Introduction:
The process which comprise of monitoring, transporting, storing, warehousing, and preserving the goods from one place to another can be termed as the process of logistics and supply chain management. Furthermore the completed products are exchanged from the place of creation to the point of utilization and this procedure is known as inventory network administration (scm.ncsu 2017). The prime objective of the report is to develop strategies for providing solutions over the issues faced by ACFS in Australia.
The main issue with the current logistics network in NSW
Logistics include moving of one product from one place to another or from the origin place to the required destination. The whole process is facilitated by considering the requirements of the consumers or the customers (Jabbour et al., 2017)). Under these procedures, many different kinds of items can be transported such as accessories, any kind of food item, liquid and beverages, groceries, and even animals also. Logistic management requires a proper planning and then using the planning effectively to execute the whole process. Planning of the logistics requires controlling the whole procedure and tracking the complete journey (Christopher, 2016). The main aim of the logistic companies is to deliver the item safely and timely without any issues. And to do so, they are required to keep the system as well as staff members updated regarding the transport. Logistic management is full of complexities; therefore, it faces so many problems because of several factors. Although logistics are one of the major factors that contribute to the economy of the country due to many challenges logistic are so hard to manage currently. Some of the major issues faced by the current logistics in Sydney are as follows:
Managing a large amount of data- While transferring the products, the whole procedure requires a lot of work and transferring the information to all the sources who receive the product throughout the journey. Managing such a large amount of data can be a huge problem and very complicated to manage (Fredendall and Hill, 2016). Therefore a large amount of staff is needed for all the work. A large amount of attention is required while planning the whole route and other strategies. Therefore it is the toughest stage and requires a lot of experts and therefore it can be very expensive and time taking.
Handling the customers- Handling the customers is also a very tough task for ACFS. Sydney is one of the most populated parts of NSW. With the increasing population, demands are also increasing. In the current customers want the full transparency and they want to know the status of logistics from time to time (Junior and Mendes, 2017). It becomes a huge challenge to manage such a large amount of customers and then to provide each update each and every one of them from time to time. Also, the transport companies are required to maintain a proper coordination with the consumers which are a complicated task.
Environmental changes- Transportation or logistics are heavily affected in the NSW region due to adverse climatic changes. In Sydney, the weather is very unpredictable and become so worse sometimes. For instance, during winters the roads get covered with snow which makes the whole transportation impossible (Mangan and Lalwani, 2016). Many railways airways and roadways get canceled because of the heavy snowfall. Winter snowfall covers the whole railway tracks and even on roads there is a huge jam during winters. On the other hand, summers are also a little complicated in this region. During summers much transportation get canceled because of the fear of the products getting ruined (Dubey, et al., 2017). For instance, it becomes very hard to transport food items and beverages during summers because the high temperature can even ruin those items.
Managing the employees- As discussed earlier that logistics require a large amount of working staff who can handle the whole process simultaneously. Due to the labor shortage in Sydney, NSW it becomes slightly harder to find new workers (Monczka, Handfield, Giunipero and Patterson, 2015). And also the stability in this job sector is very low therefore many employees change their occupation and leave. Since this job requires many experts and qualified persons for the job, therefore, it becomes a challenge to find such employees. Also, all the experts charge a huge amount to do the work which is also a concern for the logistics and transport companies in NSW. Once the hiring process is completed, then the employees are required to be managed which is one of the trickiest tasks. Because in order to achieve the ACFS goal, a large number of employees are required and then the bigger task is to manage each and every one of them and making sure that everyone is on the same page (Schorsch, Wallenburg and Wieland, 2017). Employees are required to be evaluated in order to check their working performance.
Increasing taxes and fuel prices- Due to the increasing population in Sydney, the government has made some changes regarding the fuel prices and taxes. Increase in tax prices and fuel prices transportation a logistic company are going through a very difficult phase in the business (Ross, 2013). Logistics include long journey and process; therefore, fuel requirement is very high during the whole project. Therefore it is a major challenge for the logistics companies to spend a huge amount on the fuel and also pay a large amount of taxes altogether. Apart from them, the logistics service providers also have to pay extra charges while traveling through different states or even countries which cost them a very large sum of money. In every way, logistics providers have to pay a large amount of money which affect their business in many different ways . to overcome these expenses some of the logistic companies increase their service charges which affect the customers and due to increased prices many customers change their service provider. One way or another the logistic companies are getting affected in the terms of business and customer ratio (Schönsleben, 2016). Government is also not serious towards this concern which raises a huge misunderstanding between the logistic companies and the government of Australia.
Delays and cancellations- Many factors such as adverse weather, changing government rules, international law change etcetera affect the logistic services very badly. Logistic companies have to follow each kind of rules and regulation in order to facilitate the whole project without any kind of issues (Demirel, 2017). No matter how hard these rules can be but they are to be followed by the logistic companies. All these factors can be very challenging for logistics in Sydney, NSW. Government is also not serious regarding the current situations of the logistics and transport companies, therefore, it is a huge concern.
Solutions for the logistic challenges
The major issue of the logistic is handling and planning the whole procedures and also transferring large amounts of data and statistics to different sources. To overcome these issues, the logistics companies can use the latest technologies to transfer the whole data to all the sources at the same time without any delays (Bak and Ozlem, 2018). It might be costly but can be very profitable in the long run. Another issue is managing and laying out the strategy which requires different experts to do the work therefore to overcome these issues, the ACFS should hire a single expert at a time to solve the issue. This way the huge salaries spent on the experts can be saved and also that expert will help the ACFS to eradicate the issue perfectly and manage the planning or another strategy for the logistic process during the transport (Castillo, Mollenkopf, Bell and Bozdogan, 2018).
Another issue is regarding the adverse environmental conditions of the Sydney. This situation can be resolved by upgrading the roads to facilitate the transport fluently. Better route planning can also be very beneficial with the help of an expert. Weather predictions can also be very helpful for planning the routes. The ACFS should use the latest satellite technology in order to design the most efficient and better route for the transport facilitation. While laying out the traveling routes few factors should be considered such as, calculating the distance, finding the shortest distance possible, finding the most efficient routes for fluent facilitation, employing the suitable person etcetera (Weele, 2009). All these factors can help the logistic companies to overcome the route problem that occurs while adverse weather condition. Also to facilitate the transport during such adverse condition, logistic companies can use other transportation methods. For instance, if railways are blocked then airways can be used.
Government’s unsuitable rules and policy really put a damper on transport services and to overcome such issues there are no alternatives because in order to facilitate the business one has to follow all the rules (Waters and Rinsler, 2014). The most perfect way to run the business smoothly under such laws is to follow the rules and work according to the government. To avoid larger taxes or tolls, while planning the routes such roads should be chosen which do not have toll booths.
Fuel prices are another major concern in the logistics industry. Increase in fuel prices has put the logistic companies into very difficult phase but there are some ways in which this issue can be solved up to an extent. Driver training can be really helpful; if the driver is well trained then fuel economy will be improved (Fernie and Sparks, 2014). Another way to solve the problem is collaborating with the fuel companies such as BHP Billiton and sponsoring them will help to reduce the fuel prices. Using railways and waterways can be a great alternative and a huge amount can be saved this way. Getting the vehicle serviced from time to
Time and maintaining it can also make the vehicle efficient.
Logistic companies should put their opinion in front of the government regarding all the issues they are facing (Hugos, 2018). The issues can be such as, increased tax, increased fuel prices, strict policies regarding the transportation etcetera are some of the issues that can only be solved by the government. If the logistic companies put their concerns in an organized and efficient manner then the government might take
Some action regarding the concerns of the logistic companies
The problem of employee management can be overlooked by the HR department. But the HR department should comprise of a team of experts who are really experienced. With the help of an experienced team, the employees will feel motivated and work efficiently to increase their performance level (Wisner, Tan and Leong, 2014). If the employees are well managed then the customers will be handled appropriately by the employees. It will create a positive environment. Evaluations should be done from time to time to check the performance of the employees and on the basis of that employees should be rewarded for their best performance. This way the employees will try their best to do the work and manage the customers. It will also help the logistic companies to strengthen their customer bases.
Involvement of NSW government
A government of NSW has become quite serious regarding the logistic issues because of the increasing issues and complaints from the logistic companies. The government has launched several operations and policies in order to solve the issues. The government has been renewing some of the old policies in order to prevent any kind of complications. Government is also working towards designing final freight for the NSW and port strategy in the state. Earlier the state government released a draft strategy for the logistics industry and after a good result, the government is planning on a final strategy in order to increase the certainty of the logistic and transport ACFS. NSW government is also planning to launch a trial for the high productivity trial (Hashim and Shariff, 2016). Many new airports and water ports are about to be obtained because of the increasing demand from the huge population of Sydney. Government is also planning on opening a second airport in Sydney to meet the huge demands of the people. Infrastructure and assets will also be renewed by the NSW government in order to make the logistics and transport ways more efficient. Those who suffer a huge loss because of adverse climatic conditions are also provided with some compensation money and other help in order to compensate for the loss. A government of NSW has become a bit serious because many organizations have been formed in Australia to protect the rights of Australian logistics ACFS. Organizations such as ALC (Australian logistics council) are taking the initiative to help the logistic companies and influence the Australian government.
Conclusion:
After summing up the above-presented report it has been concluded that ACFS is one of the largest privately owned container logistics operator in Australia and the business entity is facing issues. The analysis concluded that a report is developed for recommending some strategies as the solution for solving the mentioned issues.
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