Assessing the intermodal value proposition of shipping lines : attitudes of shippers and forwarders

Shipping lines generally offer their clients two main value propositions: port-to-port and door-to-door transport. In addition, some shipping lines offer a third value proposition in the form of transport up to inland terminals (ILTs). This third value proposition combines maritime and inland transport and is offered to two types of customers: shippers and forwarders. These two customer groups have different positions in the supply chain. It is therefore expected that shippers and forwarders have different attitudes towards the intermodal value proposition and the service offering of shipping lines in general. In this article we analyse how shippers and forwarders assess the value propositions of shipping through a survey among shippers and forwarders in the Netherlands. We found that shippers and forwarders differ in what they find important in the service offering of shipping lines, that they differ in the share of value propositions they source from the shipping lines and that for both shippers and forwarders the value proposition centred around an ILT is of added value.