Essay: Logistics Management In NSW | Qube Holdings - Issues & Solutions.

In your report you need to consider : 
The main problems at with the current logistics network in NSW

 How they might be resolved

What, if any, involvement should the NSW government have in the resolution of the problems 

Different Problems

Logistics management is referred to as the supply chain management of a particular organization used for meeting the various demands, control and implementation measure. The most key part of the logistics management lies in the proper and smart storage and transportation of different goods and services from their transit points to their destinations. The companies that deals with Logistic management acts as the mediator between the first and the second parties and helps the proper movement of trade between them intact. The process involves inbound and outbound transportation, construction and maintenance of large inland warehouses, a fleet management, use of proper logistic management software, timely delivery of the products, formulating new strategies to make logistics more effective, negotiating with the Government, port authorities, highway authorities and many more as such related items. The following type of management involves the triple pillars of planning and execution namely, strategic, operational and tactical management. The management of the logistics business operates under a fixed chain of supply management and has a common use of auto generated software which is helped for its proper transactions and other administrative functions. The companies prefer to use Specialized or customized ERP software to manage the operations of the business.

The following report has been formulated by the researcher to get a detailed idea of the main types of issues that are faced by the Logistics companies of New South Wales in Australia. Qube Holdings Limited has been selected as the basis for the discussion in this following topic. The selection of the particular company has helped the researcher to prepare the report in a much precise and specific way. 

The mentioned company in the report was one of the largest Logistics company in Australia just a few years back but hard labor from each and every employee of the organization and the implementation of the right set of strategies in the market has helped the company to gain the position of the largest Logistics service provider in Australia (Qube.com.au, 2018). The company was founded in the year 2010 and has established its headquarters in the Australian city of Sydney.  The annual equity share of the company stands at Australian Dollar 1.4 billion in Australia signifies the amount of business it has under its belt. The company owns a number of ship docking rights and freight handling facilities in almost all the large ports of Australia which has proved to be a major game changer and the factor towards it achieving an unprecedented competitive edge in the market (Prajogo Oke and Olhager, 2016).

The mentioned operating organization operates both road and rail services. Rail freight services are carried out by the company from New South Wales and Victoria or from Melbourne to Adelaide. Apart from a number of different port handling subsidiaries of the mentioned company, the management of Qube has also established a number of different subsidiaries to provide a hassle free rail transportation for the goods to the warehouses or to their end destinations (Qube.com.au, 2018). Iron ore and other metals are also transported for export to other countries. The success of Qube has been largely dependent on the proper and smart strategic planning of the management, strategic locations of the warehouses or the availability of proper transport within the country. The ability of the country to establish different agreements with other small companies or the acquisition of the companies have also added up to its number one position. 

Ways to Solve the Problems

The logistic service providers of New South Wales has been facing a number of different problems and challenges that they must overcome to ensure the smooth flow of the business in the particular region. The abrupt and competitive nature of the modern market has led to the fierce battle between the different business houses. However the problems and the challenges that logistics trade is offering to the companies in New South Wales has been creating the death nail for the business in the coming years.

1. Geographical Challenges-The geographical challenges in this part of Australia cannot be counted as there is innumerable number of such issues that disturbs the proper functioning of the business. The very first challenge that the operations department of the company faces is the late arrival at the transit or delivery points just because of the unnecessary traffic in the particular roads and expressways. The regular increase in the number of vehicles has stopped the swift movement of the large trucks (Ellram and Cooper, 2014). Apart from this payment of road taxes, tolls have also been a very serious problem for the organization. Moreover the condition of most of the roads in the outskirts and the rural area are in a pathetic condition and gets totally inaccessible during extreme weather conditions.
2. Demographical Challenges-The steady rise in the ageing population has led to the constant degradation of the social welfare system. The management of companies like Qube wants smart, agile and young people who are able to face and tackle all the different challenges that might come in front of them.
3. Technological Issues-The absence in the use of the latest technologies like dedicated software, advanced ERP’s, proper vehicles, advanced machineries, latest freight technologies have rendered the business vulnerable to external threats. The absence of a proper infrastructure in most of the rural and outskirts of New South Wales have acted as a negative force in the development of proper technology and its implementation. The use of traditional sources of energy in the absence of proper infrastructure has also restricted the organization from going green (Youngran et al., 2017).
4. Environmental Challenges-The presence of a constant climate change scenario due to the effects of powerful global warming causes enough distractions for the movement of the goods along the roads. Seasonal variations and the sudden rise in the occurrence of different natural disasters have been similarly responsible for providing environmental challenges (Ellram and Cooper, 2014).
5. Legislative Issues- The management of the organization must have a transparent idea about the different rules and regulations that the government has in place to carry on the logistics business smoothly (Fahimnia et al., 2015). The most prominent legislative challenges include the complex set of transport regulations, tax regulations, logistic regulations and many more as such.
6. Other Issues- The recent problem that the company has been facing lies on the issue with Port Botany. Port Botany does not have the rail freight service installed in it and thus the mentioned Logistics Company has to incur lot of time, money, labor and machinery cost to transport the materials from the ports to the warehouse. The sudden decrease in the market of the commodities has also not helped the organization and has created ripples around the market for a couple of future years.

A number of different solutions to the problems have been provided by the researcher. The solutions to the problems have been provided by the researcher based on the modern times accordingly.

1. Transportation Improvement-The use of different environment friendly cars and trucks can do the trick for the organization to carry out the large scale transportation activities that it undertakes. As mentioned earlier environmental concerns must be addressed accordingly by the organization to ensure the non emission of harmful gases to the atmosphere. The trucks must be installed with latest anti polluting devices and must be run on a non renewable fossil fuel (Prajogo Oke and Olhager, 2016). Apart from this the company can effectively use the road train service in the outskirts of New South Wales which will surely help them to carry large amount of goods at one go. The road trains being large trucks with more than four or five containers attached to it helps in the easy transportation of a large volume of goods. The operations manager of the organization must manage the transport operations of the management in a proper way which includes the obtaining of all the required permits from the government, tax clearance, payment of the proper toll taxes and can also include the leasing out of the vehicles or ensuring the proper implementation of the transportation policies formulated by the organization.
2. Improvement of the Infrastructure-It is the most important task of the management to ensure the presence of the adequate infrastructure within the business to carry on the logistics business in a proper manner. It is important for the management of Qube Holdings to have the presence of a number of different strategically located warehouses that caters to the demand of the different goods and services. There should be facilities for storage of both solid as well as liquid goods. Liquid goods like oil, petrol and other similar products that offer a high degree of risk must be kept in protected warehouses to ensure their safety from any kind of hazards (Grobelny and Michalski, 2016). The company must also maintain proper landing and docking facilities in the ports where they operate. Ready transportation in the form of railways or road transport must be readily available to make sure that the goods are transported to the warehouses or the end users once they are dispatched after their arrival at the ports.
3. Integration of the Logistics Business-The integration of the logistics business is most important for Qube to maintain a steady pressure on the Government to improve the present condition of the logistics market in Australia (Myerson, 2015). The assembling of all the small, medium as well as larger logistics companies of New South Wales can help to formulate a proper action plan to be submitted before the authorities to ensure the sustainable presence of both the organization as well as trade in the particular region of Australia.
4. Role of Government-The role of Government in the logistics business is the key to its success. The role of the government is not limited to just providing a small support to the organization by providing the organization with the necessary permits and the required clearances to operate, but to help the organization in all the possible way starting from providing land, capital, management power and similar things to help them achieve sustainability (Papadopoulos et al., 2016).  The federal government of Australia along with the collaboration of the local self government must consider the betterment of the Logistics business to boost the economy of the region. For the same reason they must resolve all the conflict situations and provide immediate clearance to the different developmental projects. The construction of a number of new medium as well as ports with a small goods handling capacity must be developed to decongest the pressure of Port Botany and other large ports and make way for the dispersal of the proper consignment. The government can also consider the plan of developing the inland river ways and constructs small docks and jetties and allow the movement of small goods vessels to transport goods easily without facing any congestion. The focus should also be kept on building a number of different expressways and highways across the length and breadth of the rural land to facilitate fast and easy movement of goods and vehicles.
5. Providing instant solutions to Red Tapism-Red Tapism is one of the most harassing elements present within the structure of getting all the necessary clearances before starting a proper operation. The government must strictly control the administration to get rid of red tapism and facilitate proper development of the mentioned business.

Conclusion

The report has been successful to point out all the different problems that create problems to the effective management of the logistics business in Australia especially in New South Wales. The problems has been quite clearly established and discussed in detail by the researcher. The solutions to the problems including the different steps that can be taken by the government to mitigate the problems of the business has surely added great value to the following work and has increased the scope of the project by huge leaps and bounds. The researcher has surely outclassed the research done by others on the same topic by including the element of the Government role in the overall development of the Logistics business in New South Wales. The thorough analysis of the following report will help the organization to get a sneak peek into the world of logistics more specifically Australian Logistics, the way it is done, the steps involved and a number of different things related to goods and service management through supply chains. The report will serve as a very important source of knowledge for the future researchers to continue on the same topic and collect the most valuable ideas from it.  

The proposals provided here by the researcher is one of the very best to attain a degree of safety and sustainability in the logistics market. The setting up of the right strategies, discussing them thoroughly and implementing them in the right way will help the organization to re channelize the supply chain and fill it with a fresh supply. The change in the middle and upper level management structure can also be of great help to improve the present condition of the business in the Australian market. The management of Qube must have a look into the following report to get a clear idea of the different areas that are an area of concern and pick some leaf out of these ideas to attain a sustainable future for the business. However the ultimate success can be achieved on the collaboration of the different types of Logistics operators of Australia, the government, the local government, the entrepreneurs, the shareholders of the business and the transportation department. The coming together of all the aforesaid parties will help in the formulation of a master-plan that will be used to curve out the success path of the business.

References

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