New Introduction To Supply Chain Management - MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the New Introduction To Supply Chain Management. Answer: Intermodal Transport Company Intermodal transportation involves joining of several modes of transportation to form a chain which helps in delivering goods efficiently and effectively. These help in reducing the cost of transportation and also allow movement of large quantities of goods. In this form of transportation, there are transfers in between the modes being used in that road transport can be used from one place to the other and then from there a different mode is used. Intermodal terminals are of thee types each having its own location and materials requirements, they are port terminals, rail terminals, and distribution centers. Port terminals are substantial when dealing with traffic, space consumption and financial requirements. Has container sea terminal which links maritime and inland systems. Due to increase in distance of the maritime containers, the intermediate center terminal has been born to help transfer containers from one network to the other; it also acts as a barrier as containers wait to be put to the other ship. Rail terminal is joined with port terminals at the beginning of the inland Distribution centers are terminals which do extra functions to the freight. Performs three duties: - Its a trans-loading facility as it transfers items in the maritime containers to trucks or local containers -it does cross-docking at retail supply chain segment -warehousing where items/containers are kept within the supply chains. What makes it different from multimodal transportation is that intermodal involve movement of cargo from one origin to a destination by use of many modes of transport whereby each mode has its own carrier with own independent contract, whereas multimodal is the movement of cargo from an origin to a destination using several modes of transport and that each has its own different carrier but with single contract. Intermodal transportation is largely used because the road transportation has been congested and their rates are expensive and competitive, hence the operators are forced to the jungle to survive, road transport favors transport of most perishable goods, counter the problems of truck breakdown. Other benefits of using intermodal transportation are decreased emissions of carbon when the rail is used compared to trucks, has to lead to improvement in safety and security as the use of Rail is safer than truck service, decreased congestion in the highway because over 200 trucks are reduced to one train. Martens, et.al ( 2012). The advantages of multimodal transportation are: tracking can be easily done as monitoring is done with one carrier from door-to-door, you can be able to access remote areas while carrying the cargo with one transport carrier, delivery time is well-organized, and it has the minimal coordination of the logistics. Intermodal transportation from early days to the current era uses container according to Bektas and Crainic (2007) includes: -Early container which some were wooden -Containerization which is steel made containers -Containers and container handling which is mainly used when using a ship as a mode of transport - Load securing in intermodal containers -Container ships used to carry containers by sea -Railways where containers are put on container well cars -Trucks can be used to transport cargo within the terminal or for deliveries to the customers. -Barges -Land bridges which are used in intermodal transportation to align containerized ocean cargo which is being transported across a large body of land. -Planes which are bigger carry cargo in the containers - The pipeline is used in intermodal transportation as it is suitable for carrying gas and liquids. They are damaging to the environment, cannot be stolen since they are put underground and cannot be noticed easily, more economical, safe, convenient and reliable mode of transportation. Liquid fertilizers, liquidified natural gas, and carbon dioxide can also be carried by use of pipelines. Despite your choice of transportation, shippers need transportation management systems to allow easy tracking during the deliveries, to enable them to do an analysis to determine the best shipping cost with the best routing transit time. Transportation management systems can coordinate well with other carriers and suppliers. Meixell and Norbis ( 2008) Currently focus is on the policies that suit motorization and does not consider the essential elements of sustainability, but more focus on sustainable transportation should be looked into, one that covers intermodal transport for both passengers and cargo. This is achieved by overcoming problems faced in the industry and putting incorrect policies and decision-making systems with general participation from everyone. Qube is one of the largest logistics company in Australia which embraces intermodal transportation and offers import and export services to clients. Its growth has been aided by its highly skilled and experienced management team with dedicated, skilled workforce. Has a large site which is able to accommodate two terminals as it includes import-export terminal joining container station. NSW will form the biggest intermodal freight division in Australia. Logistics management theories Slack (2008) Supply chain and general systems In this theory, the assessment of existing and representative systems shows no advancement in technology yet, and therefore measures in the general theory should be adopted to aid development in the industry. This theory states that the larger the developed system, the more the resources required to maintain it. Therefore when a company makes a plan to improve their logistic system, they should consider the cost implications. General supply chain model It shows that there is no defined chain model as the existing supply chain deals with one aspect, organization measures, Technology and individual conditions. Other theories and practice of supply chain management- In this theory, much improvement of systems is shown. Organizational buying behavior Deals with management of procurement procedures. Decisions made differ in terms of the level of risk imposed to the organization and the decisions are influenced by environmental factors like suppliers, competitors. Its affected by organizational factors like the buying organizations size, structure, and finally, its affected also by buy-classes like product type, the complexity of purchase. Halldorsson, et.al (2007) Contracting of economics(agency theory) This involves a situation where the principal delegates the work of delivering some activities to an agent and he ensures that the work delegated is done as per the standards put and his interests. This relationship can also be seen when a buyer engages a seller to deliver some products or services to them. The theory only bases on getting to know how efficient result is achieved other than knowing how the relationship buyer and seller should be. Network and inter-organizational relationships Deals with supplier management relationship, supply advancement and improvement of performance. Focuses on different theories as stated by Janvier-James (2012): Relational contract theory- this states that exchange transactions work in a social matrix and follow relational patterns. Resource dependency theory- focuses on the idea of power relations in the supply chains. Social exchange theory- involves networking in the business Integrated supply chain management Deals with operational delivery procedures and answer questions about monitoring and management of supplier relationship. It begins work from logistics, management of materials and operations management. Has game theory and systems theory. Game theory states that many economic decisions involving buyer and seller occur in step by step and their continuous interactions enable them to know each other well. Systems theory is an organization and management theory which helps in giving information on the processes within and between the organizations. It states that procedures and results of a system can be comprehended by looking at it closely and to the fullest. There are factors which affect the choice of intermodal transportation as per Meixell and Norbis (2008) over other forms are: The frequency of shipping- intermodal transport does well when cargo is to be transported continuously maintaining the quantities. The distance between the origin and destinations also determine the form of transport to use as longer distances suits intermodal form. Nature and quantity of cargo also determine the form of transport be used in that intermodal form is good for transporting in-between and finished products. Cargo value- an intermodal form of transport suits in-between cargo values. Sequence of modes being used- intermodal uses many modes which organized a chain Logistics strategies Logistics being the major function in the success of a business is facing a lot challenges in its operations, some of the challenges include: Transportation costs- the continuous rise of fuel cost has caused a great effect as it has increased wages and hike inflation rates hence increase the costs of transportation. Processing of information- managers deal with a lot of office work on a daily basis apart from managing the operations of the fleet. This can be tiresome and time-consuming to the person undertaking the duties. Manpower management- dealing with each an every personnel and their issues and work can be a hurdle. Managers, therefore, should be able to handle them and organize them and their duties hence good delivery. Dealing with segmented and customized services as operators should offer some experiences to different customers at a time hence saving time and effort. Regulations compliance- its a great challenge as rules and regulations of transport different from one region to the other and handling this in each region and also showing the personnel how to deal with them can be a hectic activity. Road safety laws have been a hinder to easier movement, the force applied to effect the laws can cause the cost of doing business to go high. The rules and regulations set by government sometimes affect logistic movement this is because of poor disagreement in funding in Australian government and this can affect transport as there will be no roads if by the time of disagreements there were no roads. Regulations governing logistics may hinder movement and especially when a company needs special transportation, there is need to get permits for the case. Advancement of technology in the world affects logistics sector too as installation can be costly. How to solve the challenges All these problems faced by the management can be solved so as to achieve the best in the business. The process of problem-solving can be step by step as follows according to Slack (2008) are: Finding out the problem and describe it objectively so as to reach a solution Find out what might be the cause of the problem which is hindering the success of the company, more research and close evaluation should be done to come with all the causes and how it has affected the companys performance Try coming up with solutions to the problem identified. All possible ways can be noted down and then analyze them to come up with an appropriate solution. Try by solving the problems part by part, not as a whole; here you can involve other stakeholders or friends to get different ideas and approaches to some problems. Decision making- this is a crucial part as it determines whether a problem will be solved or not. Apply the solution and assess its success in each problem, if after applying the solution and you find there is no change, you will have to go back to drawing board. The challenges discussed above can, therefore, be solved as follows: The transport costs problem can be solved by embracing an approach of reducing bottlenecks in the network designs. Clear information about the existing and future deliveries should be sought and find an efficient way of handling them. Automation application should be applied to help in reducing the workload of the enormous amount of information being processed daily. Software to offer an automatic solution to the extrapolative process of offering services to different customers should be incorporated hence saving time. A delegation of responsibilities through appointing managers at key regions helps in efficient management of the working team and the management can be able to handle each personnel on the same page. Audit software can be adapted to counter the problems of regulation compliance NSW involvement NSW government has in many ways tried to engage their selves in the process of trying to solve the problems faced by transportation companies and solved where a solution is found. We shall look at how they have involved themselves in different challenges and how they have tried to solve them (Bujak and Gubskaya, 2012). Urban problems which include road changes, toll roads, and traffic congestion are some of the problems encountered by Australian freight companies. The government has developed plans to decongest the places and also ensure warehouse, where the goods are stored, are not located in the city, find alternative roads for freight trucks so as to avoid the toll roads. Regional challenges which include long distances between the origin and the destinations has been a challenge and sometimes causes drivers fatigue which can lead to accidents.NSW, therefore, developed a logistic program and the introduction of the use of trains has helped ease the challenge of distances. Sometimes there are also animals crossing the road and therefore bull bars are used to protect vehicles. Change in seasons also has an impact on transport even at times there is the unavailability of some spare parts for the trucks, snow falls affect rail and air mode of transport. During summer, perishable goods are greatly affected; NSW, therefore, recommends availability of coolers in the warehouses to counter these problems and also the health of workers should be a card for during this season. Conclusion. Transport industry faces a lot of challenges but despite that, the use of an intermodal form of transport has helped in some areas. In the near future with the advancement of technologies and other measures, freight will be delivered door-to-door as agreed by the customer and the transport company. References List Bektas, T., and Crainic, T., (2007)A brief overview of intermodal transportation. CIRRELT. Crainic, T.G., and Kim, K.H., (2007) Intermodal transportation.Handbooks in operations research and management science,14, pp.467-537. Bujak, A. and Gubskaya, N., (2012) Innovations and changes in the logistics tasks implementations.Studia Ekonomiczne/Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Katowicach, (121 Developing of transportation flows in 21st century supply chains), pp.45-58. Chapman, R.L., Hyland, P.W., Jenkins, R.J. and Sloan, T.R., (1997) Continuous improvement in Australian manufacturing firms: findings of a survey in New South Wales.International Journal of Technology Management,14(1), pp.102-115. Halldorsson, A., Kotzab, H., Mikkola, J.H. and Skjtt-Larsen, T., (2007) Complementary theories to supply chain management.Supply chain management: An international journal,12(4), pp.284-296. Janvier-James, A.M., (2012) A new introduction to supply chains and supply chain management: Definitions and theories perspective.International Business Research,5(1), p.194. Martens, K., Golub, A., and Robinson, G., (2012) A justice-theoretic approach to the distribution of transportation benefits: Implications for transportation planning practice in the United States.Transportation research part A: policy and practice,46(4), pp.684-695. Meixell, M.J., and Norbis, M., (2008) A review of the transportation mode choice and carrier selection literature.The International Journal of Logistics Management,19(2), pp.183-211. Slack, B., (2008) Intermodal transportation. InHandbook of Logistics and Supply-Chain Management(pp. 141-154). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.