Sustainable Supply Chain Management

This assignment delves into the concept of sustainable supply chain management. Students are tasked with examining various aspects of this topic, including modeling approaches for sustainability, the impact of reverse logistics on performance, and strategies for value creation in global supply chains. The analysis should draw upon relevant research papers and case studies to provide a comprehensive understanding of sustainable practices within the supply chain.

GLOBALISATION OF LOGISTICS
AND SCM

Abstract
From the below report, it can be assessed that Bwcabus is a modern transport system that
provides best facilities to travelers in order to travel from one destination to another as per their
convenience. It is a unique mode of transportation in which passengers can book their seats
online and travel as per their time and also they can book their return ticket in advance, further,
business also aims to adopt multi-modal transport system such as air, train and sea so that varied
services can be delivered to customers. Moreover, business could adopt varied ways such as
merger, acquisition or FDI so that it adds value to firm and help them to attain competitive edge
over rivals.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
Porter Diamond Model...........................................................................................................7
Triple bottom line...................................................................................................................8
PART 2............................................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

ILLUSTRATION INDEX
Illustration 1: Bwcabus....................................................................................................................4

INTRODUCTION
In current era, globalization is the process of international integration arising from the
exchange of products and services at cross border level. Globalisation helps in gaining
advancement in transportation systems such as jet engine, steamship, container ships etc. In
present report, analysis has been done in respect to defining the key impacts and benefits that a
rural logistics and transport approach could have at the time when it operates within an overall
integrated transport system within Wales (Chau, 2007). Further, supply chain management is a
crucial aspect as it helps firm to manage the flow of products and services. It involves the
movement and storage of raw materials and work in process in order to supply the goods
worldwide. Here, Bwcabus has been undertaken which is a full accessible local bus service and
provide customized provisions as per the needs of passengers by operating in regard to pre-
booked journey requests of passengers (Seuring, 2013). However, the service operates from 7am
to 7pm i.e. from Monday to Saturday on a particular route. Further, such services enable
individual to travel between local towns and villages within the area decided by Bwcabus or
linked to the main line bus services with regard to travelling towards further destinations (Coyle
and et.al., 2008).
PART 1
It can be assessed that it is essential for company to carry out strategic analysis so that
direction and scope of the organisation can be assessed for the long term that helps in achieving
advantages for the firm. With the help of this configuration of resources within the changing
environment it helps in meeting the needs of market and thus fulfil the needs of stakeholders
(Song and Parola, 2015). Bwcabus is a modern system of transportation as it runs according to
the needs of travellers. However, the routes are already decided by the company on which it runs
but people can pre book it in order to go to a particular destination. Moreover, in order to become
effective in marketplace and grow the business, it is essential for the firm to develop a strategy
because it is the direction and scope of a firm over the long term. It also helps in attaining
advantage for organization through involving effective resources within a changing environment
so that expectations can be met of both market as well as stakeholders. Here, it is essential for
business to plan certain effectual decisions such as where they are now, how to get particular
position and where company is planning to move in future. Here, model of strategy development
1 | P a g e

can be implemented which shows that when business starts, it runs on a continuity basis, later
when incremental stage comes, then certain fluctuations arises within business in which it
requires strategies so that best results can be attained. At the end, transformational stage comes in
which business performs to a great extent and thus achieves desired goals. However, in logistics
and supply chain management, it is essential for Bwcabus to adopt strategy development process
so that they can mature and develop their transport system to provide the best services to
travellers (Waters and Rinsler, 2014).
Strategic planning process also involves a risk of planned drift that happens due to
environmental changes such as needs and requirements of passengers differs from time to time
and thus strategic changes are required. Bwcabus was a major source of transport for rural people
around Lampeter which provides a fully accessible and on-demand local bus service for people
to travel from one place to another. It is a modern way of travelling system in which bus will
pick and drop to individuals as per their respective timings. Thus, following such system of rural
transport service helps in benefiting the Bwcabus organization. It is the best transportation
system that helps in providing freedom to passengers by transporting them from one place to
other as per their wish (Wisner, Tan and Leong, 2015). Bwcabus management team is focusing to
merge or develop partnership with different logistics and transport service providers to achieve
desired success and become the leading transport business worldwide. Firm recently celebrated
its first birthday and reaches a height of market expansion i.e. over 50,000 passengers. It means
that firm is leading the business by providing best and convenient services to passengers and
expanding them by changing the transportation means for people in rural areas.
However, it has been assessed that the main idea of starting such a unique bus services as
per the convenience of people was given by Professor Stuart Cole. It was with respect to enhance
the bus service frequency and passenger experience in rural areas. It involves wide research that
was conducted by the Welsh Assembly Government officials in order to identify the technical
aspects of the idea provided. Later, software has been developed that helps in allowing the bus
service to operate on the demand of consumers and provide them a flexible deal. It means that
passengers do not have to wait for a bus at a particular station instead they can book the bus at
the time when they have to travel and for return they can pre book the bus so that they can reach
on time (Shergold and Parkhurst, 2012). Thus, such unique service provided by Bwcabus helps
in increasing its popularity among passengers and thus achieves desired goals in an effectual
2 | P a g e

manner. Further, business also uses innovative technology available such as providing dynamic
scheduling that reacts to the daily fluctuations in the demand of passengers. Here, company
adopted effective GIS/GPS software that uses satellite communication and a computerised
scheduling/ booking module in order to search the location of the passengers (Coyle and et. al.,
2012).
Moreover, such integrated system helps in showing that how modern technology can be
implemented in order to overcome the issues in respect of rural public transport provision. It
helps in providing the best bus service to local people and changes their lifestyle to achieve the
desired results. However, it is essential for Bwcabus to become an effective bus service provider
in order to achieve customer satisfaction (Ross, 2013). It helps in providing them standardized
way of booking the bus for their travel instead of waiting for the same at the bus stop. However,
Bwcabus also provides its daily bus service at specific routes so that travellers can use the
facilities.
Moreover, it can be evaluated that Bwcabus is currently operating its services in rural
transport system as it is a passenger road transport system that helps in providing best assistance
to rural communities and attain desired results. Following are the different modern modes of
transport system which are discussed underneath-
 Road
 Rail
 Air
 Inland
 Pipelines
 Inter-modal transport
Bwcabus can be stated as an effective transport system that helps in moving passengers
from one destination to another. Thus, it is a traveller road transport system that can be stated as
a vehicle for transport which is officially defined as a motor vehicle that is trailer constructed or
adapted in regard to use it for carrying out people from one place to another. Bwcabus is a major
contributor in order to attain success and continue to grow and reaching 50000 passengers is a
great achievement (Mafakheri and Nasiri, 2014). However, they are required to develop strategic
partnership with different organizations so that they can become a model for the development of
public transport in rural areas across Wales. It can be evaluated that Bwcabus is a modern road
3 | P a g e

transport system that runs on an adaptive and evolving transport system basis in which people
determine regular and daily timetable. For example, time at which time bus should arrive to pick
up the client drop them as well. Bwcabus is a DRT (Demand Responsive Transport) service that
helps in addressing social exclusion and rural accessibility by providing a more flexible and
customer responsive service (Monczka and et. al., 2015).
Illustration 1: Bwcabus
(Source: Shergold and Parkhurst, 2012 )
Moreover, they adopt a Complex Adaptive System (CAS) that states that it is not a
traditional model of public transport body which is based on fixed timetables and routes that
sometime fail to meet the expectations of passengers in rural areas because services can be
inflexible (Buckley, 2008). Thus, after intensive research, it has been recommended that Demand
Responsive Transport (DRT) is used by Bwcabus that can be used in order to address social
exclusion and cover wide rural areas by providing the best transport services to such people and
achieve results. DRT is an effective and modern type of services that helps in providing the best
transport facility on demand of passengers such as scheduled pick up and drop as per their needs.
However, the facility provided by them is a hybrid falling somewhere between a conventional
timetabled bus and taxi service (Coyle and et. al., 2015). For instance, DRT does not possess a
fixed timetable and thus it varies every day. Moreover, such form of dynamic scheduling allows
travellers to possess greater flexibility in regard to book journeys at the time whenever they need.
4 | P a g e

It can be assessed that Bwcabus undertakes complex adaptive system in order to view the
complexity of rural transport system. Thus, they introduced such unique transport facility which
works as per the demand of people or passengers (Beckner and et. al., 2009). However, it does
not work on routine basis such as per fixed timetable but it operates as per the demand of
passengers because they can book the ride whenever they need and for return they can pre book
the same (Brandenburg and et. al., 2014). Thus, complex adaptive system assists in managing the
demand and supply of logistics management to achieve the desired results. It is an effective
supply chain system that provides the best transport services to passengers adopting Bwcabus as
compared to other.
Bwcabus is required to develop effective and responsive approach that helps in
contributing and providing sustainability and corporate social responsibility issues so that bus
service can be operated effectively and efficiently. The key stakeholders of business are
customers, employees and government and thus it is essential for organization to fulfil their
needs and wants. For instance, bus works as per the needs of people. Therefore, it helps in
satisfying their needs and attains satisfaction (Porter, 2008). Also, it is essential for Bwcabus to
provide the best environment to its employees so that they can fulfil the requirements of
consumers. While, the passengers are also required to book their seats in the bus as per the
requirement and do not make unnecessary call to the booking agent so that best provisions can be
provided to clients (Turrisi, Bruccoleri and Cannella, 2013). Business also maintains its fuel
efficiency and thus helps in protecting the environment. Further, government is another key
stakeholder which helps Bwcabus to run its operations effectively in the country without facing
any issue. It also provides employment to different people and thus increases their standard of
living. Above all, it can be assessed that this firm assists in satisfying consumer needs and wants
and offer best transportation facilities to consumers in such globalized world. It is much more
effective method adopted by people as compared to other transportation modes such as rail, air
etc.
Value proposition can be stated as the promise of value made in order to deliver and
acknowledge the services delivered to consumer. Following are the key stakeholders such as
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), regional economic and social grow that helps in carrying out
the operations to users. Here, the local multiplier effect has been adopted so that it helps in
developing economic campaign so that more number of consumers can be satisfied. Hence, in
5 | P a g e

order to make the local transport system effective, it is essential for firm to provide quality
services to travellers and achieve results (Storey, Emberson and Reade, 2005).
Through implementing Porter's Five Forces model, it states that there is low barrier to
entry of other entities into the transportation market in Wales region. Thus, Bwcabus faces issues
regarding easy entry into the market and thus develop competitive environment within industry
(Islam and et. al., 2013). Further, Mendalow's power/interest matrix has been developed which
shows the low and high level of interest as well as low and high power of stakeholders. It is as
follows-
 Minimal effort- It states the people with a low interest in regard to the initiative taken by
Bwcabus transport service providers with their low power places (Narasimhan and Kim,
2002).
 Keep informed- It involves those people who have high interest in the business activities
but relatively low power. Further, here the individuals who have used the services of bus
provide their opinion to different powerful bodies such as unions or press (Storey,
Emberson and Reade, 2005).
 Keep satisfied- It involves such person who needs to be kept satisfied. For instance,
person with a high level of power but low level of interest is required to be kept satisfied.
However, it is essential for enterprise to provide best provisions to individual otherwise if
they feel dissatisfied, they can opt for similar other service provider.
 Key players- It consists of the individual who is required to remain in the key focus of
stakeholder management. Also, it is essential for management to satisfy the needs of
individual by providing those best facilities and listen to their issues effectively.
Bwcabus requires certain factors such as land, labour and capital at the time of operating
the business in Wales. All these are essential for firm in order to carry out the activities
successfully. For instance, it is crucial for individual to get easier access to such conditions by
road or any other transport model so that individual can get to work in Multinational Enterprise
(MNE's) and other businesses. Also, if there is effective transport system, it helps the bus
enterprise to locate and trade in such region and gain high level of competitive advantage.
Hence, using adaptive and complex road transport system as per the demand of travellers helps
in achieving sustainable competitive edge. However, as per Porter Diamond model, it is essential
6 | P a g e

for business to determine the demand conditions of individual so that effective facilities can be
provided to them in order to achieve desired results.
Furthermore, it can be assessed that Bwcabus management is required to develop its
operational website so that quality services can be rendered to passengers and achieve desired
outcomes. Also, Bwcabus operates in road transport which is one of the traditional parts of
transportation and logistics in any region. Thus, firm can operate in other modes as well as
private cabs so that passengers can book their rides easily and use the services For instance,
Bwcabus adopts different modes of transport such as road, sea and airport. Further, it assesses
that Company can adopt multi-modal transport solution so that diverse services can be provided
to travellers and achieve desired targets. For example, firm can adopt joint venture by acquisition
method in order to adopt different multi-modal transport solution and deliver services to
consumers in regard to attain consumer satisfaction.
Bwcabus is required to undertake effectual transport system and provide benefits in
regard to deliver more strategic and socio-economic value/benefit to both business as well as
stakeholders. Hence, adopting multi-modal approach of transportation helps firm to deliver
quality services to travellers and satisfy their needs. However, in such era of globalization, it
becomes crucial for every individual to adopt suitable and convenient transport system and
quicker access to systems so that they can reach the destination faster. Therefore, Bwcabus is
required to adopt different socio-economic factors so that best facilities can be provided to
organization and key stakeholders in regard to achieve goals (Coyle and et.al., 2008).
Porter Diamond Model
It is considered as one of the significant model which assists in determining the strategic
analysis of market area and thus identifies that how the business becomes more successful in the
nation and tries to develop its strategies in order to give tough competition to rivals. As per this
model, it helps in identifying the six different factors that assists in determining the national
competitiveness and thus attains desired goals. Following are the different factors that helps in
monitoring and analysing the Bwcabus are as follows-
 Government- It is essential for the government of the country to promote such services
and thus carry out effective supply chain and logistics in the country. It assists in
developing the demand and supply factors of the Bwcabus. It involves the intervention
between three different levels i.e. local, state and national.
7 | P a g e

 Firms strategy, structure and rivalry- In this step, managers are required to develop
and reveal their own set of goals and objectives so that Bwcabus can obtain desired
results. However, it involves different rivalries available in market which creates pressure
upon the firm so that it affects the operations of firm in market. Hence, it is also essential
for firm to develop innovative schemes so that passengers can be attracted towards it.
 Factor conditions- Within such factor, it involves different analysis of human resources,
capital, physical resources and infrastructure so that it assists in developing logistics and
supply chain in an effective manner.
 Demand conditions- As per this factor, Bwcabus is required to focus upon producing
and introducing new services within the untapped market so that it can enhance its market
share and attain high profits.
 Related and supported industries- It states that Bwcabus management is required to
develop effective strategies so that they could not abuse the other companies policies and
thus carry out their services in an effective manner.
Triple bottom line
It can be evaluated that TBL consists of three different parts i.e. social, environmental and
financial. Bwcabus aims to adopt such framework that helps in evaluating their performance in
order to create greater business value and thus accomplish desired goals. Furthermore, bottom
line identifies as per the fact that either it helps Bwcabus to introduce effective policies and
practices so that desired outcomes can be attained (Alhaddi, 2015).
PART 2
It has been evaluated that Bwcabus aims to undertake multi-modal transport system and
thus provides facilities to travellers such as air, road, sea etc, so that they can sustain and grow its
business in market and provide more value to its key stakeholders. It is the main aim of firm to
reach at such position and grow its business by delivering more value to its key stakeholders.
Also, business identifies the requirement of its stakeholders such as employees and customers
and maintains the services as per their need so that services can be delivered to them as per their
requirements and achieves desired goals. Furthermore, business can effectively reach to such
position by merger or acquisition so that business can grow its operations in diverse countries
and thus achieve goals. Also, government can introduce FDI in this sector and thus investment
8 | P a g e

can be received from foreign investors to develop opportunities for people and provide them ease
in access to attain services arises from such type of investment. Hence, it is a crucial form
through which business can reach to a high position and thus attain results. Bwcabus can
improve its operations through developing effective website so that more number of booking can
be attained.
It can be assessed that there are varied advantages and disadvantages of road network
system. It is analyzed that the distances of less than 500 Km is considered to be the least
expensive, flexible and quickest mode. While, the disadvantage is that it involves high
environmental costs such as air pollution, noise and road damage etc. However, if Bwcabus
undertakes integrate transport systems such as multi-modal approach that helps firm to adopts
different transport systems such as air, sea and rail so that large number of facilities can be
provided to people living in rural areas in Wales. Further, business can link to these modes
through merger, acquisition or FDI so that they can add value and benefit to firm's operations.
Hence, it can be assessed that multi-modal transport system helps firm to develop and grow its
business up to a great extent and thus provide wider range of transportation facilities to
individuals and thus achieve desired goals. Thus, in relation to road, if business adopts different
transportation system such as rail, sea and air so that they can provide wide range of services to
travellers and attain satisfaction.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the study that Bwcabus operates in an integrated rural transport
system and provide customized services to individuals as per their needs. Also, passengers have
the option to pre book their return ticket as per the details given on website so that they do not
have to wait for bus to come. Thus, they undertake complex adaptive system in order to become
the best service provider and achieve desired output. For instance, it is crucial for Bwcabus to
operate adaptively and responsively as per the demand levels from people or passengers who are
acting as agents in that system and reach the destination. Further, the key stakeholders of
business are employees, customers and government etc. so that services should be provided to
them in order to attain satisfaction.
Also, it can be assessed that Bwcabus is required to undertake effective transport system
and thus deliver best facilities to individual in order to travel from one destination to another as
per their convenience. Organization could also adopt multi-modal approach of transportation that
9 | P a g e

helps in delivering better quality of services to individual and attain targets. It is a quick
transportation service and overcomes the traditional system of transportation. Bwcabus is also
required to adopt effective socio-economic factors so that they can deliver effective services to
stakeholders and thus achieve targets.
10 | P a g e

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Beckner, C. and et. al., 2009. Language is a complex adaptive system: Position paper. Language
learning. 59(s1). pp.1-26.
Brandenburg, M. and et. al., 2014. Quantitative models for sustainable supply chain
management: Developments and directions. European Journal of Operational Research.
233(2). pp.299-312.
Buckley, W., 2008. Society as a complex adaptive system. Emergence: Complexity and
Organization. 10(3). pp.86.
Chau, Y., 2007. Supply Chain Management: Issues in the New Era of Collaboration and
Competition. Idea Group Inc.
Coyle, and et.al., 2008. Supply Chain Management: A Logistics Perspective. Cengage Learning.
Coyle, J. and et. al., 2012. Supply chain management: a logistics perspective. Cengage Learning.
Coyle, J. and et.al., 2015. Transportation: A Global Supply Chain Perspective. Cengage
Learning.
Islam, D.M.Z., and et. al., 2013. Logistics and supply chain management. Research in
Transportation Economics. 41(1). pp.3-16.
Mafakheri, F. and Nasiri, F., 2014. Modeling of biomass-to-energy supply chain operations:
applications, challenges and research directions. Energy Policy. 67. pp.116-126.
Monczka, R. and et. al., 2015. Purchasing and supply chain management. Cengage Learning.
Narasimhan, R. and Kim, S. W., 2002. Effect of supply chain integration on the relationship
between diversification and performance: evidence from Japanese and Korean firms.
Journal of operations management. 20(3). pp.303-323.
Ross, D.F., 2013. Competing through supply chain management: creating market-winning
strategies through supply chain partnerships. Springer Science & Business Media.
Seuring, S., 2013. A review of modeling approaches for sustainable supply chain
management. Decision support systems. 54(4). pp.1513-1520.
Shergold, I. and Parkhurst, G., 2012. Transport-related social exclusion amongst older people in
rural Southwest England and Wales. Journal of rural studies. 28(4). pp.412-421.
11 | P a g e

Song, D.W. and Parola, F., 2015. Strategising port logistics management and operations for
value creation in global supply chains. International Journal of Logistics Research and
Applications. 18(3) pp.189-192.
Storey, J., Emberson, C. and Reade, D., 2005. The barriers to customer responsive supply chain
management. International Journal of Operations and Production Management. 25(3). pp.
242-260.
Turrisi, M., Bruccoleri, M. and Cannella, S., 2013. Impact of reverse logistics on supply chain
performance. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management.
43(7). pp.564-585.
Waters, D. and Rinsler, S., 2014. Global logistics: New directions in supply chain management.
Kogan Page Publishers.
Wisner, J., Tan, K.C. and Leong, G., 2015. Principles of supply chain management: a balanced
approach. Cengage Learning.
Online
Alhaddi, H., 2015, Triple Bottom Line and Sustainability; A Literature Review. [PDF]. Available
through: <http://www.redfame.com/journal/index.php/bms/article/viewFile/752/697>.
[Accessed on 4th June 2016].
12 | P a g e