Showing papers in "Transportation Journal in 2001"

Performance Benefits of Supply Chain Logistical Integration

Abstract: This study tests the 21st Century Logistics framework by examining the managerial relationships it describes and the degree to which it makes clear the link between improving logistical processes and operating performance improvements. It uses as a framework the six logistics competencies to determine their relative importance and their overall contribution to improved logistics and, by extension, improved operating performance. The primary goal of supply chain improvements is to lower costs and improve customer satisfaction. The most significant of the six areas of competency for achieving these goals are customer integration (creating lasting loyalty with prime customers) and internal integration (seamless linking of internal actions with customer needs). Managers should identify the requirements of their most important customers and work to satisfy those needs in order to get the most out of investments and efforts on supply chain integration. More research is indicated in the areas of the financial rewards of superior performance.

Supply chain strategies, capabilities, and performance

Abstract: The choice of a supply chain strategy and value focus should be supported by specific enterprise capabilities and ultimately result in intended logistical performance. For excellent firms, a demand focus on customer service and proactive quality is more apparent at both the capability and performance levels than a supply focus on cost, productivity, distribution, and speed. Reasons are offered. Strategic intent and normative value congruency for competitive advantage also mean that customer closeness strategies such as customized logistics and agility tend to be supported particularly by demand-side capabilities, while operational excellence strategies such as time-based strategies (e.g., JIT) or lean networks tend to be supported more by supply-side capabilities. While on-time performance and absence of loss-and-damage are minimum order qualifiers, other logistical performance outcomes are order winners depending on the chosen value discipline. Doing it right the first time is more important than problem recovery, yet service failures do provide valuable information for problem diagnosis, organizational learning, and future improvements. Similarly, advanced notification of problems to customers and total performance measurement like overall customer satisfaction are also characteristic of best-in-class firms.

The Logistics Triad: Survey and Case Study Results

Abstract: The report examines logistics triads, made up of buyers, suppliers and logistics service providers, which are proliferating with the growth of information technology, on-time pickup and delivery and closer relationships between buyers and suppliers. It draws on a survey of Danish logistics service providers. The study found that triads can improve customer satisfaction while keeping inventory costs down, but they require close collaboration among all three legs of the triad to succeed. Questions remain about whether there is a threshold volume before triads are feasible and whether the formation of triads is affected by seasonality of demand and changing economic forces such as interest rates and fuel prices. Barriers to triad formation include lack of coordination, lack of technological capabilities and power imbalances among the parties.

Electronic integration in the air cargo industry : an information processing model of on-time performance

Abstract: This paper examines electronic integration in logistics supply chains using the non-integrated U.S. international air cargo industry as a case study. It examines what impact electronic integration has on interorganizational task performance, and hypothesizes about factors limiting the effectiveness of electronic integration. Surprisingly, no evidence was found of direct impacts of electronic integration on performance, even though evidence was found of indirect impacts of information systems use and performance. The findings suggest that the use of electronic integration as a strategy to improve operational performance across firms is limited by the nature of the interorganizational task, environmental dynamism, and the power relationships between firms in the supply chain.

Logistics and electronic commerce: an interorganizational systems perspective

Abstract: The coordination of activities within supply chains using information technology can be described as taking place using two broad types of mechanisms, both of which use intermediaries to carry out logistics activities These are electronic hierarchies, consisting of legally separate firms that share a close relationship within a supply chain, and electronic markets characterized by short-term linkages that result from individual transactions A key influence of information technology on logistics is the emergence of separate but linked intermediaries for handling physical goods and the information associated with those goods

Logistics internships : employer perspectives

Abstract: There appears to be an increasing acceptance of the relevance and importance of logistics internship programs for companies that employ logistics interns, the students who seek these opportunities, and the academic institutions that strive to facilitate the success of these programs. In this article, we provide the results of one of the first empirical studies of logistics internships. The results from a survey of U.S. companies that have recently employed or demonstrated a desire to employ logistics interns are presented. The article provides a demographic profile of these companies, their perspectives on select internship issues, and analysis of possible relationships between the perspectives and select demographic attributes. It is hoped that the results of this research will aid various logistics constituencies in focusing their efforts to improve these valuable experiences as well as identify needs for additional investigation.

An empirical examination of shipper perceptions of service-selection attributes in five truckload industry segments

Abstract: This article presents an evaluation of over 700 shippers' perceptions of service-selection attributes in the dry van, temperature controlled, tank, intermodal, and flatbed segments of the truckload transportation industry. The primary conclusions were based on a MANOVA comparison of forty-two attributes among five truckload industry segments. Additionally, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted to help guide future research and model development. Significant differences were found between at least two of the five industry segments for seventeen of the attributes. Most of the significant differences were between the dry van and temperature controlled segments. In addition to traditional service-selection attributes such as reputation, responsiveness, and availability, e-business and international attributes were evaluated.

Web-based informational practices of logistics service providers : an empirical assessment

Abstract: This article reports on a survey of more than 200 logistics service providers (LSPs) regarding their World Wide Web-related practices in order to find out the Web's potential for cutting logistics costs and improving customer service. Nearly all of the providers had Web sites, and the most important function was communicating better with customers.

Internet technology use across the food industry supply chain

Abstract: This article presents an analysis of the usage of the Internet within the food industry supply chain. The authors find that the food industry supply chain is using the Internet at a fairly uniform rate among distributors and retailers, and distributors and manufacturers. However, because food distributors are, on average, smaller than manufacturers, they tend to use it less, since Internet usage often seems to be a function of size.

Shipper sensitivity to unreliable service in carload markets

Abstract: By neglecting to invest in systems that increase reliability of carload shipments, railroads risk losing the potentially most profitable share of their business, which includes commodities of modest value by weight and those that move in private cars. Rather than focus on reducing costs, railroads should focus on providing increased value to their customers and recapturing costs associated with providing that increased value by charging higher rates and thus generating higher profits.

Determinants of price reactions to entry in the U.S. airline industry

Abstract: In order to measure whether price-cutting by an incumbent airline faced with new competition is predatory and thus anti-competitive or simply a competitive response, an investigation was made to identify factors influencing incumbents' decision to cut fares in both the short and long runs. The size of the price reduction by the entrant is the most important factor influencing the incumbent's behavior. Also, the more passengers that the entrant attracts, the more the incumbent cuts its prices. The larger and higher cost the entrant, the more likely the incumbent is to cut prices. No incumbent was found to cut prices as aggressively and regularly as Southwest.

Affiliation of authors in transportation and logistics academic journals : another look

Abstract: This is the third update of a study begun 20 years ago to measure the relative productivity of various academic institutions in the fields of logistics, supply chain management and transportation. The productivity measure is the number of articles published in selected journals that report on these fields. It analyzed the share of articles in each journal to have been written by an academic author, which universities have the most productive faculty in terms of publishing in these areas, and, more recently, whether the journal titles used in the survey should be changed or added to. The major finding is that the identities of relevant journals has evolved, and the academics who contribute articles to them have shifted their publishing as the list has changed. The ranking of schools with programs in these areas suggest the need for a core group of faculty to create a critical mass of productivity. And schools that do not specialize in the managerial aspects of logistics and supply chain management do not rank as highly. Also, more universities outside of North America are represented in this latest survey, suggesting a greater reliance on publication in leading journals for tenure in overseas universities.

Public attitudes toward automobile safety issues

Abstract: The public's attitudes toward different highway safety measures have not been adequately measured or included in the policy debate about how to improve traffic safety, the authors argue. Their survey shows dramatic support for measures considered politically unpalatable, such as lowering by 25% the blood alcohol concentration to determine legal intoxication, carrying out sobriety check roadblocks and imposing harsher penalties for driving while intoxicated (DWI) and driving with a suspended license. They also supported mechanical safety improvements in vehicles, even when they meant substantial additions to sticker prices.

Urban freight economics : A new rail paradigm for large lots

Abstract: The generalization that trucks are more efficient for short-haul freight than railcars does not pertain where shipment size and complementary traffic levels are sufficiently large. In particular, there appear to be enormous opportunities for the competitive movement of truckload- and larger-sized lots by rail within urban areas, which have a sufficient concentration of freight activity to justify minimum right-of-way maintenance and reliable switching service on industrial branch lines. The recognition of this urban rail opportunity, in an age of escalating road degradation and congestion, would have far-reaching implications for regulators, urban planners, and rail management, all of whom have heretofore assumed that railroads' urban future lies only in disgorging trucks onto the urban road network from intermodal terminals.

Sequential estimation of railroad costs for specific traffic

Abstract: This study presents a model to predict the costs of moving specific railroad traffic. It addresses four types of hypothetical trains: a heavy unit train, a mixed freight with mixed cargo, an intermodal movement of 120 trailers moving 1,750 miles on articulated spine cars, and a 1,750-mile movement of double-stack containers on lightweight 5 platform cars. The study shows that, with minor changes, a general model of total railroad costs may be used to obtain estimates for specific trains, and that cost economies do accrue to larger railroads.

A tale of two monopolies: Why removing paper barriers is a good idea

Abstract: The proliferation of spun-off short line and regional railroads has been accompanied by paper barriers that restrict them from exchanging freight traffic with certain other railroads. The Surface Transportation Board has suggested that removing these paper barriers could create more competition, but there has been no definitive rationale for this thinking. Current regulations provide little oversight of these spin-offs in terms of their anti-competitive effects. Generally, no action is taken if a plaintiff, usually a shipper, is left with the same options after a spin-off, even if the plaintiff can show that it would be better off without the spin-off restrictions. These paper barriers stifle innovative routing and track improvements. They also distort pricing around bottlenecks. Removing paper barriers would create new shipping alternatives for thousands of customers with hardly any administrative cost, as opposed to other more elaborate schemes to foster competition through regulations.

Exploring predatory pricing in the airline industry

Abstract: In this article, the authors study the economic principles behind the concept of predatory pricing. They first present an overview of airline deregulation, followed by a discussion of legal and economic views of predatory pricing as well as how its has evolved as a concept during the past thirty years. The authors describe methods used by airlines in practicing price discrimination. The current approach proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation regarding their determination of whether a major carrier is demonstrating anti- competitive, predatory behavior is also discussed.

E-business from the front line of a 140-year-old brick and mortar company

Abstract: This article reports on a year spent in Union Pacific Railroad's e- business side, giving perspectives on how e-business is not like e- commerce and how e-business resembles and is different from conventional business. Four themes are followed within the article: 1) The Culture of e-Business; 2) Delivering Results; 3) Winning Customers; and, 4) Personal Success Factors. The author concludes that e-business requires flexibility, patience with changing culture, sensitivity to customers and respect for Internet's power to change business.

Maintenance practices among private railcar fleet operators in the north american chemicals and plastics industry

Abstract: This study examines the inventory management problem facing the operators of the substantial private railcar fleets of equipment serving the chemicals and plastics industries. They are served by private, specialized rail car firms that collectively manage 25% of the rail stock in the U.S. The research examined how producers managed their fleet maintenance and found that they keep their equipment at higher standards than either those required by regulations or standard industry practice. Maintenance of these specialty fleets is affected by unique factors, such as excessively rough use and exposure to damaging materials, which threaten their timely availability. In addition, they are often used as rolling warehouses and put in service within a company. The research is part of an effort to create benchmark standards for upkeep. The plastics and chemical makers generally outsource nearly all maintenance work and do not expend many resources on monitoring the effectiveness and suitability of maintenance routines. The findings suggest the need for more research into maintenance practices in other bulk industries.