Chen, C.; Chiang, Z.; Hsieh, M., and Zeng, X., 2018. Applying the data envelopment analysis to discuss performance evaluation of customer relationship management in shipping industry. In: Liu, Z.L. and Mi, C. (eds.), Advances in Sustainable Port and Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 83, pp. 833–838. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Along with frequent global trading, trade between countries becomes popular. Import/export trade also relies on shipping that it is an important issue to maintain good customer relationship and interaction to enhance stable customer sources and promote company performance in shipping industry. To maintain highly competitive advantages, price differentiation, concentration strategies, and low shipping expenses could attract new customers, consolidate old customers, and satisfy customer needs with professional knowledge to reinforce customer relationship management, i.e. the possession of competitive advantages. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used as the efficiency evaluation tool in this study. The efficiency acquired with DEA and the information of variables show that 1 DMU presents strong efficiency on customer relationship management, 4 DMUs, with the efficiency between 0.9 and 1, reveal marginal inefficiency on customer relationship management, and 7 DMUs appear obvious inefficiency, with the efficiency lower than 0.9, on customer relationship management. The key factors in customer relationship management in shipping industry are further found out through sensitivity analysis. According to the results, suggestions are eventually proposed, expecting that shipping businesses, under limited resources, manpower, and budgets, could grasp market conditions, customer preference, complicated international trade trend, and the practice of governmental policies within limited time to promote the organizational performance.