ANALYSIS OF THE LOGISTICS CAPABILITIES OF SMEs COMPANIES OF GUANAJUATO, ANALISIS DE LAS CAPACIDADES LOGISTICAS INTERNACIONALES DE LAS PYMES DEL ESTADO DE GUANAJUATO

This work analyzes the international logistics capabilities of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the state of Guanajuato in Mexico. It is both a quantitative and qualitative research work as it addresses the application of questionnaires and in depth interviews with international logistics companies. Some 88 enterprises were included in this process. In the first part, the concept of international trade logistics is analyzed, followed by the context that SMEs possess in Mexico. Then the logistic context for the state of Guanajuato and finally, the methodology for identifying characteristics for SMEs is examined. A questionnaire of 54 questions was designed with the Likert scale. We considered four dimensions: 1. Commercial intelligence, 2. Capacity for trade and product, 3. Logistics capacity and 4. Management capacity (organization and professionalism of their human resources). Cronbach’s Alpha for the instrument was 0.931, which is sufficient for the proposed analysis. Interviewed experts advise a good logistics plan and a constant evaluation of both logistics costs and the operations administration. These elements are fundamental pieces for the development of the enterprise that manifest in cost decreases, allowing the company to prosper