Logistics Management Report: Melbourne Port Challenges and Solutions

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the logistics management challenges faced by Melbourne Port in Australia. It examines key issues such as infrastructure limitations, reliance on trucks, and the reconfiguration of the metropolitan freight system. The report explores the advantages and disadvantages of transloading and cross-docking strategies, evaluating their potential benefits and drawbacks in the context of Melbourne's port operations. Furthermore, it details the cargo rotation technique as a solution to minimize empty container movements, a significant problem in port logistics. The report also assesses the applicability of transloading strategies in other port logistics cities. The analysis incorporates relevant logistics management theories and includes recommendations for improving efficiency and addressing challenges in Melbourne's port logistics operations. The report is based on the provided case study and supported by academic research.

LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
The Major challenges..................................................................................................................1
Transloading Advantages and Disadvantages with respect to Melbourne..................................2
Cargo rotation technique.............................................................................................................4
Transloading strategy..................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Logistics management is considered as component of supply chain that is implied for
purpose of attaining customer demands via planning, controlling and implementing sound
storage and movement for goods, information through origin to destination. In the present
scenario, there is presence of logistics everywhere whether it is delivery of case or production.
This is not limited to storage or transportation but this had encompassed each aspect related to
process. The other task of logistics included, but not limited for gaining, buying, recycling and
stock control. The problems due to logistics are faced by every organization each day whereas its
business is oriented to logistics or not.
The present report is about port logistics with respect to Melbourne in Australia. It
highlight the key challenges that been witnessed in Melbourne port as a logistics city. In the
similar aspect, the report highlights key benefits and limitation to implement a transloading or
cross docking tactics with respect to Melbourne. Furthermore, there will be articulation of
diagram of cargo rotation technique to decrease the movement of empty container withib
multimodal port logistic city. Thus, it provides reason of adopting transloading tactics to review
whether it will operate in other port logistic cities or not.
The Major challenges
The Melbourne is facing different challenges as port logistics cities which are stated below:
 Reconfiguration of Melbourne’s metropolitan freight system
 Heavy reliance on trucks
 Infrastructure issue
 The reengineering of metropolitan freight systems of Melbourne occurred along with
population distribution is not appropriate cause different empty movements of container
and increases the cost of transportation. It leads to inefficient movement of freight into
and port’s outside and great concentration of population within south east and east of
Melbourne has necessity of moving freight through port to logistics (Fernie and Sparks,
2018).
 With context to road transportation, presence of major corridor connects the western and
eastern suburbs. The huge reliance on trucks operating with reference to point to point
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schedule at Melbourne and apart from this, it raises delivery lead time. It creates
transportation bottlenecks and decreases the vehicles utilisation.
 The Australian infrastructure had estimated costs for traffic gridlock in year 2011 as
$13.7 billion and it has been forecasted, this will raise about $53.3 billion till 2031. Only
in Melbourne, projected cost of congestion’s in year 2011 was $3.6 billion as direct
transfer of shipments at destination through single transport mode in big city like
Melbourne is very hard and costly as well.
Transloading Advantages and Disadvantages with respect to Melbourne
Transloading strategy is replicated as procedure to transfer inventory shipments through
transportation mode to other before this reaches to final scheduled destination. Different
transportation modes which are implied in transloading consist of FTL and LTL trucks, ocean
cargo, rail along with air cargo. The transloading services transfer through single transportation
form to other. It initiates numerous steps due to international cargo would still be required to be
moved through port to the facility of transload (Schönsleben, 2018). Generally, facilities which
offer services that transload are situated from sea to rail to truck just similar to cross docking and
transloading. It has presence of both advantages and disadvantages which are stated below:
On basis of importers, there is decrement in unit transportation cost where is 3 maritime
40 footer containers within 2 domestic 53 footers. Similarly, it leads to added value task such as
sorting, labelling, packaging etc. and decreases flexibility via postponement. However,
disadvantage is cost of transloading as of loss at least one day of inland time of transit. There is
possibility of lack of domestic containers and even not every cargo is appropriate and suitable.
Apart from this, reconciliation of various container loads and additional delays as well. Further,
merit related to maritime shipping is limited the repositioning of the empty containers along with
fast optimisation of asset (Smith, Wimalasuriya and Voak, 2019). On the contrary, it has
disadvantage as well risk of damage container and availability of less equipment for exports.
The procedure of cross docking is obtaining goods through an inbound vehicle,
transferring through distribution dock and loading within an outbound vehicle. Usually, this
procedure decreases or eliminates time of storage. The cross docking warehouse has assigned
zone for storage on temporary basis. On basis of loads, it is required for altering routes, it could
help to save shippers money and time on fees related to storage (Dixon, 2019). It is the method
which is implied for consolidating loads through numerous trucks to one. Different times in cross
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docking, there will be description of shipment as drayage (Fosso Wamba et.al., 2018). It is very
significant that, containers get unloaded on quick basis and returned back to actual point so does
not incur charges of detention. The benefits and limitation of cross docking are:
It supports in reducing material handling and required for storing product in warehouse.
There is absence of requirement of areas of large warehouse. The labour cost is decreased
whereas no storing and packaging along with short time for reaching customer (Benrqya, 2019).
The transportation has full loads for every trip and saving of logistic costs and to be
environmentally friendly. The movement of products are on quick basis via a cross dock and
even easier for screening the quality of the product. The substitution of procedures like as pick
location along with picking the order. Moreover, terminals of cross docking are least expensive
for purpose on constructing the average of the warehouse. The products of high turnover with
each aspect moving on quick aspect via terminal of cross docking (Govindan et.al., 2018). The
destined products for same end point could be directly conveyed as a full load, decreases cost of
distribution to a certain extent.
However, high attention to management, planning and time is vital for making this work
more effectively. The set-up of cross terminal structure would undertake time and capital to
initiate with. Apart from this, suppliers can enable for delivering products which are ready for
customer for cross docking terminal. The adequate numbers of transporter are vital for this cross
docking terminal and to run on smooth basis and trucking is main part of it (Henderson, 2019).
The large consignment of products is very important for being very cost effective. Thus,
company has comfortable dependency on suppliers for delivering the required set of products in
accurate quantity towards cross docking terminal on systematic time.
The variation among cross docking and transloading is that transloading initiates with
container cargo. If any freight cargo starts with ocean liner, then this could be directly
transloaded to air, rail or trucking shipment. Conversely, it has absence of international
shipment. Moreover, crossdocking has faster turnaround till products palletized often time.
Transloading is frequently required essential for palletisation of product through the container
(Lai, Sun and Ren, 2018). Thus, both crossdocking and transloading has need of effective
communication for purpose of organising shipments as with crossdocking, products are shipped
at similar day.
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Cargo rotation technique
Cargo rotation is a strategy which is used to tackle problem of empty container in
Melbourne as this key technique minimises the truck’s empty movement and containers among
inland freight hubs and port. The Cargo rotation enables for re-assigning containers that are
empty through an import to export oriented inland freight hub and in order to this, it decreases
empty truck and containers road. These strategies deploy for improving the freight distribution’s
efficiency and Melbourne’s performance is strengthened whereas capacity and rotation emerge
as global logistics city. The movement of empty containers or trucks shows one of the very
complex transport issues in distribution of freight (Gusah, Cameron-Rogers and Thompson,
2019). The acute imbalances within international trade have expanded the scale of specific issue
and has impacted rate of freight transport. It could be elaborated as transpacific rate is generally
higher with context to eastbound flows compared to westbound flows. At the present state,
transport system are highly integrated and partial basis it is because of logistics, it is possible for
coping it in effective and efficient manner with this problem through minimising the empty
movements via cargo rotation.
Figure 1: Cargo Rotation Technique
(Soucre: Wallin and MacGregor Sweden, 2019)
From the above figure of cargo rotation, there is assumption that there is presence of two
inland location where one imports more compared to export as of location A and other exports
more than location B imports. With reference to discontinous system of management of flow of
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the supply for example, every location is fully serviced through various companies of transport.
This specific situation would produce a high quantity of empty flow, stated as location of import
back to terminal port and then developing the particular port terminal (Jeevan and Roso, 2019).
Consequently, through integration of flow, it is significant that re-assigning of empty flows
through A location to B location and improved the level of distribution’s efficiency (Ewedairo,
Chhetri and Jie, 2018). Thus, it has a marketplace whereas demand of container could be
reconclied with supply of the container.
The main reason is due to repositioning of any container to extract the cargo which insure
about paid movements of the continuity. The container is replicated as asset where usage level is
associated with margin and is constantly within circulation. The improvement of efficiency to
existence of cargo rotation with better association among export and import task via flows
synchronization. Rather than return direct to the maritime and rail terminal, empty container
could be purchased for export location to be fully loaded. Henceforth, asymmetry among export
and import on basis of logistics creates this proposition very difficult (Fang, Chen and Cheng,
2018). The development of export market undertakes the benefit for filing the empty containers
with innovative cargo, especially commodities. It could directly imply with varietal strategies
like elimination through bulk to containers and setting of different centers of consolidation as it
enables to regroup small batches of cargo within container loads (Muhammad et.al., 2018). It
befits the small organizations and even enables for accessing the innovative international
markets.
Cargo rotation is appeared as very simple reposition strategy but has need of fairly
complex coordination. It could undertake the place of export and import activities situated
nearby and even enables for quick rotation. Consequently, intermediary stage directly imply with
usage of specific requirement of empty container. Henceforth, cargo rotation is an operational
procedure for repositioning that could be fully supported through empty container depots as
physical infrastructures (Shukla, Tjioe and Selvin, 2018.). These particular two elements are
essential for management systems where engaged actors within supply chain interaction for
combining requirements of movement and containers availability.
Transloading strategy
Transloading is considered as procedure to transfer shipment through single mode of
transportation to other, as this could be very attractive option for container drayage. Typically, it
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occurs at specific facility which is near by to port and rail yard through which consignment can
be transferred either to truck or in domestic container. (Gorman et.al., 2019). The transload
services allow for handling of product and delivering the same to several destinations on varied
container or truck than inbound shipment. Yes, transloading strategy could be operated in other
port logistics cities as its main reasons are stated below:
Transloading helps to decrease costs as for organization with freight’s small volumes,
savings could be derived through transloading could aggregate over the time. With context to
transloading, it is essential to pay single aspect over the road versus transfer of shipping
containers by two way are linked with drayage. The cost of transportation is decreased as this
directly serves for lowering the landed product’s cost (Yang and Chang, 2019). The transloading
has resulted for less handling along with warehousing. It might not even handle or store the
shipment just before when it is been delivered to customer. Main motive of adopting
transloading and cross docking activities such as palletizing product that could be easily attained
along with services which considers labelling, modification of product or knitting.
Efficiency, speed and cost signifies that materials and component are required for
production and finished products of customers does not stuck up at terminals or ports which are
waiting for transfer, sitting and processing in the warehouses (Tu, 2018). Apart from this, it
develops opportunities for supply chain efficiencies and savings as well.Transloading contributes
as large strategy of supply chain which offers supports for improving management of inventory
and material handling practices (Schönsleben, 2018). The materials and products are directly
positioned very closer to customer and improvement in customer service.
The transloading strategies decreases costs, touch, and offer the shippers with high
flexibility for responding the alteration in demand. When shipment is fully Trans loaded and
transferred through single transportation mode to other. The slight transit delay or alteration in
demand could create bottlenecks of inventory and shortages which throw systems, expectations
and processes out of whack. The more of modes shippers imply with high potential for high
complications. The transferring freight custody could obscure visibility, aggregates transit time
and cost has been driven (Wallin and MacGregor Sweden, 2019). The intermodal also offers an
opportunity for organizations to undertake advantage of important touch for managing inventory
in very proactive manner. Transloading is a method which expedites moves through modes and
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delivering the freight on quick manner with high possibility to distribution centers or final
customers.
It also develops flexibility on the inbound site whether it is port of entry or an intermodal
ramp. Moreover, technology also allows consignees, shippers along with service providers for
purpose of executing and recognizing change on arrival (Wiśnicki and Milewski, 2018).
Transloading is an flow facilitator, buffer of inventory and checkpoint with effect which is a
release value that shippers could directly manipulate to manage the alterations. It allows the
organization for purpose of reacting in tune with demand, requirements of match mode and even
decreases costs and time. In the systematic circumstances, transloading could be replicated as
agent of supply chain change.
CONCLUSION
From the report, it is evident that logistics management is very important for any business
to gain success. It engages careful control of goods both leaving the business premises and
entering them. It helps to keep the company operating in smooth manner and often improves
merchandise and ensure about availability of products. This report has shown key issues for
Melbourne which is reengineering reconfiguration freight system, heavy dependency on trucks
and problems related to poor infrastructure. Moreover, it has shown various benefits and
limitations to implement transloading and cross docking tactics within the context of Melbourne
whereas cargo rotation technique is also implemented with pictorial presentation.
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