Logistics Management: Problems and Solutions in New South Wales

This report discusses the supply chain issues among the logistic companies and retailers of New South Wales. It identifies the SC problems pertaining to adjoining ports in New South Wales region and suggests measures to solve the present situation. The report also shows the government initiatives to improve the present situation.

Running head: LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT
Logistics management
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................2
Problems of the present logistics network in NSW.............................................................3
Measures to solve the present situation of NSW.................................................................7
Government initiatives to improve the present situation.....................................................9
Conclusion.........................................................................................................................14
References..........................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
The main discourse of the report has illustrated the supply chain (SC) issues among the
logistic companies and retailers of “New South Wales”. The main considerations of the study
have identified the SC problems pertaining to adjoining ports in “New South Wales” region.
Some of the notable mentions of the ports include “Port Botany, Port Kembla and Port Jackson”.
The most significant port is considered with “Port botany” which is accountable for handling
maximum capacity of materials. The present principles adopted by the “Government” suffers
from several issues such as congestion in the network groups and increase in the cost due to
congestion. In addition to this, Western Sydney is identified with scarcity of land which
intensifies the overall nature of issues around the port area. Some of the major problems of report
are stated with the inclusion of “Qube Holdings Pvt. Limited, Kiosk Zara supply chain operation
and various other such organization facing a similar issue” (Talebian, Savelsbergh and Moffiet
2016). The recent trends show that Zara is facing critical problems associated to reduced quality
of customer service. In addition to this, the report also shows the several concerns related to
suppliers breaching of code of conduct, especially in the fast SC services. With particular
reference to “Qube Holdings”, the main problem seen with setting up of new intermodal terminal
for enhancing the logistic services in Moorebank at Western Sydney. Some of the other findings
will suggest on the contributions made by infrastructure players such as Brookfield
infrastructure. The latter part of the report has shown contribution of the government in
stabilizing the present logistical issues. The overall sustainability action plan has been included
with qualitative studies (Roso, Russell, Ruamsook and Stefansson 2015).

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Problems of the present logistics network in NSW
As discussed by Fryirs, Gough and Hose (2014) the critical issue faced by Western
Sydney is mainly associated with scattered density of terminal ports which are responsible for
controlling the logistics operations of the state. In addition to this, based on the present
guidelines, the flow of material demand is not served with a timely SC process. There is
significant lack of attention to the stakeholders who have a major part in the logistic business.
The government is discerned to face several issues in regulating the operations of the port and
ensuring optimal usage for available land area in facilitating the “rail route near port Kembla”.
Logistics companies such as Qube Holdings are on the verge of setting up a new
intermodal project at Moorebank with several challenges in the network route and risk of
interruptions in the trade due to the upcoming project. The main issues due to this project are
identified in the “land passenger rail service from Melbourne to Brisbane”. It is also discerned
that the transshipment of material from “Port Botany to South Australia” made it significantly
affected after completion of inland rail project. In addition to this, there have been several
questions raised whether Moorebank Intermodal terminal will be able to deliver the open-ended
solutions to the tenants in the area. There are several objections raised by the “Liverpool council”
on the potential health hazards due to carbon emission from the construction activities. Exports
have also raised the issues on increase traffic congestion from the construction progress (Johnes
2014).

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Figure: Areas served under the intermodal terminal at Moorebank
(Source: Moorebank Intermodal Company 2018)
The supply chain network of companies such as Zara is also questionable. It has
identified that the company has the conventional practices of SC in the “clothing segment”. Zara
believes in the notion of “successful control of products” until it is delivered to the end
customers. In order to accomplish this goal, the company has attend various unethical practices
which has hampered its social position. In order to improve the present situation, the company
needs to give more priority to the social concerns and employees (Low 2015).
It is further identified that the weather in companies is another area where the tenants in
the adjoining port region especially near the Port botany faces major concerns. The currently
operating stevedoring companies like “Brotherson Dock and Container Terminals Australia
(CTAL)” have proved to be inadequate for handling the enormous demand of more than “3.2
million of twenty equivalent units” (Zinke et al. 2015).

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Additionally, the airport terminals are facing similar issues for rapid increase in air traffic
for connecting routes across the “Western Sydney freight line”. The increasing level of e-
commerce activities and cargo operations have posed several issues for supervising capacity of
the increasing air traffic. The main action plan by the government mainly focuses in
accomplishment of medium-term and long-term goals. The various types of long-term planning
are seen with increasing the awareness for health issues and environmental impact. The
government is also worried about the increasing problems for lack of the land availability in the
Western Sydney region. This is mostly evident in case of urban areas in NSW. The figure given
below resembles the freight routes which are currently facing the transit problems of supplying
materials. The additional rail route introduced by the “government in 2013 are marked with
orange lines, while the conflict zones are marked with yellow lines” (Black et al. 2018).

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Figure: NSW Existing Railroads
(Source: Roso et al. 2015)
There have been several models developed by KPMG which has highlighted the
problems related to availability of skilled labour in the “logistics industry”. The main barriers to
entry pertaining to the front drivers have further increased the scope of problems for logistics
operations. The lack of skilled laborers is mostly evident among the 3PL operators which further
adds to the problem of the current situations. The discussions of the study associated to the

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problem have shown that lack of soft skill and leadership roles are the present problems among
the employees working in the logistics industry (Teye, Bell and Bliemer 2016).
Measures to solve the present situation of NSW
The improving measures have been initiated by companies such as “Brookfield
infrastructure Partners (BIP)” are depicted with offering infrastructural capital support to
organizations such as “Qube holdings and Asciano Limited”. Some of the important solution to
the present problems are traced with operations of the port that Patrick port division which is
seen with tremendous potential for accommodating increased demand for containers. This is
discerned to be having a long-term scope of solutions for the present problems of increasing
logistics demand in the Western Sydney region. In addition to this, the logistics has been
discerned with an increased need for augmented focus for railroads and overall increase in speed
of the service.
Some of the present issues in the intermodal logistics of is discerned in the logistics hub
of the Southern Highland region. Some of these regions are not having enough space for
introducing the additional rail routes thereby reducing traffic congestions near the area of
Moorbank and Port botany. Supporting literatures have stated above the potential for
constructing new rail routes near Highway connecting the “Westlink M7 which directly connects
the M7 motorway route to the western Sydney of New South wales”. There needs to be an
augmented focus by the government in selection of appropriate port facility. The Port Kembla
which connects the existing railroads of Hume Highway via Wilton is discerned with tremendous
potential. It is also seen that the intermodal trade route via Southern highlands has the highest
potential in improving the overall SC for the strategic location. The figure presented below
shows the red marked thereby suggesting maximum potential areas for supporting infrastructural
facilities for logistics center.

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Figure: Scope of new railroads to support intermodal transshipment
(Source: El Khayat 2014)
Based on the eviction of the diagram, the rail route near the Port Kembla has lesser scope
of getting disrupted with “cargo transshipment via rail route”. The accessing ease is further
presented with Sydney intermodal and M7 which has proved to be beneficial in improving the
overall services of logistics hub at Sydney. This is done by linking of the various routes as
mentioned in the figure and abstention improvement along the freight transportation done with
railroads. The figure also suggests alternative routes “Illawarra logistics zone passing through the
Sydney Logistics center”. There has been significant number of literatures showing the potential
of Illawarra district in building new rail route to connect the logistics center of Moss Vale. This
fruit has been further observed with the potential of avoiding any instance of network

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congestion. Moreover, the Moss vale region near the Illawara rail route is also illustrated in the
figure (Schulten and Parnell 2015).
Some of the major problems of workforce needs to be efficiently handled with the
strategy partnership of “Transport for New South Wales (TFNSW)”. It will be conducive for the
organization’s focus on the present delivery cycle in order to bring about the improvements in
customer service and planning the logistics services. The logistics industry and transport freight
also termed as TFL in the northern South wales is depicted to be responsible for addressing the
problems of shortage in the present requirement of engineers. This significantly resolves the to
the problem of shortage of skilled staff in the transportation industry. The various initiatives
taken by Zara to improve the SC operations is depicted with “leveraging the capital assets”.
“Zara” has ensured to increase the overall capital investments for distribution and production
facilities and lead the supply activities to be more responsive in nature. As per the recent studies
Zara has invested significant sum of money increase the speed of present SC operations (Schott
2015).
Government initiatives to improve the present situation
The NSW government previously has been involved in responding to the present issues
in the transportation networks. Some of the latest initiatives taken by the NSW government
includes increasing the efficiency of the logistics companies via “Public private partnership
known as (PPP) initiatives”. By considering the present initiatives led by the government, there
is considerable scope of improvement for the present operations of companies such as “Qube
Holdings Private Limited”. The company has proposed to set up an “intermodal transportation
hub” for connecting “Port Botany with the Suburbs of the South Australia via Moorbank”. The
overall approval of the project has not only focused on pressing the importers and exporters but
also improving the logistics trade in the “New South Wales region” (Hamilton 2015).

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The site selection for construction of the logistics centre is depicted to be comprising of
“240 hectares of free land” for supporting the of industrial storage and SC operations. Some of
the important concerns can be duly resolve in terms of their warehouse manager and the tenants
will be able to compensate for the increased demand for the logistics services. This is due to the
fact that, the companies will be able to meet the current requirement capacity. This is also
identified with improving the fall in the demand of railroad services. According to the statement
given by chairman of “Qube logistics Maurice James”, even if the interstate rail project is
undertaken by the government, it will not have any influence on present operation of “Qube
holdings”. The proposed rail link will be operational from “Melbourne to Brisbane”, whereas the
southern railroad has less chance of getting interfered with the freight route because of
unavailability in the passenger train. It will further simplify the transportation route from more
than two Port botany. Other government bodies such as “Australian Track Corporation is also
assisting the project conducted by Qube Holdings”. Furthermore, “NSW government” has
invested “$250 Million in the first five year of the company being operational”. This amount has
been further funded by “Commonwealth Bank of Australia”. Commonwealth Bank has assured
to include several open access regimes in order to accommodate the pricing policies of the
company’s and ensuring they are non-discriminatory nature (Black et al. 2018).
The other initiatives taken by the government is also depicted with “third-party logistics”
operators who have “equal opportunity” in accessing the terminal at Moorebank. Henceforth, the
main “government policies” have been able to ensure the entire process of setting up the terminal
and benefiting the overall SC business. The benefits are not only observed by the tenants but also
the “logistics distribution services” as they will be able to stay in competition with facilitation of
other transportation modes.

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Some of the other scope of initiatives taken by “Government of North South Wales” have
been taken into consideration with using the two major ports at Southern Sydney. The two
southern Sydney ports include “Port Kembla, which specializes in handling of grain and other
Port mentioned here is Port Botany”. The “NSW State government” had taken several proactive
measures to refinance the operations that “port Kembla and Enfield Intermodal logistics centre”.
In addition to this it has also financed “cooks rail terminal and Port Botany which is of the prime
importance as mentioned earlier”.
Figure: Present issues and sustainability initiatives taken by the government for
present issues in NSW
(Source: Roso et al. 2015)

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The image presented above clearly depicts that government have taken several
sustainability initiatives in addressing the present issues. There have been other initiatives taken
by the government for improving the overall logistics operations at Kembla facilities by
upgrading the “Princes highway” which will be able to facilitate the increased road
transportation operation. Some of the other initiatives by the government includes terminal
development at the “Port of New Castle and stage 1” of the construction process of the “Sydney
freight corridor” (Nguyen, Curriem and Young 2015). The improvements encompassing the
Hume Highway is depicted below as follows:

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Figure: Major improvement initiatives to support the intermodal terminals near
Hume Highway
(Source: El Khayat 2014)

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Among the different types of initiatives suggested by the government, the present action
plans have aimed at expanding the terminal space in Jackson Port and also build a new port
facility in Botany. The various types of other propositions by the government into construction
of new road terminal points near the container operation at Port botany, which is depicted with a
limited scope for accommodating large containers at present. Some of the other initiatives by the
government is discerned in the “Warfage at Port Jackson” which will be able to considerably
contribute to the growing international tourism and SC operations near the port (Nair-Shalliker et
al. 2018).
Conclusion
Some of the main issues faced by Western Sydney is mainly associated with scattered
density of terminal ports which are responsible for controlling the logistics operations of the
state. In addition to this, based on the present guidelines, the flow of material demand is not
served with a timely SC process. Logistics companies such as Qube Holdings are on the verge of
setting up a new intermodal project at Moorebank with several challenges in the network route
and risk of interruptions in the trade due to the upcoming project. The main issues due to this
project are identified in the “land passenger rail service from Melbourne to Brisbane”. The
supply chain network of companies such as Zara is also questionable. It has identified that the
company has the conventional practices of SC in the “clothing segment”. Zara believes in the
notion of effective control of products until it is delivered to the end customers. In order to
accomplish this goal, the company has attend various unethical practices which has hampered its
social position. The improving measures are taken by companies such as “Brookfield
infrastructure Partners (BIP)” are depicted with offering infrastructural capital support to
organizations. Some of the latest initiatives taken by the NSW government includes increasing
the efficiency of the logistics companies via PPP initiatives.

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