The main problems with the current logistics network in NSW or as it applies to the city where your intermodal is located

Discuss About The Important Features International Intermodal?

International trade plays a very vital role in the growth of world economy. International trade is characterized by intermodal shipment, which can be defined by the movement of product across the local or national boundaries via one or more modes of transportation.  The assignment provides knowledge about the logistics network challenges in NSW of Australia. It will also try to provide the required solutions of the problems and the solutions that can only be provided by the respective government itself.

The logistics network can be defined as the system of operation or organization which first design, then produce and finally deliver a commodity or a service to the aimed market by working together (Alexander & Merkert, 2017). This process extends from extracting raw materials to the distribution of the final commodities or services.

Geographic- Geographic challenges include urban and regional areas, where there are different types of logistic networking problems following below:

Traffic congestion- The coastal cities of NSW, especially Sydney experience heavy traffic congestion in the morning and afternoon, particularly at the weekends. In the city areas, there are large volumes of traffic at the pick hours on roads leading in and out. This creates a big challenge to the movement of commodities and services to their destination.

Toll roads- There are different toll roads in NSW. Though the toll roads are built to access the heavy traffic congestion easily, the roads and tunnels are considered a challenge to itself in the current scenario of the traffic congestion problem. Actually, the toll roads cover the major parts of the logistics network in NSW, particularly in Sydney. Most commonly an electronic tag is used to pay for the vehicles that are going through the toll roads and then the costs are deducted from the individual’s account.  Researchers have shown that the transportation costs of any commodities or services due to these toll costs become a barrier in the logistic networks in Australia (Hong et al., 2017).

Road changes- In Australia road adjustments and modifications are very common to control the traffic flow within certain areas. Sometimes it leads to block some roads, this, in turn, may create some confusion and increase the travelling times.

Distance- The great distance between cities in NSW, as well as Australia, is an obvious problem for the logistic companies. Again, there are a handful of fuel stations in many of the remote roads. In particular, reaching to mine locations and the procedure of getting goods is a complex task, which needs specialized planning, as they are located in mostly remote places. Another problem regarding long distance logistic networks is driver’s fatigue (Transport.nsw.gov.au, 2017). As the heavy vehicle drivers are required to deliver the products in a short period, it results in a lot of stress and lack of rest during the long distance journey period. Sometimes the road condition may cause a trouble to reach the destination.

Under Urban challenges traffic congestion can be can be handled through road changes which are required for controlling proper traffic flow

Demographic problems: Sometime, ageing population of any country may lead to limit the welfare of the country’s economy. It is a very common problem for Australia. People continue to work even after an age of 65 years to lead a secure life. Thus the ageing population acts as a barrier to advancement in logistic networks. They are comparatively less efficient than the young workforce.

Environmental challenges: These types of problems include seasonal challenges, climatic changes and green logistics. In NSW, the winter brings a drastic fall in the temperature creates snowfall. It causes chaos on the roads. A few years back in the mid-July NSW has faced a terrific storm. In this situation the authority was forced to close some major roads as well as air traffic, leading to disruption in logistic services (Rezaee et al., 2017). On the other hand, the summer heat affects in railways as well as road transportation, making logistic network working slow. Now when it comes to natural disaster, it often affects Australia making the total economy stagnant.

Climate changes are now induced by the human being to a great extent. Green logistics has become a hot issue of concern. Many companies are now concentrating on minimizing waste and pollution to walk with the green mission for the environment (Bevrani et al., 2017). This intern has raised a barrier to the network of logistics.

Legislative problems: Funding disagreement is a big problem of NSW as well as in Australia. It is the responsibility of the state and federal government to finance some areas like infrastructure, health, education. The problem arises when the respective government disagrees to provide funds for roads or railways slow down the total process of networking. Another most common problem faced in logistic operation is the regulation or the act of movement of the goods and services, implemented by the government. It includes the modification of the vehicle or taking special permit, make the procedure time taking and obviously incur additional cost for the logistic company. Now coming to quarantine, the logistic companies always face hazard while importing goods from outer countries. It requires a special permission from AQIS and after that, there are some limitations which have to be taken into consideration. Finally, work safety is one of the important challenges in logistics networks, it includes visible safety vest, hardhats, safety glasses, and steel capped boots (Transport.nsw.gov.au, 2017).  

Technological problems and others- The introduction to a new technology can incur additional cost to the logistic companies. The dependency upon technology is increasing day by day. A single failure of any technology can incur a great loss. Sometimes, the accommodation of new technology for a logistic company becomes a headache due to the vast size and low population density of NSW. Things get tough when there is a resist to accept a new technology and the adjustability in a new horizon of technical changes.

Now consider the problem under Regional challenges regarding distance, the logistics company can tackle this through bigger loads to ensure greater higher capacity trip wise

Rising fuel price is the big challenge for logistics companies in everywhere, especially, in cases of heavy-duty vehicles and air transports (Standen et al., 2017). Security issues are the rising concern of logistic networks, where there is a chance of property damage and theft. There are other things that may hamper the logistic network of NSW are maintenance work, oversize shipment, market competition etc.

Under Urban challenges traffic congestion can be can be handled through road changes which are required for controlling proper traffic flow. It is very important to encourage the public transportation in order to reduce the vehicle density in the road. If it is possible for the company to relocate their warehouses away from the traffic areas will lead to saving of time for the total process. In case of toll roads, the logistic companies can consider some other routs without tolls. Again they can minimize their trip numbers by putting a big load at a time. The problem of road changes can be coped up by a proper planning and use of most recent information sources (Kamyabniya et al., 2017).

Now consider the problem under Regional challenges regarding distance, the logistics company can tackle this through bigger loads to ensure greater higher capacity trip wise. Different modes of transportation such as rail may be considered. Make use of local supplier, eliminating the need for distant transportation. Better planning and driver management results in decreasing fatigue of the drivers. A problem arising out of animal can be tackled through better awareness of animal, proper driver training, protection equipment, road signs and fencing of roads. Road related problems can be tackled through better roads, more road signs better government initiatives. These processes can definitely go to help in handling the operational aspect of a logistics company.

Climate change or green logistics which is part of Environmental challenges can be tackled through better and new environmental supportive technologies. Minimising waste or emphasising green and environmentally friendly technologies proves fruitful in solving the problem (Bevrani et al., 2017). Seasonal problems which are also part of Environmental challenge can be tackled through the adoption of alternative routes or modes of transport to overcome bad weather conditions. Plans for proper weather forecasting and better cooling technologies in transport vehicle and warehouses provide resolution to the mentioned challenges.

The ageing population which comes under demographic challenges is recently gaining importance in NSW. This can be resolved through adequate training, good employee management and job rotation of changing different employees to various areas of work.

Demographic problems and environmental challenges

Legislative challenges which include areas such as funding disagreement can be resolved through lobbying groups to ensure that the infrastructure projects are carried out without disruption. Quarantine problems can be handled through proper planning, updated information and applicable regulations.

Resolving of Technological challenges plays an important role in current logistics network in NSW. Additional cost due to technological changes can be controlled through better forecasting or planning, opting for different reasonable technological options. The problem arising out of lack of integrated systems can be resolved through ensuring compatible systems and better collaboration within the supply chain (Teye et al., 2017). Dependency on technology can be reduced through the use of backup systems. Any technological resistance can be tackled through better employee management and providing support and training. The problem arising out technological changes can be tackled through better planning, stage-wise implementation additional support and training. Collaborating with the supply chain might be difficult, yet it can result in many long-term rewards. Supplier and customer good relation will speed up the business process and boost up the trust which will lead economic saving. The integrated system will be extremely useful under this process to resolve the problem. Implementation of good planning and good employee management plays a vital role in new technology.

In addition to the above-mentioned discussion, there are other problems. A vast increase in the fuel prices leads to a large proportionate change in the expenses of the logistic companies. While the resources are limited, it is very important to train the drivers for the improvement of fuel economy. Another way to manage the expenses of the logistic companies is making the partnership with the fuel companies, which result in the reduction of the fuel cost. Railways and shipping are always acted as economical modes of transport in logistics network, the companies can decide to use this mode of transportation as they are pocket-friendly. On the other hand, a proper maintenance of the vehicles, especially heavy duty motor vehicles are necessary. An improved maintenance can hike the productivity of the vehicle, at the same time it can reduce the fuel consumption. Again a new challenge that can affect logistic network companies is maintenance work in NSW (Zhang et al., 2013). The companies can have some prior information about the maintenance works at the localities of their warehouses will provide an additional planning to cope up with the situation. Some time it some major roads can be closed due to the maintenance work in NSW, but having a prior knowledge can make things easy. An oversized shipment can also create a problem in the transportation. Using different transportation modes like road transportation, railway, airways and port transportation can help to minimize the problem. In this case, the company can review the planning in order to improve it (Chua et al., 2017).

Legislative and Technological problems and others

The main challenge faced by NSW is to ensure that all modes of logistics network have the basic infrastructure to support the growth of the economy. Here the role of the government lies in acknowledging the intermodalism role in the present scenario of the modern economy.           

NSW Government plays an important role in providing the resolution to the problem faced by the current logistic network in NSW. The degree of intervention to provide such resolution depends on the level of participation in the ownership, operation and provision of transport infrastructure.  NSW government together with the state government and private operators work closely to ensure quality, effectiveness and safe modes of transport for all NSW people (Nair, 2017).

With the help of advanced technologies and modernized ways, NSW is committed to delivering improved results across freights, infrastructures and technologies.

Several projects similar to Sydney Metro and West Connex can be taken up to enhance the integrated logistic system in NSW. Improvement in freight routes to enable faster and hassle-free logistics. In May 2016 TPA was formed by NSW government that combines the data of both Transport bureau statistics and bureau of freight statistics which give rise to an entity which drives strategic decision making which supports an efficient logistics system for the entire region (Transport.nsw.gov.au, 2017).

NSW government can take steps to improve road conditions, increased signage and ensure other safety measures to ensure safe logistics. In addition, infrastructure development can be initiated for air logistics and as well as port logistics which have played a vital role to overcome the current logistic problem.

To overcome the ageing workforce problem in the logistics sector NSW government can play an important role in proposing reservations, job rotation, proper training to the older person in the industry to cater to the workforce problem in the logistics industry.

The transport infrastructure is the basic requirement for the people of NSW and hence it is the responsibility of the NSW government to maintain and upgrade it. This will, in turn, result in better logistic support (Taniguchi et al., 2014).

NSW government can play an important role in influencing the more efficient use of various transport infrastructures to resolve the current problem relating to the logistic network.

NSW government has promoted innovative techniques and new technology can help in improving the current problems.

The government can play an important supportive role in the development of non-profit information infrastructure as well as services to ensure the flow of logistical information effectively.

How might they be resolved?

No other market players except NSW government can provide the required infrastructure to support the level of efficiency from logistic networking as the present situation of globalization and economic growth demands.

The government can provide financial aid or subsidies for construction of airports, ports, procurement of specialist rolling stock and innovative technologies.

In NSW there is the urgent requirement of infrastructural needs as the level of infrastructure in rail as well as ports are very poor. In order to encourage intermodal solutions, there is an urgent requirement of rail reform. Recently the focus on regional freight centres with proper roads, access to rail and the national network has increased (Transport.nsw.gov.au, 2017).

Conclusion

The above discussion enables us to attain knowledge about the current problem of the logistic network of NSW and their respective solution in operation. In this assignment shows that the factors that affect the operation of the logistics companies in NSW like geographic challenges, environmental challenges, legislative challenges, demographic challenges and technological challenges. It has also taken care of the effect of the rise in fuel price as well. The assignment has provided some solution to these problems that can obviously go to modify the situation.

References

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Teye, C., Bell, M.G. & Bliemer, M.C.., 2017. Entropy maximising facility location model for port city intermodal terminals.. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, 100(2), pp.1-16.

Transport.nsw.gov.au, 2017. Transport.nsw.gov.au. [Online] Available at: https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/projects/strategy/nsw-freight-and-ports-plan [Accessed 18 September 2017].

Zhang, X. et al., 2013. Route selection for emergency logistics management: A bio-inspired algorithm. Safety science, 54(3), pp.87-91