Evaluating the logistics performance of Brazil’s corn exports: a proposal of indicators

Abstract

Despite significant advances in the Brazilian agriculture, the logistics costs, particularly transportation and storage costs continue to act as the main barriers that limit the potential of the Brazilian agribusiness. This study analyzes the logistics efficiency of the main flow routes for Brazil’s agricultural production and exports - in particular, corn production and exports, among the major producing states and the main ports of Brazil. For this purpose, we develop a performance measurement system based on the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) using four models for efficiency analysis: financial, customer, internal business processes, and learning and growth. Tthe efficiency of the main routes was calculated using the data envelopment analysis (DEA). Our results suggest that the routes from Mato Grosso state to Santarem port using a road-waterway intermodal transport system were the most efficient on three of the four criteria. Thereafter, the relative efficiency of all main Brazilian routes was analyzed based on the four criteria, establishing the references and developing a standard model to evaluate other logistics systems.