits, shared values, and opportunistic behavior) and five outcomes (acquiescence,

propensity to leave, cooperation, functional conflict, and decision-making uncertainty). By

highlighting commitment and trust, Morgan and Hunt’s theory is based on the fundamental

ideas of social exchange theory. At the same time, one of the major deficits of social

exchange theory is addressed by allowing for opportunistic behavior.

Considerations by Morgan and Hunt were spurred by a shift in marketing research and

practice away from a mere transactional focus towards the relationship marketing approach,

according to which all marketing activities are supposed to establish, develop, and maintain

successful relational exchanges. While Morgan and Hunt ac-knowledge that many contextual

factors determine the success or failure of relationship marketing efforts, commitment and

trust are seen as key, be-cause they can establish relational governance norms. As such,

commitment and trust can encourage cooperative behavior aimed at preserving relationship

investments, mitigate the risk of choosing attractive short-term alternatives despite of

expected long-term benefits with existing exchange partners, and can make high-risk actions

appear more attractive, because exchange partners are not feared to act opportunistically.

35
“Therefore, when both commitment and trust – not just one or the other – are present, they

produce outcomes that promote efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness.”

The six key factors that influence customer loyalty

According to Peter Clark, co-editor of The Wise Marketer and co-author of The Loyalty

Guide report series, there are six major factors that play key roles in influencing the loyalty

and commitment of customers:

Figure 1: Factors that influence customer loyalty

36
  Competition Information

FedEx:

FedEx Corporation is a Delaware corporation, incorporated October 2, 1997. FDX

Corporation was founded in January 1998 with the acquisition of Caliber System Inc. by

Federal Express. With the purchase of Caliber, FedEx started offering other services besides

express shipping. Caliber subsidiaries included RPS, a small-package ground service; Roberts

Express, an expedited shipping provider; Viking Freight, a regional, less than

truckload freight carrier serving the Western United States; Caribbean Transportation

Services, a provider of airfreight forwarding between the United States and the Caribbean;

and Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology, providers of logistics and technology

solutions. FDX Corporation was founded to oversee all of the operations of those companies

and its original air division, Federal Express. In the 1980s, FedEx planned, but later

abandoned, a joint service with British Airways to have BA fly a Concorde to Shannon,

Ireland with FedEx packages onboard and then FedEx would have flown the packages

subsonically to their delivery points in Europe. Ron Ponder, a vice president at the time, was

in charge of this proposed venture. In January 2000, FDX Corporation changed its name to

FedEx Corporation and re-branded all of its subsidiaries. Federal Express became FedEx

Express, RPS became FedEx Ground, Roberts Express became FedEx Custom Critical, and

Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology were combined to make up FedEx Global

Logistics. A new subsidiary called FedEx Corporate Services was formed to centralize the

sales, marketing, customer service for all of the subsidiaries. In February 2000, FedEx

37
acquired Tower Group International, an international logistics company. FedEx also

acquired WorldTariff, a customs duty and tax information company, TowerGroup and

WorldTariff were re-branded to form FedEx Trade Networks.

FedEx Corp. acquired privately held Kinko's Inc. in February 2004 and rebranded it FedEx

Kinko's. The acquisition was made to expand FedEx retail access to the general public. After

the acquisition, all FedEx Kinko's locations exclusively offered only FedEx shipping. [4] In

June 2008, FedEx announced that they would be dropping the Kinko's name from their ship

centers, with FedEx Kinko's changing to FedEx Office.

In September 2004, FedEx acquired Parcel Direct, a parcel consolidator, and re-branded

it FedEx SmartPost.

In December 2007, the Internal Revenue Service of the United States 'tentatively decided'

that FedEx Ground Division might be facing a tax liability of $319 million for 2002, due to

misclassification of its operatives as independent contractors. Reversing a 1994 decision

which allowed FedEx to classify its operatives that own their own vehicles, the IRS is

auditing the years 2003 to 2006, with a view to assessing whether similar misclassification of

operatives has taken place. FedEx denies that any irregularities in classification have taken

place, but is facing legal action from operatives claiming benefits that would have accrued

had they been classified as employees.

Blue Dart:

Blue Dart Aviation is an all-cargo airline based in Chennai, India. It operates scheduled night

express cargo flights including domestic and regional charters. It has an in-house

maintenance capability and provides aircraft maintenance and engineering support to other

airlines.

38
The airline was incorporated in 1995 as a wholly owned subsidiary of Blue Dart Express, a

Mumbai based integrated express package Distribution Company. It is now part of DHL

Aviation and owned by Deutsche Post DHL. Blue Dart Aviation started operations on June

1996 with two Boeing 737 Freighters bought from Indian Airlines and inducted its first

Boeing 757 freighter in 2006.

TNT:

TNT Express N.V. is an international courier delivery services company with headquarters

in Hoofddorp, Netherlands. The firm has fully owned operations in 63 countries and delivers

documents, parcels and pieces of freight to over 200 countries. The company recorded sales

of over €7.1 billion in 2012.

The name TNT is short for Thomas Nationwide Transport, after Ken Thomas, an Australian

businessman who, in 1946, set up his own transport business with just a single truck.

Formerly an operating division of TNT N.V., TNT Express was demerged from its parent

company on 26 May 2011, taking a listing on the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange.

TNT N.V. subsequently renamed itself PostNL.

Its major competitors include United Parcel Service, FedEx and DHL. TNT Express aircraft

operate under the IATA code of TAY (TNT Airways).

On March 19, 2012, United Parcel Service announced its intention to acquire TNT Express

for USD 6.7B. However, the deal fell through in January 2013 after it was announced that

UPS had failed to obtain permission from the European Commission and as such had been

blocked under anti competition legislation.

39
  SWOT Analysis:

Strength:

 It has the leading share of the worldwide air cargo market.

 Network in more than 220 countries and territories and about 275,000 employees

worldwide.

 Received position in the magazine’s “World’s Top 50 Cargo Airlines” list.

 More focus on central procurement & E-procurement.

 It gives the most inclusive worldwide freight service in the industry.

Weakness:

 Government owned competitors.

 Since this is a competitive segment, the market share growth is limited.

Opportunities

 Tie-ups with corporate and business houses.

 Opportunities in Financial markets.

 Global expansion.

Threats:

 Tremendous increase in e-commerce.

40
 Natural disasters and turbulent economies.

 Declination of traditional services (Letters) due to electronic communication.

 Objectives of Study:

 A study on customer level of satisfaction in towards DHL Express (I) Pvt Ltd.
 To identify the loyalty of customer towards DHL Express (I) Pvt. Ltd.
 To measure the specific reasons for satisfaction and dissatisfaction in with DHL

Express.
 To identify the recommendations of DHL Express to others by existing loyal

customers.

 Scope of study:

41
 Scope of the study mainly to know the current level of customer

satisfaction.

 Scope of the study mainly to know the loyalty of the customer towards

the company.

 To give suggestion regarding improvement of performance standard of the

Company

 To inform the management about current level.

42
  Research Methodology:

Data collection has been done from both sources primary as well as secondary. Primary data

and Secondary data have been explained below:

Primary Data:

Data can be defined as the quantitative or qualitative values of a variable. Data is plural of

Datum which literally means to give or something given. Data is thought to be the lowest unit

of information from which other measurements and analysis can be done. Data can be

numbers, images, words, figures, facts or ideas. Data in itself cannot be understood and to to

get information from the data one must interpret it into meaningful information.

Sources Of Primary Data:

Sources for primary data are limited and at times it becomes difficult to obtain data from

primary source because of either scarcity of population or lack of cooperation. Regardless of

any difficulty one can face in collecting primary data; it is the most authentic and

reliable data source. Following are some of the sources of primary data.

Survey: Survey is most commonly used method in social sciences, management, marketing

and psychology to some extent. Surveys can be conducted in different methods.

 Questionnaire: is the most commonly used method in survey. Questionnaires are a

list of questions either open-ended or close -ended for which the respondent give

answers.
 Interview: Interview is a face-to-face conversation with the respondent. In interview

the main problem arises when the respondent deliberately hides information otherwise

it is an in depth source of information.

43
Secondary Data:

Secondary data is data collected by someone other than the user. Common sources of

secondary data for social science include censuses, organizational records and data collected

through qualitative methodologies or qualitative research. Primary data, by contrast, are

collected by the investigator conducting the research.

Secondary data analysis saves time that would otherwise be spent collecting data and,

particularly in the case of quantitative data, provides larger and higher-quality databases that

would be unfeasible for any individual researcher to collect on their own. In addition,

analysts of social and economic change consider secondary data essential, since it is

impossible to conduct a new survey that can adequately capture past change and/or

developments.

Sources of Secondary Data:

Secondary data is often readily available. After the expense of electronic media and internet

the availability of secondary data has become much easier.

 Published Printed Sources: There are variety of published printed sources. Their

credibility depends on many factors. For example, on the writer, publishing company

and time and date when published. New sources are preferred and old sources should

be avoided as new technology and researches bring new facts into light.
 Books: Books are available today on any topic that you want to research. The use of

books start before even you have selected the topic. After selection of topics books

provide insight on how much work has already been done on the same topic and you

can prepare your literature review..

 Journals/periodicals: Journals and periodicals are becoming more important as far as

data collection is concerned. The reason is that journals provide up-to-date

information which at times books cannot and secondly, journals can give information

44
 on the very specific topic on which you are researching rather talking about more

general topics.
 Magazines/Newspapers: Magazines are also effective but not very reliable.

Newspaper on the other hand are more reliable and in some cases the information can

only be obtained from newspapers as in the case of some political studies.

CHAPTER III

DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

45
Customers overall experience to accessibility and responses of

DHL representative through Telephone.

Options Respondents Percentage

Excellent 16 20 %

Very Good 16 20 %

Good 32 40 %

Fair 16 20 %

Poor 0 0%

Total 80 100 %
Table - 1
Interpretation:20 % of the customers responded that their overall experience to accessibility

and responses through Telephone is Excellent. Next 20 % says it is very good. Good being

awarded by 40 % of the customer. Final 20 % is not so satisfied so they said that the service

is fair.

Figure - 1

(Chart showing Customers overall experience to accessibility and responses of DHL

representative through Telephone)
Customers overall experience to accessibility and responses of DHL representative
through E-mail

46
 Options Respondents Percentage
Excellent 16 20 %

Very Good 16 20 %

Good 32 40 %

Fair 16 20 %

Poor 0 0%

Total 80 100 %
Table - 2

Interpretation:20 % of the customers responded that their overall experience to accessibility

and responses through E-mail is Excellent. Next 20 % says it is very good. Good being

awarded by 40 % of the customer. Final 20 % is not so satisfied so they said that the service

is fair

Figure - 2
(Chart showing Customers overall experience to accessibility and responses of DHL
representative through E-mail)

47
Clearance representative ability to help customer issue/need

Options Respondents Percentage

Excellent 15 19 %
Very Good 17 21 %
Good 22 28 %
Fair 19 24 %
Poor 7 9%
Total 80 100 %
Table - 3

Interpretation:19 % of the customers responded that their overall experience to ability to

help resolve issue or need is Excellent. Next 21 % says it is very good. Good being awarded

by 28 % of the customer. 24 % is somewhat satisfied so they said that the service is fair. 9 %

is not satisfied with the service.

48
Figure – 3

(Chart showing Clearance representative ability to help customer issue/need)

Customers Overall experience with DHL Clearance Department

Options Respondents Percentage

Excellent 17 21%
Very Good 15 19%
Good 14 18%
Fair 30 38%
Poor 4 5%
Total 80 100 %
Table - 4

Interpretation:
21 % of the customers responded that their overall experience with DHL clearance

department is Excellent. Next 19 % says it is very good. Good being awarded by 18 % of the

customer. 38% is somewhat satisfied so they said that the service is fair. 5 % is not satisfied

with the service.

49
Figure - 4
(Chart showing Customers Overall experience with DHL Clearance Department)

Customers Overall experience with DHL Shipment Delivery at doorstep

Options Respondents Percentage

Excellent 9 11%
Very Good 25 31%
Good 40 50%
Fair 4 5%
Poor 2 3%
Total 80 100 %
Table - 5

Interpretation: 11 % of the customers responded that their overall experience with DHL

clearance department is Excellent. Next 31 % says it is very good. Good being awarded by 50

50
% of the customer. 5 % is somewhat satisfied so they said that the service is fair. 3 % is not

satisfied with the service.

Figure – 5
(Chart showing Customers Overall experience with DHL Shipment Delivery at
doorstep)

Customer Satisfaction level with DHL Express I Pvt Ltd

Options Respondents Percentage

Extremely Satisfied 15 19%
Satisfied 20 25%
Neutral 22 28%
Dissatisfied 18 23%
Extremely Dissatisfied 5 6%
Total 80 100 %
Table - 6

Interpretation:

51
19 % of the customers responded they are Extremely Satisfied with the service. Next 25 %

they are satisfied. Neutral is 22 % of the customer. 23 % is somewhat satisfied so they said

that the service is fair. 3 % is not satisfied with the service.

Figure - 6
(Chart showing Customer Satisfaction level with DHL Express I Pvt Ltd)

52
Customer Responses or Reasons for satisfaction with DHL Express Pvt Ltd

 Less transit time

 Clear tracking

 Advance furnishing of documents

 Keeping customer fully informed

 Timely clearance

 Good Shipment delivery at doorstep

Interpretation:

Various reasons are given by customers for satisfaction like less transit time, Clear tracking,

Advance furnishing of documents, keeping customer fully informed, Timely clearance, Good

Shipment delivery at doorstep etc.

53
Customer Responses or Reasons for Dissatisfaction with DHL Express I Pvt Ltd

 Original Bill of Entry getting only after 3 days after our follow up, this should come

along with delivery

 Freight Bill received 30 days after delivery this should deliver within 24 hrs, so that

your payment will not be delayed

 The currency some times wrongly mention in the B/E before filing with Customs,

check the invoice or check with the customer - this will help avoiding mistake.

 In some of the instances your response is not proper

 Since express service is preferred only when there are some urgency, though the cargo

reaches at airport. clearance team takes minimum 7-25days takes for customs

clearance

 Commitment not met in several cases

Interpretation:

Various reasons are given by customers for dissatisfaction. The company need more focused

approach for satisfying the customers.

54
Recommend DHL Express to others

Options Respondents Percentage

Yes 51 64%
No 29 36%
Total 80 100 %
Table - 7

Interpretation:

64 % of the customer responded in favour of recommending DHL Express to others. On the

other hand 36 % of the people say No to recommend DHL Express to others.

Figure - 7

55
(Chart showing Recommendation DHL Express to others)

Over the past years loyalty towards DHL Express has grown stronger.

Options Respondents Percentage

Yes 55 69%
No 25 31%
Total 80 100 %
Table - 8

Interpretation:

69 % of the customer responded in favour that loyalty towards DHL Express has grown

stronger. On the other hand 31 % of the people say No that loyalty towards DHL Express has

not grown stronger.

Figure - 8
(Chart showing status of loyalty towards DHL Express has grown stronger)

56
DHL Express Values people & Relationships ahead of Short-term goals

Options Respondents Percentage

Yes 41 51%
No 39 49%
Total 80 100 %
Table - 9

Interpretation:
51 % of the customer responded in favour that DHL Express Values people & Relationships

ahead of Short-term goals. On the other hand 49 % of the people say No that DHL Express do

not Values people & Relationships ahead of Short-term goals.

57
Figure – 9
(Chart showing DHL Express Values people & Relationships ahead of Short-term goals)

CHAPTER IV
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Result of the study

 20 % of the customers responded that their overall experience to accessibility and

responses through Telephone is Excellent. Next 20 % says it is very good. Good being

awarded by 40 % of the customer. Final 20 % is not so satisfied so they said that the

service is fair

 20 % of the customers responded that their overall experience to accessibility and

responses through E-mail is Excellent. Next 20 % says it is very good. Good being

awarded by 40 % of the customer. Final 20 % is not so satisfied so they said that the

service is fair

 19 % of the customers responded that their overall experience to ability to help

resolve issue or need is Excellent. Next 21 % says it is very good. Good being

58
 awarded by 28 % of the customer. 24 % is somewhat satisfied so they said that the

service is fair. 9 % is not satisfied with the service.

 21 % of the customers responded that their overall experience with DHL clearance

department is Excellent. Next 19 % says it is very good. Good being awarded by 18 %

of the customer. 38% is somewhat satisfied so they said that the service is fair. 5 % is

not satisfied with the service.

 11 % of the customers responded that their overall experience with DHL clearance

department is Excellent. Next 31 % says it is very good. Good being awarded by 50 %

of the customer. 5 % is somewhat satisfied so they said that the service is fair. 3 % is

not satisfied with the service.

 19 % of the customers responded they are Extremely Satisfied with the service. Next

25 % they are satisfied. Neutral is 22 % of the customer. 23 % is somewhat satisfied

so they said that the service is fair. 3 % is not satisfied with the service.

 64 % of the customer responded in favour of recommending DHL Express to others.

On the other hand 36 % of the people say No to recommend DHL Express to others.

 69 % of the customer responded in favour that loyalty towards DHL Express has

grown stronger. On the other hand 31 % of the people say No that loyalty towards

DHL Express has not grown stronger.

59
  51 % of the customer responded in favour that DHL Express Values people &

Relationships ahead of Short-term goals. On the other hand 49 % of the people say No

that DHL Express do not Values people & Relationships ahead of Short-term goals.

Suggestions
 Communicate. Whether it is an email newsletter, monthly flier, a reminder card for a

tune up, or a holiday greeting card, reach out to your steady customers.

 Customer Service. Go the extra distance and meet customer needs. Train the staff to

do the same. Customers remember being treated well.

 Employee Loyalty. Loyalty works from the top down. If you are loyal to your

employees, they will feel positively about their jobs and pass that loyalty along to

your customers.

60
 Employee Training. Train employees in the manner that you want them to interact

with customers. Empower employees to make decisions that benefit the customer.

 Customer Incentives. Give customers a reason to return to your business. For

instance, because children outgrow shoes quickly, the owner of a children’s shoe store

might offer a card that makes the tenth pair of shoes half price. Likewise, a dentist

may give a free cleaning to anyone who has seen him regularly for five years.

 Product Awareness. Know what your steady patrons purchase and keep these items in

stock. Add other products and/or services that accompany or compliment the products

that your regular customers buy regularly. And make sure that your staff understands

everything they can about your products.

 Reliability. If you say a purchase will arrive on Wednesday, deliver it on Wednesday.

Be reliable. If something goes wrong, let customers know immediately and

compensate them for their inconvenience.

 Be Flexible. Try to solve customer problems or complaints to the best of your ability.

Excuses — such as "That's our policy" — will lose more customers then setting the

store on fire...

 People over Technology. The harder it is for a customer to speak to a human being

when he or she has a problem, the less likely it is that you will see that customer

again.

61
  Know Their Names. Remember the theme song to the television show Cheers? Get to

know the names of regular customers or at least recognize their faces.

DHL Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty Survey

62
 How would you rate your overall experience to accessibility and responses (of DHL
representative) through phone and e-mail :

Excellent
Very Good
Good

Fair
Poor

 How you rate the representative ability to help you resolve your issue/need?

Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair

Poor

 How you rate the representative on being Courteous & helpfulness?

Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor

 Think specifically about the CLEARANCE Department, How would you rate your overall
experience:

Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor
63
  Think specifically about the SHIPMENT DELIVERY at your doorstep, How would you rate
your overall experience:

Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor

 In scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents ‘Extremely Dissatisfied’ and 5 represents ‘Extremely

Satisfied’. How would you rate your level of satisfaction with DHL Express?

1
2

3
4

What specifically are you SATISFIED with DHL Express, Chennai. Enter your response below:
{E.g., - Safety & security, Excellent tracking, less transit time}

64
What specifically are you DISSATISFIED with DHL Express, Chennai. Enter your response below:
{E.g., - Commitment not met. etc.}

 How likely are you to recommend DHL Express to others? The chances are:

Excellent
Very Good
Good
Fair
Poor

 In total, how long you have been a customer of DHL Express:

More then 10 years

7 to 10 years
5 to 7 years
Please 3list
to top 3 reasons, initially becoming a member of DHL Express in order please list top 3
5 years
reasons, initially becoming a member of DHL Express in order of me
Less then 3 years

Please rate your level of agreement with the following statements. In scale of 1 to 5, where 1
represents ‘Completely Disagree’, 3 represents ‘Neutral’ and 5 being ‘Completely Agree’

65
 I believe the company, DHL Express deserves my loyalty:

1 2 3 4 5

 Over the past years, my loyalty to the company, DHL Express has grown stronger:

1 2 3 4 5

 DHL Express Values people & Relationships ahead of Short-term goals:

1 2 3 4 5

*
••• Suggestions ••• (if any)

66
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books:

 Research Methodology – Kothari

 The Loyalty Guide report series - Peter Clark

 Marketing Management 12 e – Philip Kotler

Websites:

 www.google.com

 www.wikipedia.com

 www.dhl.com

67