Transporting Cherries From Tasmania To South Korea: Recommended Transportation Mode

1. A cherry grower in the Huon Valley in Tasmania plans to export cherries to South Korea in the 2019 season. The cherry grower has four different varieties that ripen at different times between mid December and late February. The total expected amount of cherries for export is about 1,000 tons. Use real world examples wherever appropriate and make assumptions if needed, complete the following two tasks.

1. Propose the most suitable transport system to move cherries from the farm gate in the Huon Valley in Tasmania to consumers in South
2. Discuss, from a transport and logistics perspective, the key factors affecting the quality of Tasmanian cherries on the shelves of supermarkets in South Korea.
   

2. Choose a real-world intermodal terminal of your preference, and complete the following tasks. Your discussion must be in the context of the intermodal terminal you have chosen.

1. Identify the features of this intermodal terminal and discuss how these features may contribute to, or impede, the success of this
2. Discuss how this intermodal terminal contributes to the efficiency and effectiveness of the transport system that it belongs to. You may discuss the contribution at both domestic and international

Available transportation modes for export of cherries

Part: A

As stated in the given case, cherries will have to be transported from Tasmania to South Korea. In addition, it is also stated that these cherries will be exported four times a time year according to the ripening season. Thus, it is assumed that each season, 250 tons of cherries will be exported that will totaled at 1000 tons. There are number of transport systems available for the cherry grower in exporting their goods. One of the major options available for them is by road transportation. This refers to the process of transporting the cherries by truck. There are specialized trucks available for the transportation of the perishable goods such as fruits and vegetables (Defraeye et al. 2015). This mode of transport will be a cheaper option but is mainly applicable for the small distance due to the reason it is not possible for road transportation mode to carry the goods from South Korea to Australia.

Another transportation mode available is by railways. There are also dedicated freights available for the transportation of perishable products. This will be more efficient and faster than that of roadways. However, in this case also, railways are not having connection between South Korea and Australia. Thus it is also not a viable option for the cherry grower. Airways can be an effective and ideal option in transporting the cherries due to the fact it is the fastest mode of transport available and is ideal for intercontinental business. In addition, majority of the airports are having the facilities for handling of perishable goods (Li and Thomas 2014). Thus, it is recommended that cherry grower from Tasmania can avail the air transport mode to export their products faster to the South Korean market. This will also enable them to have more probability of offering fresh products to the target market. However, on the other hand it should also be noted that air transportation will be a more costly affair and it will increase the price of the products in the target market. As stated in the case, cherries will be transported four times a year and thus opting for the air transport system will prove costly for the cherry grower.

The last option available for the cherry grower of Tasmania in transporting their good to South Korea is waterways. This can be an ideal option for them due to the reason that ocean transportation is the most widely used mode of transport in the current international business. In addition, ocean transport will also provide the option to the cherry growers about choosing the best way to transport such as selection of different types and sizes of containers (Soto-Silva et al. 2016). In addition, ocean transportation is also one of the cheapest modes and it will provide the cost leadership for the cherry growers. It is also applicable for the large scale export process. Though, ocean transportation takes more time in movement but dedicated facilities are available to keep the perishable goods fresh (Arduino, Carrillo Murillo and Parola 2015). Thus, it is recommended that ocean transportation by means of ships will be the most suitable mode of transportation for the movement of cherries from Tasmania to South Korea.

Factors affecting the quality of cherries during transportation

However, it should also be noted that transport system for the cherry grower will also include the transportation from the port of destination to the market and from the outbound hub to the port of origin. It is recommended that road transportation should be used for these requirements, which will be applicable for small scale and quick transportation. Thus, the recommended transport system for the cherry grower will be multimodal in nature involving both ocean and roadways (Fransoo and Lee 2013).

For instance, Grove juice is one of the leading fruit juice makers in Australia and having their export markets around the world. They are using ocean transportation as their primary mode of transportation and it is helping them in having well availability of their products across the export markets fresh.

There are number of factors that will affect the quality of the Tasmanian cherries in the supermarkets of South Korea. One of the major factors is the quality of the shipping freight. This is due to the reason that in the case of ocean transportation, cherries will stay with the shipping line for the major part. Hence, if the quality of the storage facilities in the shipping line is not up to the desired level then it will affect the quality of the fruits (Dutebenets and Ozguven 2017). For instance, if the walls of the storage facilities get rusted and it is likely to have negative impact on the cherries and supermarkets in South Korea will have lower quality products. Another major factor to be considered in the shipping line is the proper isolation of the storage facilities. This is due to the reason that an ideal temperature has to be maintained in the storage container in order to keep the fruits fresh and without having proper isolation; the temperature and humidity level cannot be maintained and will affect the quality of the products.

Time consumption in the movement of the cherries will also determine the quality of them. This is due to the reason that the more time will be consumed in the transportation process, the more will be deterioration of the cherries. Perishable goods have to be transported and consumed in least time possible. Thus, if the time consumed in the process takes more, then the consumers will have the access to the product, which are expired or on the verge of expiration (Albrecht et al. 2013). Another factor in determining the quality of the cherries in the shelves is handling effectiveness. This is due to the reason that there are number of psychical points in the entire transportation process of cherries and proper handling is required. For instance, movement of the goods from the trucks to the shipping line in the port of origin will require proper handling care. Rough handling will cause physical damage to the cherries and supermarkets in South Korea will not have the products with right physical characteristics. In this case, it should be noted that number of the transportation mode to be used will also determine the quality of the cherries. This is due to the fact that the more diverse will be the transportation mode in the entire process; the more will be the physical touch point of shifting the consignment. Thus, the probability for physical damage will be more in this case.

Recommendation for the most suitable transportation mode

Another factor that may also have the influence on the quality of the cherries is transport of other consignments in the same shipping line. This is also important to determine due to the reason that if the cherries are being transported with any toxic materials in the same shipping lines or with any chemical that may have radioactive reactions, then it will affect the quality of the cherries (Lim and Hur 2015). On the other hand, chemical reaction from other materials will also have negative impact on the quality of the cherries. Customers will have lower quality products from the supermarkets in South Korea.

Part: A

Moorebank Intermodal terminal is one of the major and leading proposed intermodal systems in Australia. It is reported that the construction has started in 2017 and currently is in on the way of completion. One of the major features of this terminal is the equal access to sea, road and rail links (micl.com.au 2018). According to the project site, Moorebank Intermodal terminal is strategically located between the Port Botany, dedicated freight rail corridor and M7 and Hume motorway. This will help the terminal to cater to the different segments of business and traders at once. Majority of the terminals in Australia are either linked waterways with the rail transportation or with the roadways (Rekin et al. 2013). Thus, Moorebank Intermodal terminal is having the competitive advantages if linking the major three transportation modes. In the long term, this will help them to gain their revenue from all the transportation modes. In addition, they will not get depended on a particular type of transportation and this will immune them from any probable recession in the long run.

Another major competitive advantage for Moorebank Intermodal terminal is their linkage with the Port Botany, which is considered as one of the largest deepwater seaports in Australia. In addition, it is also reported that Port Botany is receiving the highest consignments of containers both from the international and national shippers (Dotoli et al. 2014). Thus, this will help Moorebank Intermodal terminal to have the access to these containers and probability of business opportunities will be more for them. It is forecasted that the movement of the freight from Port Botany will get doubled by 2031 and major section of these containers can be attracted by Moorebank Intermodal terminal considering their access to different transportation modes. Moorebank Intermodal terminal will have the linkages with the dedicated freight rail networks, which are having no access with other major intermodal terminals. Thus, Moorebank Intermodal terminal will be able to transport the consignments faster and without any hindrance with the help of rail corridor. This will also contribute in the long term success of Moorebank Intermodal terminal (Bergqvist and Monios 2014).

Transportation network of Moorebank Intermodal terminal

In order to accommodate the freight trains, terminals should have longer berths with minimum measurement being 1.5 km. Thus, it is not possible for the majority of the intermodal terminals to have this long stretch. On the other hand, Moorebank Intermodal terminal is having long stretch of 1.8 km, which is enough for accommodating the freight trains. Thus, this can also be considered as a competitive advantage for them over the other terminals (Monios 2015). They will be able to transport the major consignments at once with the help of rail network, while the other terminals have to opt for the road transportation modes. Moorebank Intermodal terminal will also have a dedicated sub-terminal for the international consignments, which will have the capacity of handling 1.05 million containers per year. This is also going to provide them competitive advantages in their business operation due to the reason that only a few intermodal terminals are having the facility of dedicated international terminals (Alessandri, Cervellera and Gaggero 2013). This will attract the international consignments also along with the national containers. It is also reported that Moorebank Intermodal terminal will have a high specification warehouse with having the size of 850,000 sqm for the storage, packing and unpacking the containers. Offering this huge warehouse and with having high specification will help to provide the customers with added facilities over the other terminals.

Thus, it can be concluded that the size, facilities and access to other transportation modes are the major competitive advantages for Moorebank Intermodal terminal over their rivals. These features will help them to them in attracting huge customer traffic both from national and global scenario (Kordnejad 2014). In addition, having the access to both rail and road links will further help them to provide the customers more options for transporting their consignments from the terminal.

Part: B

In the above section, there are number of competencies of Moorebank Intermodal terminal discussed over their rivals. Thus, these features are also having positive impacts on the transport system it is based on. It is already identified that Moorebank Intermodal terminal is based on water, road and railways. In terms of the seaways, the major advantage will be with the Port Botany due to the reason that by 2031, the inflow of the containers will get doubled. However, it is also reported that Port Botany is having less chance of expansion and thus, they will not have the capacity of handling these huge consignments. In this case, Moorebank Intermodal terminal will help in easing the pressure from the Port Botany (Caris, Macharis and Janssens 2013). This will further increase the efficiency of the sea transportation through this port. In addition, the strategic location of Moorebank Intermodal terminal will also enable in seamless movement of the consignments and thus the average time of loading and unloading from the carriers will be less. The time that gets lose due to the heavy traffic of shipping carriers will get reduced and movement will become more seamless. Thus, the entire process of sea based transportation will get enhanced in the long term. The coordination between the international and national shipments will be more effective with the help of Moorebank Intermodal terminal (De Langen and Sharypova 2013). This is due to reason that Moorebank Intermodal terminal is having dedicated facilities for both international and national containers. Customers will have the opportunity to the shift their national consignments to the international shipping lines and vice versa.

Competitive advantages of the Moorebank Intermodal terminal

In terms of the railways, the major advantage of Moorebank Intermodal terminal will be the more effective use of the dedicated freight corridor. This is due to the reason that as of now, only a few intermodal terminals are having the access to the dedicated freight corridors, which is causing the underutilization of rail systems. On the other hand, the use of the dedicated rail corridor by Moorebank Intermodal terminal will help in increasing the rail traffic and optimally utilizing the network. The rail system will further get enhanced due to the reason that Moorebank Intermodal terminal is having the facility to accommodate freight trains (Santos, Limbourg and Carreira 2015). Thus, the process of loading and unloading associated with the rail corridors will be more effective and efficient with having less time involved in the entire process. It can also be concluded that rail networks of Australia will entirely be benefited from the increase in traffic due to the movement of containers from Moorebank Intermodal terminal and will be benefited in terms of revenue also.

In terms of the road transportation, the major benefit of Moorebank Intermodal terminal will be reduction of the traffic and congestion from the road. It is reported that due to the overdependence of the road networks by the majors terminals of Australia, the highways are congested, which is further reducing the effectiveness of the road transportation system. This is also reducing the efficiency of the system. Thus, with the help of the Moorebank Intermodal terminal, it is estimated that more than 500,000 containers can be pulled off the motorways due to the rail facility. Thus, it will help the road system to reduce the congestion in the process and making it more efficient and faster (Monios and Wilmsmeier 2013). In addition, it is also identified that the location of Moorebank Intermodal terminal will have advantage on the efficiency of the road transportation system. This is due to the reason that it is located next to the M5 motorway, M7 motorway and Hume highway. Thus, the freight trucks will have multiple options in accessing the inbound and outbound facilities of the terminal and less congestion will emerge in place. In addition, the presence of both roadways and railways in the Moorebank Intermodal terminal will also help road systems to have more coordination with other transport modes.

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