Decisão de frota própria versus terceirizada: proposta de um modelo hierárquico para empresas de transporte rodoviário de cargas no Brasil

Abstract

The road freight transportation requires the use of significant assets that could be own or outsourced. This imply transport companies have to choose for appropriate fleet definition strategies. The choice in keeping own trucks and/or subcontracting third parties, as well as the proportion of using both options is fundamental for these companies. This decision-making process is complex and involves a number of variables. This study has its central theme the decision between having its own fleet or outsourced. The general objective was to analyze the key decision-making variables of road freight transport companies for using their own or outsourced fleet in Brazil. The empirical studies and theories evaluated indicated a series of variables intervening in this decision-making process, such as: fleet cost, investment capacity, revenue generation, cash flow, fleet productivity, fleet management, dependence on third parties, freight minimum table, labor demands, quality of service, market demand and competition. From this, to validate the variables previously mentioned, the field research consisted of conducting semi-structured interviews with eight experts in the transport area. The identification of key variables made it possible to structure the hierarchical model composed of criteria grouped into four areas (financial, operational, legal and marketing), as well as linking them with the respective theories that justify their use. Given the complexity of decision making, the Analytic Hierarchy Process Method (AHP) was applied to the interviewees. The application of the model brought as a result the interviewees’ perception, allowing a comparative analysis of the reality of the participating companies with that pointed out by the AHP. The results showed that the own fleet prevailed when the legal variables received a higher level of importance in relation to the others. However, when the financial variables were more important, there was a prevalence of outsourced fleet. The study demonstrated that the identification of the key fleet definition variables and the respective application of AHP become practical application tools for strategic fleet decision making in road cargo transportation companies. Although all respondents agreed with the validity of the result indicated by the AHP method, as some of these results did not correspond with the reality practiced by the company, future studies to investigate the divergence between the interviewee's perception and the company's practice are suggested.