Έρευνα υιοθέτησης μεθόδων κοστολόγησης για την λήψη αποφάσεων από τις Ελληνικές επιχειρήσεις παροχής υπηρεσιών Logistics της Βόρειας Ελλάδας

Abstract

Στο σύγχρονο περιβάλλον οι επιχειρήσεις απαιτείται να βασίζουν τις δραστηριότητες και τις αποφάσεις τους σε αποτελεσματικές και αποδοτικές μεθόδους κοστολόγησης. Κύριος στόχος της εργασίας είναι η παρουσίαση των αποτελεσμάτων έρευνας που αφορά στην εξέταση υιοθέτησης των μεθόδων κοστολόγησης από τις επιχειρήσεις Παροχής Υπηρεσιών Logistics της Βόρειας Ελλάδας. Συνθέτοντας τη σχετική βιβλιογραφία και τα αποτελέσματα πρωτογενούς έρευνας εξάγονται χρήσιμα συμπεράσματα. Συγκεκριμένα, τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας αναδεικνύουν αφενός τη σημαντικότητα του συστήματος κοστολόγησης για την αναδιοργάνωση του χαρτοφυλακίου των πελατών, της εμπορικής πολιτικής και την εγκατάλειψη ορισμένων μη αποδοτικών προϊόντων και αφετέρου ότι οι επιχειρήσεις που χρησιμοποιούν σύστημα βασισμένο στον υπολογισμό του κόστους δραστηριοτήτων είναι περισσότερο ικανοποιημένες. Αυτό κρίνεται πολύ σημαντικό διότι με τον τρόπο αυτόν μπορούν να προσδιοριστούν οι διαδικασίες logistics που δεν αυξάνουν την αξία της παρεχόμενης υπηρεσίας.

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Abstract

Third Party Logistics (3PL) paradigm has grown into a critical and common strategic approach, due to outsourcing trends in the new business arena. In essence, the concept of 3PL can be defined as the outsourcing of logistics activities to outside (third) companies (3PL’s). The main benefits of this approach are:

• Lower cost: with outsourcing logistics services a company achieves a reduction of capital expenditures (equipment, storage and transportation facilities, warehouse and distribution centers). Its standard costs are converted to variable costs.
• Higher quality: 3PL’s provide enhanced customer service capabilities, reduction in average order- cycle length improved operational efficiency, combined with high experience.

Over the past two decades, 3PL’s have extended their scope beyond traditional transportation and warehousing activities to also include many other core logistics services such as procurement, distribution, inventory management, packaging, and order processing / customer services. It is believed that only on realizing the true costs of the above services a firm can confidently pursue the logistics objective of providing desired customer service at the least total cost. This is achieved only by identifying the non-added value logistics activities, as well as, by examining how the practice of outsourcing can increase the value of provided services.

Thus, in today’s complex and competitive environment a 3PL company needs to rely on an effective and efficient costing system so as to make the right decisions. For example to verify whether or not their services and/or customers are profitable. Inappropriate approaches to costing might cause distorted information, result in making wrong decisions and non-acceptable business performance.

This paper presents and evaluates the costing systems that the 3PL’s companies have used. It is based on a survey that referred to logistics providers inNorthern Greece. This survey aimed at first to identify the adopted costing system, to estimate the degree of satisfaction by managers, and to recognize the problems regarding the existing costing system. It is organized as follows. First, the basic concepts and main characteristics of costing systems / models are presented. Then, findings of a survey regarding the costing systems that the 3PL’s companies inNorthern Greeceuse are evaluated. Finally, a discussion of the implications of findings and thoughts is stated.

The most significant findings of the survey were the following:

• Most companies use and exploit the Direct and Absorption costing.
• Companies that used Activity-Based Costing are more satisfied that the companies that maintain other costing systems.
• The most significant problems that the companies indicated regarding the costing procedure were the incorrect allocation of indirect costs to the provided services and the problem of the acquisition of right costing information.

The costing system that companies use is responsible for the above problems.