TRANSPORTATION IN SUPPLY CHAIN

Transportation is an important supply chain driver because goods are rarely produced and consumed in the same place.Transportation within a supply chain includes ferrying an item by road , rail, pipeline, air or sea from a supplier to a customer or distribution store. Carriage considerations include price, service / transit time and product movement. These are the problems that are most important in an effective supply chain.Others include integration among customers,carriers and, suppliers and information flow.

Transportation within a supply chain may be used in a company process to reduce costs. Costs for freight and fuel account for much of the logistics expenditure. Moving goods from one place to another using one or a combination of the different modes of transport is a costly affair. It is important to perform a full freight audit to monitor the shipping costs and keep them as low as possible.

Transport can be used for customer service within a supply chain. When goods travel from one place to another, and from the supplier to the consumer, the customer's needs have to be at the core of the transport system. Ensuring that goods meet a consumer in the condition in which they were delivered in and on time are necessary for transport in a supply chain.

Most of the goods rely on multiple transport modes as they move across the supply chain. Therefore, for an effective freight transport system different modes of transport are needed. Ideally suited for promoting international and domestic supply chains, such a framework is.Trucks have been the preferred mode of transport in supply chain operations for a very long time. They traverse roads alongside railroads to efficiently transfer goods around the ground. They have a frame which can accommodate regular containers for shipping.The reason trucks are the mode of choice when goods are transported is because they can travel through terrains that other modes of transport can not. For example, trains travel to restricted destinations while air freight has weight limitations and airport limitations. This leaves trucks as the most efficient way to cost-effectively transport large quantities of goods.

To freely move products from domestic to international markets and vice versa, an efficient transportation system is a must. The vast distances between farms, mines, urban centers and forests demand a sound transportation system so that manufactured products can reach customers as efficiently as possible.