What Drives Customer Satisfaction in Cold Chain Logistics? A Cross-Industry Analysis of Food and Pharmaceutical Sectors

This study examines survey data from the food and beverage and pharmaceutical and healthcare industries to identify factors influencing customer satisfaction in cold chain logistics (CCL) services. A balanced demographic representation was achieved, ensuring credible comparisons and reliability testing confirmed the survey's dependability with a Cronbach's Alpha exceeding the recommended threshold [5]. In the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, correlation analysis showed significant but low relationships between Delivery <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(\mathbf{r}=\mathbf{0.250})$</tex> and Service <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(\mathbf{r}=\mathbf{0.188})$</tex> with customer satisfaction, indicating limited influence. Safety did not correlate significantly, suggesting that customers have a baseline expectation for safety. In contrast, Cost exhibited a moderate positive correlation <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(\mathbf{r}=\mathbf{0.362})$</tex>, indicating it is a consideration but not a primary driver of satisfaction. In the Food and Beverage sector, all factors Delivery <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(\mathbf{r}=\mathbf{0.585})$</tex>, Safety <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(\mathbf{r}=\mathbf{0.405})$</tex>, Cost <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(\mathbf{r}=\mathbf{0.434})$</tex>, and Service <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$(\mathbf{r}=\mathbf{0.534})$</tex> showed significant positive correlations with satisfaction, particularly highlighting the importance of Delivery and Service. T-test analysis revealed significant differences in Delivery perceptions between the two industries, with the pharmaceutical and healthcare sector placing greater emphasis on this factor due to the nature of their products. Overall, findings suggest that food and beverage companies should focus on enhancing delivery and service quality, while pharmaceutical and healthcare firms need to refine delivery strategies to meet specific customer expectations and improve overall satisfaction.