International Transport and Logistics: Red Cross Society Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the logistics systems employed by the Red Cross Society. It begins with an introduction to the concept of logistics and its increasing importance in a globalized world, highlighting the Red Cross's role as a humanitarian organization. The report then delves into current issues affecting international transport and logistics, such as infrastructure limitations and security concerns, and their impact on the Red Cross's operations. It examines various modes of transport used by the organization, including road, rail, sea, and air, evaluating their advantages and disadvantages. The report also explores tools and techniques like queuing theory and time-space tools used to analyze and optimize transport operations. Furthermore, it discusses export and import regulations, transportation policies, and the effects of tariffs. Finally, it addresses health and safety procedures in the transport service sector, including fire safety, speed limits, medical kits, and staff training, concluding with an overview of the benefits of effective logistics management within the Red Cross. The report is structured to provide a detailed understanding of the challenges and strategies involved in managing the flow of goods and services for a global humanitarian organization.

Logistics At Red Cross 1
LOGISTIC SYSTEMS AT RED CROSS SOCIETY
Name
Class
Professor’s Name
School
City
State

Logistics At Red Cross 2
Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
The Red Cross Society................................................................................................................................4
Current issues in international transport and logistics and their effects on organizations the Red Cross
Society.....................................................................................................................................................5
Modes of transport used by The Red Cross Society................................................................................6
Queuing theory........................................................................................................................................7
Time-space tool.......................................................................................................................................8
Underlying factors that affect transport.......................................................................................................9
Advantages and disadvantages of different modes of transport.................................................................10
Road......................................................................................................................................................10
Disadvantages....................................................................................................................................11
Rail........................................................................................................................................................11
Advantages........................................................................................................................................11
Disadvantages....................................................................................................................................12
Sea transport..........................................................................................................................................12
Advantages........................................................................................................................................12
Disadvantages....................................................................................................................................12
Air transport..........................................................................................................................................13
Advantages........................................................................................................................................13
Disadvantages....................................................................................................................................13

Logistics At Red Cross 3
Export and import regulations in the transport service sector....................................................................13
Transportation policies..........................................................................................................................14
Effects of tariffs on the prices of products.................................................................................................16
Health and safety procedures adopted by the transport service sector in the transport of goods................17
Fire extinguishers..................................................................................................................................18
Speed limit.............................................................................................................................................18
Provision of medical kits.......................................................................................................................19
The safety belt rule................................................................................................................................19
Life-saving equipment...........................................................................................................................19
Training staff.........................................................................................................................................20
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................21
References.................................................................................................................................................22
Introduction

Logistics At Red Cross 4
Over the years, companies and other organizations have devised ways to manage the flow
of their products from the production stage to the assembling in their central warehouses and the
distribution to their various consumers in their different range of client bases. For companies that
have wide client bases, say, international, the need for a sound managing system for record-
keeping of inventories becomes inevitable. this need to develop a sound managerial system that
would see the streamlining of the flow of goods from the producers and suppliers to the
consumers of the products and services after processing gave birth to the idea of logistics is,
therefore, effective management and monitoring of the international flow of goods from the
producers of various products to the consumers located beyond the national boundaries of the
country in which the said business organization is located
However, the need for an effective logistics system in business organizations has been
heightened by the integration of the concept of globalization in the contemporary business
society (Chen and Li, 2011). Many advantages push business corporations to go global. Still, the
most outstanding is the chance to explore international markets, which opens an opportunity for
the business to increase its profitability significantly and, in turn, grow. Basically, the aspect of
globalization allows individual companies to source raw materials from one or multiple countries
process them at their central processing facility and distribute them to an unlimited number of
consumers stationed in various geographical places all over the world (Madra, 2017). However,
it is essential to note that the company needs to make sure it adopts a sane and productive global
strategy that would increase her feasibility after going international or global to benefit from the
advantages that come with this strategy. This calls for the aspect of globalization. One of the
organizations that have shown a considerable effort to go global is the Red Cross society.

Logistics At Red Cross 5
The Red Cross Society
The Red Cross Society is a humanitarian organization interested in relieving victims of
natural disasters as well as artificially motivated disasters. Therefore it is concerned with fast
response to sudden disaster occurrences in the affected areas. The Red Cross Society is a global
relief organization offering humanitarian aid to almost all countries worldwide (Redcross.org,
2018). The answer may involve the distribution of required goods to the operation area and also
the fast transport of humanitarian staff to the affected areas. Sheltering materials for the
humanitarian staff are also transported to these areas. The basic logistic structure in the
organization may include but not limited to production of the disaster –relief products from
donors and well-wishers to the port of entry to the warehouses for holding, then the movement of
the received goods to various terminal points from which they will be collected and distributed to
the disaster-struck areas. Therefore, the need to develop a complex logistic system becomes
inevitable if the organization seeks to achieve its humanitarian goal because the process needs to
be as fast and agile as possible in order to serve its intended purpose ultimately.
Current issues in international transport and logistics and their effects on organizations the
Red Cross Society
Although the Red Cross Society is always working to improve her logistic system, it is
noteworthy that the organization is yet to create a standard and reliable logistics system that
would guarantee a streamlined flow of goods as well as information across its structure (Evers,
Loeve and Lindeijer, 2000). This may be attributed to the wide disparity in the challenges due to
the ever-changing political and economic situations in the various countries it serves.
However, there are universal challenges that apply to a significant number of the target
areas of the organization. For instance, in most cases, the amount of product delivered at the

Logistics At Red Cross 6
affected regions do not complement with the specific amount required by the population affected
by the disaster. As a result, the products are rationed in order to serve a significant population. In
cases where the product is a basic need, say food, the humanitarian effort may not have achieved
its intended purpose as victims may succumb to starvation (International Committee of the Red
Cross, 2014). Secondly, transport of relief products and services, especially in third world
countries such as Zimbabwe, may be hampered by poor infrastructure and security in these
regions (Globalissues.org, 2007). As a result, transporting freight to the destination is delayed.
Products held in organizations warehouses have also been reported missing on allegations of
theft.
Furthermore, relief operations by the red cross society are also constrained by recurrent
insecurity issues especially in war-prone zones such as Afghanistan and Pakistan thus
compromising the effectiveness of staff members due to fear for their lives
Benefits of having effective logistic management system in an organization
Logistics plays an essential role in the success of any organization as it works on two
objectives i.e., to reduce overall cost of transformation of product and to reduce time consumed
from transporting product from one end to another. If any above aspect are attain by organization
through their logistics system then chances of gaining competitive edge over others increases to a
certain level. Moreover, smooth logistics is directly proportionate to smooth supply chain which
assists organization to run their overall business operations with higher efficiency. In terms of
Red Cross Society, logistics work as their backbone as time and cost is the important factor
which needs to be take care by government while conducting their humanitarian work in the
market. There are many benefits of logistics management system in Red Cross Society which is
explained below,

Logistics At Red Cross 7
Provide high quality service
In the age of automation, every actions taken by company must be according to their
skills and capabilities as then only it would be possible for them to perform with the highest
productivity. So with the assistance of logistics, best delivery route of product is identified
resulting in fast delivery of goods and services to the needy customer. For instance, if Red Cross
Society wants to send assistance in Bangladesh and their entire donor hails from India then first
they will identify the airport which has a direct flight to Bangladesh and then categorize number
of donors in that area and calculate time taken for collecting donated goods. All the alternatives
will be acknowledged and the alternatives which take less time as compare to other will be taken
as final route resulting in shorter time period.
Improve efficiency and cost
When dealing in logistics, cost and efficiency is interlinked with each other as if cost
incur in logistics is less than its efficiency is high and vice versa. There are three different factors
which needs to taken care by Red Cross society i.e., goods that are dispatched from donor,
procurements of goods at warehouse or any other alternative and delivery of product to the
customers. For instance, if shorter route is recognized by the society for sending their products
then it will automatically improve their efficiency as less time is consumed for transporting
product resulting in low cost as cost and time is inversely propionate to each other. In other
example, cross docking of product from one single point instead of sending products in the
warehouse is also one of the options which is possible with the help of effective logistics system
as warehouse cost will be eliminated resulting in low operational cost for Red Cross Society.

Logistics At Red Cross 8
Low cost Out-Sourcing
If logistics of any organization is available in different parts of the world than it becomes
easier for them to outsource services which they are not capable of or need investment in the first
place. For instance, Red Cross Society can tie up with the logistics company in other countries in
which they are not operating their business as it will assist them in increase their capacity of
humanitarian work in the society.
Overall, it can be summarize that it is important for any organization to use their logistics
or outsource it according to cost and time incur in the first place as if higher time is taken for
transporting the product from one place to another then its efficiency and effectivity in the
market becomes lower in nature.
Modes of transport used by The Red Cross Society
Being a global humanitarian aid whose services are needed on an impromptu basis, it is
evident that the Red Cross society had to diversify Its mode of transport in order to maintain
world-class standards (Meurant, 1987). This is because of the disparities in the various transport
networks in countries In which the red cross operates.
The Red Cross society can be considered as the global organization with the most
diversified transport strategy dating back a century ago. During the first world war, the evacuees
were ferried using a simple ambulance comprising of two horses and chariots during the two-
year famine that occurred in the period between 1921-1923 in Russia(International Committee of
the Red Cross, 2013). Food was first transported by railway and then supplied to the different
communal kitchens on carts that were tied to and pulled using camels on the snowy landscape of
Russia. Airplanes from world airlines such as American Airlines have also been used in different

Logistics At Red Cross 9
operations (Redcross.org, 2018). This shows how diversified the transport system of the
organization is.
The customs procedures in the import and export of goods
Many factors can be used to measure the performance of a logistic system. However,
some of the universal contributing factors that play an essential role in the evaluation of the
performance of a transport system include the safety of people and goods being transported, the
speed at which it delivers the product it is intended to transit, and also most importantly pocket-
friendly to the organization for which it works (Micheli, Nuur and Sabri, 2017). As it seems, it is
evident that evaluating these factors one after the other in order to come up with reliable results
pertinent to the performance of a logistic system. In this regard, analysts and other interested
parties have decided to merge up all these contributing factors to come up with a general
measure of performance. This measure can be referred to as the level of service.
An effective transport and logistics system is one that efficiently serves the purpose it
was oriented to do (Orlov and Vishnyakov, 2014). As such, a system that is perceived as safe by
a significant number of its users cost-effective and also regarded to be offering high standards of
comfort is considered as that of higher levels of service. Concerted efforts have been made to
determine to what degree contributing factors would impact the performance of the logistic
systems at the Red Cross. This concerted effort by interested parties to devise a standard tool that
would be resourceful in the evaluation of the performance of a transport system led to the birth
of the queuing theory and the time-space tool.
Queuing theory
The Red Cross society has shown a considerable effort to improve its logistics and
transport system. All efforts have been directed toward improving the performance of the system

Logistics At Red Cross 10
and significantly reducing the response time in its operations. This response time is comprised of
the net transporting time, the waiting time, and other time –related delays resulting from
insufficient accommodation during waiting (Tadj, 1996). It is, therefore, clear that a high
performing system is one that operates under a low budget and also one that has the least
response time.
The Red Cross, just like other disaster response organizations, is concerned with fast
delivery of reliefs, which may include but not limited to emergency food, medical supplies,
shelter, and even medical personnel to areas that have been struck by large scale disasters in
order to make sure the impacts of the disaster are far-flung. It is, therefore, noteworthy that how
the logistic system of the organization is designed will play a significant role in the overall
performance of the whole system.
The logistics at the Red Cross is comprised of multi-echelon actors. Firstly, the relief
products get to the primary hub, such as sea and airports. The products are then hauled to a
secondary hub such as a large warehouse and other storage locations in a metropolitan region,
and lastly to the various areas of demand, areas which have been struck by large scale disasters.
Some of the queue problems that stand to compromise the performance of a logistic system
include demand and route uncertainties, late delivery of the reliefs, and also communication-
related issues.
Time-space tool
Apart from the travel time of the vehicle in the transport sector, other factors may also be
considered when using this tool performance in the evaluation of the efficiency of a given
system. These factors may include but not limited to the energy consumption the facility, the
amount of land space on which it is established, the volume of construction materials consumed

Logistics At Red Cross 11
by the logistic facility, the threats, such as pollution, posed to the environment by establishing
the facility and the environmental-friendliness of the various modes of transport utilized in the
mitigation of the impacts of disasters.
Basically, there are two categories of effects that are sought when analyzing the level of
service of a logistic and transport yet of an organization. The first category effect stems from the
existence of the facility itself, and the second category effects are ignited by the transport
operations that take place within and around the facility. Some of the possible environmental
threats the facility may pose to the immediate environment of the facility under consideration
include noise pollution, air populations, and also effects related to the energy consumption of the
facility in question. When these considerations are put in place together with the travel time, the
level of service of the logistic and transport system can be accurately evaluated.
Unlike the queuing theory, which is tailored to study congestion of vehicles at a
particular point, the time-space tool is concerned with studying the interaction and the movement
of vehicles moving from one point to another. This tool examines the movement of a single
vehicle, a stream of vehicles, and also the movement at a highway carriage. It s majorly
concerned with proper analysis of the travel time of the single-vehicle in order to study r the fleet
of vehicles being in the transport system of the organization under consideration. This concept
forms the basis of the time-space tool.
Underlying factors that affect transport
In using the different modes of transportation to ship passengers such as evacuees and
staff, and also shipping freight such as medicine and shelter to the area of operation, the Red
Cross society experiences a wide range of issues which bring about the aspect of transport costs
(Eberlin, 1993). In this regard, one can gather that mobility costs from personal level to

Logistics At Red Cross 12
institutional level is significantly defined by a number of underlying recurrent factors such as the
nature of goods (whether freight or passengers), the availability and condition of infrastructure in
different areas of operations, the origins and destinations of the various relief products,
technology used in the transportation of the shipment, and also the relative distance from the
warehouse to the point of demand.
Through the use of different modes of transport involved in the physical shipment of the
materials, the Red Cross Society is expected to meet the requirements of the different rates
determined by the freight and passenger shippers. These shippers determine this rate by basing
on ever-changing factors that are dependent on the interactions between supply and demand. In
this way, the great ad passenger shippers seek to guarantee the paramount aspect f any business
venture, profitability.
The relationship between freight costs to the price of transported products.
As stated earlier, the transport costs are defined by several underlying factors. For
instance, an increase in the distance between the origin of the shipment and the destination leads
to a considerable hike in the overall transport costs involved. Secondly, the nature of the product
also determines the transport costs to be incurred, for instance, perishable products, such as food,
may perish if slow modes of transport are used during transport. This would prompt using faster
modes of transportation such as air transport, leading to an increase in the transport cost.
Moreover, the infrastructure of the destination, origin, and the interconnecting distance between
the two also affect transport costs. This is because areas with poor infrastructure lead to delays,
and also negative economic implications. This is very common in third world countries like
Zimbabwe (Cross.com, 2018). On the other hand, the region with modern infrastructure is more
reliable, connected, and well-structured to avoid cases of delay through the traffic jam, leading to