City Logistics: Problems and Solutions

This assignment delves into the complexities of city logistics, examining the challenges posed by increasing urban populations and freight demands. It analyzes various problems, such as congestion, environmental impact, and inefficient delivery systems. The focus then shifts to potential solutions and recovery proposals, highlighting strategies for optimizing freight movement, reducing emissions, and enhancing sustainability in urban areas.

Running head: LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT
Logistics management
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Overview..........................................................................................................................................4
Problems..........................................................................................................................................5
Strategy of Logistics Management..................................................................................................7
Proposals to avoid the Problems......................................................................................................8
Recommendations..........................................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
References......................................................................................................................................13

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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;
1. Selection of the appropriate vendors along with the capability to provide proper
transportation services to the organizations availing the facilities
2. Choice of the most effective routes for the transportation of the goods and services
3. Using the software, IT resources and other forms of latest technologies to handle the
different processes easily
4. Discovering the most competent delivery method
5. Identifying the different stakeholders and the concerned parties for carrying out the
operations of the firm smoothly

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6. 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 P&O 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

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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.
1. 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 Marušić 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

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company and has instructed them to use rail transport instead of the newly constructed
highways.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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

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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.
5. 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).
6. 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 Çalışkan 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.

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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 (Çalışkan 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 namely;
1. 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.
2. Functional- The functional excellence of the organization must be considered before the
designing of the logistics strategy.
3. 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

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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.
1. 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.
2. 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;
a. Reduction
b. Substitution
c. Recycle
d. Reuse
3. 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.

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4. 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.
5. Proper policies and regulations- The road safety act and the Vehicle National Law of
Australia have a number of different allegations against them (Schönsleben 2016). It is
important for the Government to implement a number of different training programs to
develop and implement internal policies and safety rules.
6. 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.
7. 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).

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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 by 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

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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.

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References
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Container Logistics, Infrastructure." Qube.com.au. N.p., 2018. Web. 22 Jan. 2018.
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logistics. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 97, pp.76-92.
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modelling efforts: a review. Transport Reviews, 35(6), pp.701-719.
Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M. and Brennan, R., 2015. Marketing: an introduction.
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Bandara, Y.M., Garaniya, V., Chin, C. and Leong, Z.H., 2015. Improving logistics management
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Logistics, 31(1), pp.161-185.
Batishchev, S.V., Ivkushkin, K.V., Iskvarina, T.V., Nikiforov, V.A. and Skobelev, P.O., 2016.
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Christopher, M., 2016. Logistics & supply chain management. Pearson UK.
Ellison, R.B., Greaves, S.P. and Hensher, D.A., 2015. Collecting longitudinal data from freight
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Fahimnia, B., Bell, M., Hensher, D. and Sarkis, J. eds., 2015. Green logistics and transportation:
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