ANALYSIS OF THE COMPETITIVENESS OF THE COURIER SERVICES IN BULGARIA.

The objectives of the paper are to explore the relative importance of factors that influence the choice of a particular courier operator, and to evaluate the competitiveness of courier services in a specific market – the Bulgarian courier services market. A methodological approach for evaluation of the competitiveness of courier services was proposed and empirically tested. Based on the analysis it was found that the courier services competitiveness can be measure by the following indicators: timeliness of delivery, reliability, quality of services, competitive price, access to information, meeting customers’ requests and complaints in a satisfactory way. By applying Borda Count Method, it was found that the most important indicators for individual customers are service price, service quality and timeliness of delivery. The main competitors on the Bulgarian courier services market (Econt Express and Speedy) which are also the companies with the largest market share registered the highest level of competitiveness of theirs serviced. The reasons for this are mainly the good balance between consumer satisfactions with the individual indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]