International Logistics and Transport: SH Company Case Study Analysis

This case study report focuses on SH, a mechanical engineering firm based in Hamburg, operating in the European market. The report examines the best ways to deliver goods to three different customers, considering factors such as cost, environmental sustainability, reliability, and security. The study analyzes various logistics operations, including supply management, distribution, and production logistics, to determine optimal delivery strategies. It also addresses the challenges of delivering to Salalah, Oman, and discusses future logistics and transport issues for global companies, such as technological advancements, interconnected supply chains, and the need for sustainable practices. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of cost-effective, flexible, and quick delivery in meeting customer demands within a competitive market.

INTERNATIONAL LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORT (ILT):
INDIVIDUAL CASE STUDY REPORT
Page 1 of 9

Executive Summary
In the era of globalization, logistics and transportation are playing a vital role for meeting the
requirements of the customers for an organization. Transportation is defined as the movement
of goods and logistics is the management of inward and outward transportation of goods from
the manufacturers to the end users. The case study is based on the mechanical engineering
firm SH which is located at Hamburg and operates in the market of Europe. The company has
cooperated with various logistics services providers and gaining interest in transportation.
There are three customers depicted in the case study. In the following sections of the report
the decision for delivering the goods to the different customers have been mentioned. The
study is also significant for discussing the logistics operations and their advantages and
disadvantages. In the final section of the study the future logistics and transportation issues
have also discussed.
Page 2 of 9

Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................2
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
Q1: Determining the best ways to deliver to the three different customers...............................4
Q2: Deliver to Salalah................................................................................................................5
Q3: Future logistics and transport issues for a global company................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................7
Reference List............................................................................................................................8
Page 3 of 9

Introduction
The purpose of the report is to determine the best ways for SH to deliver the products to the
three different customers. The term logistics is providing various benefits to the
transportation services. It is necessary for the logistics managers to make the best decisions
by which the risks involved in the logistics can be mitigated. The process of transportation
involves the physical movement of products. It directly links with the customers and
considered as the fixed point of the supply chains. In the case study, it has depicted that the
company SH having 790 workers in Hamburg and it earned 76 million Euros in sales.
Q1: Determining the best ways to deliver to the three different customers
There are three different customers mentioned in the case study. The customer A is located in
Amsterdam and regularly orders large quantities of machine components. Customer B is
having the headquarter in Rome and it requires irregular and high-quality products from SH.
The customer C is associated in the aerospace industry of Portugal. In order to deliver to the
three different customers, it is necessary for the SH to make the decision on costs. According
to Gleibner and Moller (2011), the cost of truck is more than rail and therefore, SH must rely
on rail transport modes to deliver the products. However, the cost of rail for 1000 kilometers
is 700 Euros and in truck it is 1 Euro per kilometer (Gleibner and Moller, 2011). The
company SH is required to focus on environmental sustainability while delivering the
products to the customers.
It is also necessary to SH to focus on the reliability and security requirements while
delivering the products to the three different customers. For meeting the requirements of the
customers, SH is required to focus on the unexpected fluctuations in demand. Based on the
case study, it has found that Customer B demands the high level of safety stock in a punctual
delivery system. Therefore, SH must rely on the truck system delivery methods for delivering
the appropriate products. There is a requirement of proper planning by which the efficiency
of the transportation of SH can be increased (Yazdani et al. 2017). SH is also required to
focus on the decisions based on containerization, packaging and documentation for ensuring
the security and reliability requirements. Value relationships plays a vital role in
transportation. It is also significant for ensuring the growth of an organization. However, the
logistics manager of SH company is required to prepare an emergency back up plan by which
the unexpected problems can be resolved.
Page 4 of 9

Q2: Deliver to Salalah
The distance from Hamburg to Salalah, Oman is huge. However, according to the policy of
the SH the short sea shipping is most significant for delivering to Salalah. There are mainly
four types of logistics operations which can be followed by SH to deliver to Salalah, Oman.
The first one is the supply management and logistics.
Advantages
In this operation, SH can involve the planning and procuring to store the materials at a certain
place. However, after the evaluating of the supply level, SH can deliver the materials through
short sea shipping method. The second logistics operations are distribution and material
movement (Modak and Kelle¸ 2019). In this logistics operation, SH can keep a track of the
stock and control the movement of the materials to Salalah, Oman. Another significant
logistics operations are production logistics and management. One of the crucial business
policies of SH is to increase the energy costs and realign the business policy by focusing
more on short sea shipping (Gleibner and Moller, 2011). The delivery dates must be ensured
by the company SH to minimize the contract penalties.
Disadvantages
It is important to note that the poor cost transparency of the SH can further lead to the
necessity of reworking existing logistics concepts. SH can use this logistics operations by
staging of materials. However, there is a chance that it can fail in product management.
Finally, SH can focus on reverse logistics and product return by which the unused products
can be delivered to the customers by seeking a refund (NGUYEN et al. 2020).
Based on the regulatory import aspects, it has found that SH have to pay two Euros per ton in
handing fees and these can be applied in loading and unloading. The time also taken by SH to
deliver the products more than five days in short sea shipping methods. Choosing the
appropriate logistics operations, the policy of SH is to utilize short sea shipping and followed
by truck. Thus, SH is also required to maintain a contract with Salalah by which it can add
the higher liquidity in logistics operations.
Q3: Future logistics and transport issues for a global company
The global companies are facing various transportation problems in the current situation and
will face many problems in future. There will be no chance of building more roads but the
demand will increase. Due to the increase of population a company can face various
Page 5 of 9

problems in its transportation system. The utilization of advanced technology is facilitating
the other mobility needs of the customers (Ghouse et al. 2019). However, in future a global
company is required to change the way of logistics. As the new technologies will dominate
the logistics department therefore, it is necessary for a company to develop the interconnected
supply chains by which the accessible real time data can be found. The future logistics must
be flexible by which it can meet the desired needs of the customers.
The new transportation mode must address the transportation equity by which it can be
considered as sustainable. It is necessary for a global company to embrace a circular and
sustainable mindset with logistics. Focusing more on the advanced logistics can be crucial for
sharing the borderless data with the suppliers and customers. It can also helpful for reducing
the carbon footprint at every stages of supply chain and ensure to meet the sustainability
goals. A global company is also required to prepare for a digital driven like blockchain
technology for future logistics and do not overestimate the technological promises
(Esmaeilian et al. 2020). It is necessary for a global company to being the pilot distributed
ledgers in logistics operations for meeting the customer demands in logistics. It has examined
that in future, the logistics of a global company will focus on drone-based system that can
reduce the time span of delivering the products. The flexible and transparent logistics system
will be helpful for ensuring green logistics. The basic models of transportation are water, rail,
motor carrier and air. However, in future it will be more customized and focus on the speed
of delivery (Golpîra et al. 2021). For example, reflecting on the case study of SH, if SH is
trying to meet the demands of the global customers, then the company must focus on the
safety requirements rather than costs. It can ensure the company to meet the global standards
and ensure to meet the future aspects of logistics.
A global company must implement an effective logistics strategy by which it can overcome
the transportation issues. The shipper cost must be compared with the service which is
provided by the company. It is also required for a global company to balance the need for
quick delivery as selecting the transportation modes (De Marchi et al. 2020). It includes the
rate charged for the service, minimum weight requirements, loading and unloading facilities,
packaging, possible damage in transit, and any special services that may be desired or
required. In future the demand of water-based transportation will reduce. A global company
can focus more on the intermodal transportation for meeting the demands of the customers.
Page 6 of 9

Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be said that the latest technology and innovative approaches in logistics
and transportation helps to improve the supply chain by which it can easily meet the demands
of the customers. The company like SH, Hamburg is required to focus on the cost-
effectiveness logistics operations that can be flexible and ensure the quick delivery. In the
highly competitive market, the customers are demanding the improved services. Therefore, a
global company must focus on the supply chain management and logistics services by which
it can provide the immediate and future benefits to the mode of transportation by lowering the
transportation costs and optimized devices.
Page 7 of 9

Reference List
De Marchi, V., Di Maria, E., Golini, R. and Perri, A., 2020. Nurturing international business
research through global value chains literature: A review and discussion of future research
opportunities. International Business Review, p.101708. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593120300469[Accessed on April
15, 2021]
Esmaeilian, B., Sarkis, J., Lewis, K. and Behdad, S., 2020. Blockchain for the future of
sustainable supply chain management in Industry 4.0. Resources, Conservation and
Recycling, 163, p.105064. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344920303815[Accessed on April
15, 2021]
Ghouse, S.M., McElwee, G. and Durrah, O., 2019. Entrepreneurial success of cottage-based
women entrepreneurs in Oman. International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior &
Research. Available at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJEBR-10-
2018-0691/full/html[Accessed on April 15, 2021]
Gleibner H. and Moller K. 2011. Case studies in logistics Gabler (Springer) Germany pp172-
175 Available at: https://books.google.com/books?
hl=en&lr=&id=bfhM3maacqsC&oi=fnd&pg=PR5&dq=Gleibner+H.+and+Moller+K.
+(2011)+Case+studies+in+logistics+Gabler+(Springer)+Germany+pp172-
175&ots=WM1EQ978_W&sig=TVaM_17N1RRl0ZDE0YlipgFSA-s [Accessed on April 15,
2021]
Golpîra, H., Khan, S.A.R. and Safaeipour, S., 2021. A review of logistics internet-of-things:
Current trends and scope for future research. Journal of Industrial Information Integration,
p.100194. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452414X20300698[Accessed on April
15, 2021]
Modak, N.M. and Kelle, P., 2019. Managing a dual-channel supply chain under price and
delivery-time dependent stochastic demand. European Journal of Operational
Research, 272(1), pp.147-161. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221718304867[Accessed on April
15, 2021]
Page 8 of 9

NGUYEN, D.T., PHAM, V.T., TRAN, D.M. and PHAM, D.B.T., 2020. Impact of service
quality, customer satisfaction and switching costs on customer loyalty. The Journal of Asian
Finance, Economics, and Business, 7(8), pp.395-405. Available at:
https://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO202026061031672.page[Accessed on April 15,
2021]
Yazdani, M., Zarate, P., Coulibaly, A. and Zavadskas, E.K., 2017. A group decision making
support system in logistics and supply chain management. Expert systems with
Applications, 88, pp.376-392. Available at:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957417417304840[Accessed on April
15, 2021]
Page 9 of 9