Efficiency in Transport Logistics: an Academic and a Practical Viewpoint

Abstract

The present article aims to define the term efficiency in the field of transport logistics. First the definitions to be found in the literature are scrutinized. An attempt is made to distinguish efficiency from effectiveness, performance and cost-effectiveness and to determine how they are interrelated with each other. Then, in the second part of the paper the practical side of efficiency is researched by examining a number of projects dealing with some aspect of transport logistics, trying to capture the characteristics that could contribute to efficiency. These features are found to be the application of telematics, the dissemination of information and improvement of management, the intermodality, the invention of new techniques and technologies and the presence of sustainability.