Logistics Management in Business - Example

The manner in which global business environment is undergoing changes has increased the degree of pressure on organizations and has made it important that proper supply chain is developed and the focus is on improving the logistics management for better performance. Logistics management involves a series of steps where business work through interrelated process so that cost can be reduced, value added to the product or services and the utility function can be multiplied. This will help to multiply the value of the business and will ensure that they are able to conduct business overseas. The essay looks towards presenting the manner in which logistics management has to be improved so that better development of facilities can take place through which transporting goods from Philippines to Australia will improve. This will thereby require that a proper route through which transportation of goods and services takes place has to be developed. In addition to it the paper also presents the different legal requirements that have to be ensured so that proper supply chain network can be developed and based on it the business will be able to garner maximum efficiency and opportunity for growth. This requires that organizations have to look towards taking steps through which they are able to identify a route through which transporting goods from Philippines to Australia will help to control cost at the same time ensure proper delivery on the appropriate time. Since, it is an international trade so it is important that prior permission and clearance is obtained from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection clearance so that value can be added. This will help to provide value and will ensure minimum hurdle in transporting goods irrespective of the fact whether road, air or water transport is chosen (Bowersox, Closs & Cooper, 2007). The path to be chosen will largely depend on the type of good that has to be exported, the value of the goods to be exported, the urgency with regard to delivery and the different environmental factors which will determine the manner in which different steps will be taken to transport the goods (Lingguang, Al-Battaineh and AbouRizk, 2005). A study also brings forward the fact that development of e-commerce has facilitated the development of logistics network and is becoming the backbone of business as it facilitates international transactions and helps to develop the required infrastructure to get all the benefits (Delfmann, Albers & Martin, 2002). This furthers helps to reduce the bottlenecks and ensure better timely delivery of services and goods at a lower price (Gray & Khalid, 2006) which facilitates the manner in which business will be developed. This will help in a long way to ensure that the necessary clearance from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection department is obtained. This will also help to identify the different documents that will be required and the entire process which will facilitate easy transport of goods from Philippines to Australia. Logistics management will help to ensure value as it will lead towards proper services, order, delivery, transportation, storage, handling, and distribution of the materials to the customers looking for it (Gourdin, 2006). Businesses through the process of developing their logistic centre in Singapore some other location which is cost efficient and nearby where all the goods will be sent from Philippines and sourcing the materials from there will be able to add value (Porter, 2005). The process of having a source station at Singapore or at some other location which is cost efficient and nearby will ensure that organizations are able to take advantage of low cost for transportation i.e. prevalent in the Asian countries. This will help the business to ensure that they are able to get the required materials at a lower cost from the correct sources and will be able to ensure low cost (Bowersox, 2009). The fact that organizations from Philippines is developing a business model where they look to develop a consortium through which the goods are to be delivered at Singapore or some other locations nearby and from there it will be sourced to Australia in big containers it will help to save on cost as sending the same materials in different containers is costly compared to sending them in a single container (Arbulu, Tommelein, Walsh and Hershauer, 2002). In addition to it the clearance which has to be obtained from Australian Quarantine and Inspection clearance department will have to be done once instead for all the individual containers which will help to save on time and cost which will thereby help to multiply the utility of the supply chain network. Businesses which looks towards having a collection centre at Singapore or some other location which is cost efficient and nearby and using it as a destination to source the materials to Australia will be able to take advantage of the different modes of shipment, use the broad function associated with logistics and add value to their overall supply chain network (Medute, 2005). This will also facilitate in saving time as shipping everything from Singapore instead of other destinations will help to develop a strategy through which time is saved especially as sourcing from other destinations will compound both in increased time and expenditure which will be curtailed by using a single source (Ballard, Tommelein, Koskela and Howell, 2002). The delivery model that has been chosen here is water and is especially suited for sending goods which are bulky and require space. In addition to it the goods that are to be sent should not be such that it will be destroyed easily thereby having a short shelf life. In case other items are to be transported then the businesses looking to transport the goods have to look for some other ways through which goods can be transported at the appropriate time and will be able to garner maximum efficiency in the manner they are working. Organizations which is looking at ensuring cost effective measures in the supply of goods and services will work on the following model The goods here will be sent through a transit agent where the source will be at Singapore or at some other location which is cost efficient and nearby. All the goods will be gathered at Singapore or at some other location which is cost efficient and nearby as the suppliers will have to deliver the goods there. This will help in developing a logistic centre at Singapore or at some other location which is cost efficient and nearby and ensure all goods are sourced from there. Along with it the destination centre is Australia and the goods will be shipped there (Rushton, Oxley & Baker, 2006). The customers can also track their shipment and find out the expected date of delivery thereby helping to use the technology development and ensuring proper services. Since, the process involves international dispatch it has to obtain the necessary permission and clearance from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection clearance department so that value can be added and at the same time cost can be reduced to improve productivity. This will also require that the organization looks towards identifying the different areas which has to be worked and necessary permission have to be obtained so that maximum efficiency and proper development of strategies takes place through which transporting goods become easy (Roberto, Charles & Qiao, 2007). The prime reason which has led towards selecting some other destination from which the goods will be transported from Philippines to Australia is primarily due to the fact that the transport hub in Asian countries is very strong. This can be seen in the chart below (Nagporewalla, 2007) The above graph clearly highlights that the hub especially ports have grown in Asian countries and some other part of the world in comparison to Philippines. This will ensure that using a path from where goods are transported from Philippines to some other destination and is sourced from there from to Australia will provide an opportunity through which better logistics development can take place and will provide an opportunity through which the goods can be easily transported to Australia and will provide maximum efficiency in sending goods. In addition to it a look at the manner in which surface transport has grown also shows concern as the roadways in Philippines have not developed to such an extent which will provide an alternative to use it. This is shown below The above graph shows the gap that exists in the development of road ways which makes it imperative that a proper mode of transport is chosen which will help to send the different goods to Australia at the most appropriate time and price. Considering airways makes the cost to be very high and makes it difficult to export materials which are bulky making port and road ways as the most favorable option. This will help the business to ensure that they are able to get the required materials at a lower cost from the correct sources and will be able to ensure low cost (Rushton, Oxley & Baker, 2006). Businesses have to look towards reducing the lead time and ensure that the goods are supplied at the correct juncture. Developing a centre in Singapore or at some other location which is cost efficient and nearby will facilitate in ensuring that the transport cost and time both reduces. This is because of the fact that Singapore has strong ties with rest of the world and the development of the shipping centre in Singapore or at some other location which is cost efficient and nearby to different parts of the world facilitates easy transfer of goods and services. Also, being close to Australia compared to other Asian countries will help to use the water way in the best possible manner which will ensure increase in the utility value (Ballard, Tommelein, Koskela and Howell, 2002). Businesses will also have to ensure that distribution which is another important aspect in logistics management and the business looks towards distribution centers in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. This will help businesses as it will ensure that they are able to use the technology of Just In Time (JIT) and ensure that they have the optimum stock requirements which can be supplied to the customers at the correct time. The model that has been developed will have to consider e-commerce services through which they are looking to transform their business and making the use of more online orders. This is the main basis based on which the business is looking to do their business. This thereby looks that organizations is developing their online business model and developing a strategy which helps them to ensure better use of the resources and ensure development of the supply chain network (Janos, 2002). Despite the mode chosen for transporting goods from Philippines to Australia it is important that the necessary permission is obtained from Australian Quarantine and Inspection clearance department so that goods can be easily transported and ensured all the legal requirements are met. Thus, organizations through their improvement of their logistics model will be able to bring the necessary changes and develop a business model which facilitates the manner in which the business will yield maximum advantage. Further, this will help to get the required utility and will help to save both cost and time in delivering the goods and services that the customers look at. This will thereby help them to use full advantage of the e-commerce and ensure a mechanism through which they are able to look at different details pertaining to services. This will help in gaining overall effectiveness and will help to develop the entire process in such a manner that the business is able to garner the advantages they are looking towards this mechanism and also comply with the requirements of the law laid down in Australia. Also obtaining the required permission from Australian Quarantine and Inspection clearance department will be able to ensure that goods are transported easily from Philippines to Australia either directly or choosing some other destination through which the goods will be sourced. References Arbulu, R. J., Tommelein, I. D., Walsh, K. D., and Hershauer, J. C. 2002. Contributors to lead time in construction supply chains: Case of pipe supports used in power plants. Proc. Winter Simulation Conference 2002 (WSC02). Exploring New Frontiers, 8–11 December, San Diego, California, 1745–51. Ballard, G., Tommelein, I., Koskela, L., and Howell, G. 2002. Lean construction tools and techniques. In Best, R. and de Valence, G. (eds) Design and Construction: Building in Value. Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier Science, 227–55 Bowersox, D.J., Closs D.J., and Cooper M.B. 2007. Supply Chain Logistics Management. 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, NY, pp. 410 Delfmann, W., Albers, S. & Martin, G. 2002. The impact of electronic commerce on logistic service provider. International Journal of Physical distribution and logistics service provider. 32 (3), pp. 238-243 Gray, R. & Khalid, B. 2006. A logistic and supply chain approach to efficiency. Research methodology in supply chain management, Part 4, pp. 21-23 Gourdin, K.N. 2006. Global logistics management: a competitive advantage for the 21st century. Second Edition, Blackwell Publishers, Malden, MA, 318 pp Janos, K. 2002. Running logistics process of transportation. University of Technical and Economic Studies, Budapest Lingguang Song, L., Al-Battaineh, H.T., and M. AbouRizk S.M. 2005. “Modelling uncertainty with an integrated simulation system.” Can. J. Civ. Eng. , (32) 533-542. Medute, I. 2005. Comparative Analysis of the Definitions of Logistics Centres. Transport, 20(3), pp. 106-110. Nagporewalla, Y. 2007 “Skill gaps in the Australian Logistics sector”, KPMG report, Confederation of Australian Industry, Australia Porter, M.E. 2005. Competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance, The Free Press, NY, pp. 557 Roberto, F., Charles, M. & Qiao, G. 2007. Process control and logistics management for mass customization manufacturing, Australia Rushton, Oxley & Baker, 2006. Handbook of logistics and distribution management. 3rd edition, management business book Read More