Literature And Perspective In Reverse Logic - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss about the Literature And Perspective In Reverse Logic. Answer: Introduction The term Logistics management refers to the supply chain management component that is used to meet the different demands of the customer through the planning, implementation and control of the effective movement and storage of the different information and goods and services from its original position to its end destination. The management off the logistics helps the companies to reduce the expenses in transportation and also increase the customer service of the organization. The following process begins with the accumulation of the different raw materials and ends with the delivery of the different goods to its final destination. The adherence to the rules of the industry and other standards the logistics management facilitates the process strategy, planning and implementation of the different processes. The main aim of the following report is to get an idea of the problems that the logistics supply chain of an Australian based Logistics company faces. The report has been based on QUBE which is an organization that provides logistics services to the other organizations. The management of Logistics involves a number of different elements namely; Selection of the appropriate vendors along with the capability to provide proper transportation services to the organizations availing the facilities Choice of the most effective routes for the transportation of the goods and services Using the software, IT resources and other forms of latest technologies to handle the different processes easily Discovering the most competent delivery method Identifying the different stakeholders and the concerned parties for carrying out the operations of the firm smoothly The identification and choice of the right suppliers Overview Qube holdings Ltd. is a large scale Logistics and Infrastructure organization based in Australia (Qube.com.au 2018). The company has its headquarters in two of the most prominent regions of the island continent, namely Sydney and New South Wales. The company was established in the year 2010 after the investment trust acquired Kaplan Equity and turned into a standard operating company. The company has a total annual equity of Australian $ 1.4 billion. The company has a number of freight handling and stevedoring facilities present at different ports of Australia (Qube.com.au 2018). It operates the port facilities through a number of different subsidiaries namely PO Automotive, PrixCar, Australian Augmented Terminals, Northern Stevedoring Services and many more as such. The logistics department of the mentioned organization is operated both by road and rail services. Qube operates rail freight services in regional New South Wales and Victoria, and between the cities of Melbourne and Adelaide. There are also some local subsidiaries like South Spur Rail services, Southern and Silverton Rail that concentrates there operations in New South Wales and Southern Australia. The ports and bulk division of the mentioned organization undertakes a number of different operations like stockpiling and loading of iron ore for exporting. The company uses the facilities at Port Kembla to transport motor vehicles or receive the delivery of these heavy goods for transporting them to their said destinations. The management of the company has ensured the strategic presence of the warehouses in different areas that are in close proximity to the cities, the ports and the train stations. This helps the company to facilitate the smooth transportation of the bulk goods easily. In the past few years the company has extensively developed and expanded the logistics services to attain the number one position in the market in Logistics operations (Agrawal Singh and Murtaza 2015). Problems Qube Logistics has achieved huge success in the recent past which has made it the most preferable among all the logistics industries present in Australia. However some problems has stalled its progress and the future of the company seems bleak. The operations have become highly unpredictable and competitive in nature. The business has been hit upon by a number of external as well as internal problems which has turned its functioning from smooth to rough. The present NSW logistics Network is also facing new problems like different national level policies and strategies, issues that are caused by regulations within the industry, improper transport planning and lack of proper investment (Anand et al. 2015). The issues have been highlighted by the researcher in a detailed way. Multi Modes of Transport Facilities- The port facilities of the mentioned organization has been shifted from Port Jackson to Botany Port. The following action has led to the new modification of the split of containers that have their movement to and from the ports. The Botany Port has a infrastructure that allows the transportation only by trucks. Therefore the new system has forced the organization to carry the freight by rail links until the Port Jackson and then unload the goods and carry them via trucks to Port Botany (Roso Black and Marui? 2017). The trucks then face heavy traffic in the adjacent roads like Rockdale which increases the cost of transportation. There are also strict laws regarding the amount of pollution by the container trucks which are an additional headache for the company. The local government has also not helped the cause of the company and has instructed them to use rail transport instead of the newly constructed highways. Recycling of the different assets- The Australian Government has entered into an asset recycling initiative by acquiring the Port Botany and leasing it to New South Wales Port consortium. There have been a number of conflicts involved since its initiative. The plan to develop a parallel Line between Rozelle and St. peters to decongest the existing network had to be shelved down due to large scale conflicts between the Australian Government and the company that handles the port (Anand et al. 2015). Such failed plans limit the development process and creates problems for companies like Qube which could have benefitted from the new decongested zone to facilitate the easy movement of the trucks in and out from the port to the different warehouses. Risks involved in takeover or acquisitions- As mentioned earlier the company is on a slow rise for the last five years and has been the best in the country for some time now. The credit goes to large scale as well as small scale acquisitions by the organization to expand its presence all over the country and increase its profit (Armstrong et al. 2016). However these acquisitions are not easy sometimes as there are different problems that stall the developmental process. There have been both legal as well as financial problems during some of the acquisitions which have not helped the company. Unpredictable weather conditions- The weather condition is one of the key issues that affects the smooth operations of logistics management. A recent report published by the company has described harsh weather conditions in New South Wales and adjoining areas in summer for a sharp fall in the movement of the bulk goods to and from the ports to the warehouses or the end destinations (Bandara et al. 2015). The unpredictable weather conditions has been a cause of worry for the company and it is the duty of the management to take adequate actions to effectively tackle the business functioning. Conflict arising in inland warehouses- The state government has a long standing dispute with the local government of New South Wales on the construction of an intermodal facility in a large unused area for rail freight transport until Port Botany. The development of the area could help the mentioned organization to effectively use the rail transport instead of using the road transport. However objections from the local government have stalled the work and have made the management of the company to strive for adequate container storage and terminal facilities in and around the Port Area. The absence of container handling facilities have rendered the company ineffective to store goods and services in excess quantity and will surely affect its business in the long run (Batishchev et al. 2016). Commodity market Downturn- The Company has completely changed the view by which logistics is handled by rail freight. The service that they provide thus must be of high quality. However a recent downturn in the commodity market has affected the operations of the company. According to alkan Kalkan and Ozturkoglu (2017) the weak demand for iron ore and coal in the international as well as the local market has forced the company to shelve up a healthy portion of its operations. The contracts and demands from the international markets has been limited in the last couple of years which has led to the decrease in the profit of the company. The sustained low price of the large scale mines has been a negative force for the organization and it needs to consider the smaller mines to stay competitive in the market. Strategy of Logistics Management The strategy of the logistics companies must be formulated in such a way that it adheres to the different processes of the logistics operation. It is important for the company to coordinate the different steps of the logistics to make sure that they provide the best possible services at the minimum of cost incurred. The process will start from the receiving of the goods, transporting them to the warehouses, sorting them accordingly and then delivering them to the different destinations (alkan Kalkan and Ozturkoglu 2017). The modern market demands the marketing team to be efficient and smart enough to handle all the different issues of logistics. The company must design their logistics services according to the demands of the customer, different locations and different product lines. Formulating the strategy accordingly will help improve the service offered by the organization (Christopher 2016). The strategies of the companies must be formulated considering three different elements n amely; Structural- The logistics strategy must be designed after completion of the structural analysis of the organization. This may include the determination of the facilities offered by the company like number of warehouses, area available, distribution center and channel. Functional- The functional excellence of the organization must be considered before the designing of the logistics strategy. Implementation- Implementation is one of the key to the success of the logistics business. The implementation of the logistics strategy in the correct way helps the organization to follow the correct path to achieve success within the organization. Proposals to avoid the Problems The problems that exist within the industry can be tackled easily by the mentioned company with the formulation and implementation proper strategies. The strategies can be helpful for the company to overcome the current crisis situation. Collaboration of the Logistics- The management of the mentioned company must bring together all the other logistics companies while deciding on a new roadmap which will be beneficial for the survival of all the companies. Taking a joint and collaborative decision will help the organization to formulate the right strategies and ensure a bright future (Ellison Greaves and Hensher 2015). The logistics alliance of the companies will help them to overcome the issue easily. Reverse Logistics- The following is the process which can be utilized by the company to re use the unused goods for logistics and earn profits. The company can send the unused goods to the point of approach again for re use and earn huge revenues. Reverse logistics consists of four different elements namely; Reduction Substitution Recycle Reuse Transportation- The organization can use the environment friendly trucks that cause much less pollution to transport the materials. Apart from such steps the company can also reduce the costs by appointment of new drivers to drive the same truck and reduce the cost of buying new trucks (Fahimnia et al. 2015). As mentioned earlier the company must focus on building new freight networks in and around different ports to reduce too much pressure on road transport. Global Restructuring- The ports in Australia are currently facing a shortage of space for bulk containers and other heavy goods. The government must step in and make adequate arrangements for setting up new facilities in and around the ports and highways to store these goods (Fernie and Sparks 2014). The government can also build a number of small and medium sized ports to decongest the large ports. Apart from such steps restructuring the roads, highways and constructing new freight lines can be helpful for logistics companies like Qube to smoothen their operations. Proper policies and regulations- The road safety act and the Vehicle National Law of Australia have a number of different allegations against them (Schnsleben 2016). It is important for the Government to implement a number of different training programs to develop and implement internal policies and safety rules. Infrastructural Projects by the Government of Australia- The Australian Government can undertake a number of different infrastructural projects to help the logistics companies carry on their trade smoothly (Guimarans Harabor and Van Hentenryck 2015). It is the duty of the Government to ensure that developmental projects are not interfered by politics. Infrastructure NSW plan is one of them. Such plans are concentrated on building a proper road, rail and water network to facilitate the easy movement of goods to and from the ports to their destination points. Rolling Horizon Policy- The rolling horizon policy is one of the most sustainable polices that can be used by Qube to ease the problems of storage of bulk containers. The company can allocate the space for a particular good according to their time of arrival and must remove them just in time for the other container. This can help save time, space and money (Teye and Bell 2016). Recommendations The researcher has recommended some measures which if properly followed can help the company to achieve success. The different proposals that have been mentioned by the researcher will be of great help for the management of the company. They must use the best possible strategies to attain success and sustainability. The entire existing supply chain of the company must be refurbished according to the demands of the market and a proper, efficient and collaborative effort is needed to attain success. Apart from this the upper and middle management of the organization must be restructured accordingly to match the new demands of the market and help the organization to achieve all the different objectives. The management of Qube along with the government, port authorities, local government and all other concerned parties must chalk out a detailed and transparent roadmap to revive the trade and take the best possible measures to ensure hassle free transportation, storage. This can be done b y adopting new policies to construct roads, highways, by passes, dedicated freight corridors both in rail and road transport and also consider options to use inland waterways to trade along accessible areas of Australia. The use of inland waterways can be one of the most viable, cheap and unique among all the different actions. The use of accessible rivers to transport medium sized goods to warehouses or destinations close to the rivers will surely help the organization to open up new possibilities in Logistics Management. The use of waterways can ensure the absence of pollution, decongestion and more speedy delivery. The Government of Australia must also speed up negotiations with the local government to ensure the construction of the trade zone and the warehouses in a 60 hectare land. The acquisition of the unused land can help to construct a new freight line to Port Botany and will help Qube Limited to use the railway service more efficiently to transport the docked goods. The following recommendations can be useful for the organization to return to the right path and focus on more quality service in the coming days. Conclusion The following report has been successful in meeting all the aims and objectives of the research. The researcher has discussed in detail the different issues that the mentioned Australian Company faces while carrying out its operations. A number of proposals have been provided in this research which is quite viable and scientifically possible to implement by the management of the company. The researcher has concluded the report by describing the need of the hour to formulate a proper roadmap for the success of the business on the consent and acceptance of all the concerned parties. The proper analysis of the report will help the readers to gain a transparent idea about Logistics Management and the problems that threaten the modern day logistics business. Apart from this the readers can also get a small overview of the ways by which logistics business is carried out and some other related items. References "Qube | Qube Holdings | Logistics Services, Port Services, Bulk Material Handling, Third Party Container Logistics, Infrastructure."Qube.com.au. N.p., 2018. Web. 22 Jan. 2018. Agrawal, S., Singh, R.K. and Murtaza, Q., 2015. A literature review and perspectives in reverse logistics.Resources, Conservation and Recycling,97, pp.76-92. Anand, N., Van Duin, R., Quak, H. and Tavasszy, L., 2015. 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