Supply Chain Management: Transportation Factors in the US & Singapore

This report delves into the critical role of transportation within supply chain management (SCM), specifically comparing the United States and Singapore. The study begins with an introduction outlining the significance of transportation as a core component of SCM, encompassing production, inventory, location, and transportation itself. The report then explores the impact of political, socio-economic, and technological factors on transportation networks in both countries. A comprehensive literature review examines these external market influences, highlighting the advantages of SCM in each nation and future trends in transportation. The analysis culminates in a summary of findings, conclusions, limitations, and suggestions for future research, providing a detailed understanding of the subject matter. The report also contains an abstract, table of contents, and a reflective statement. The research aims to explore the importance of transportation in supply chain by drawing comparison between the USA and Singapore. The academic objectives of the research would be delving into the factors affecting transport in supply chains by drawing comparison between the USA and Singapore.

Running head: SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Factors Affecting Transportation in SCM in Singapore and the US
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Section B.
Abstract:
The detailed research conducted bring into light several aspects of supply chain management and
its central component, transport. Firstly, the introductory part brings into light the two aspects of
supply chain management. The first aspect is that SCM refers to coordination of different
operations in business organisations which ultimately make products available to the end
consumers. The second aspect is that supply chain consists of four parts, production, inventory,
location and transportation among transportation pervades the other three factors, thus occupying
the highest position among the components. Secondly, transportation of raw materials, WIP and
finished goods are influenced by three main external market factors namely, political conditions,
socio-economic conditions and technological conditions. Finally, it has been established that
both the USA and Singapore have favourable conditions required to have strong transportation.

2
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Table of Contents
Section B..........................................................................................................................................1
Abstract:...........................................................................................................................................1
1.0. Part 1. Introduction:..................................................................................................................4
1.1. Reason for choice of topic:.......................................................................................................4
1.2. Academic objectives of project:...............................................................................................6
1.3. Outline of sections:...................................................................................................................7
2.0. Part 2. Literature review:..........................................................................................................7
Rationale:.....................................................................................................................................7
2.1. Political factors affecting SCM in the US and Singapore:.......................................................8
2.2. Socio-economic factors SCM in the US and Singapore:........................................................11
2.3. Technological factors affecting SCM in the US and Singapore:............................................13
2.3.1 Greater transparency and better efficiency...........................................................................14
2.3.2. Focus on Individual Employees...........................................................................................14
2.3.3 Stronger Communication......................................................................................................15
2.3.4 Making Way for the small carriers.......................................................................................15
2.4 Advantages of SCM in US and Singapore..............................................................................15
2.5. Future trends of transport in SCM:.........................................................................................17
3.1. Review of objectives:.............................................................................................................19
3.2. Limitations:.............................................................................................................................20

3
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
3.3. Suggestions for future research:.............................................................................................20
References:....................................................................................................................................22
4. Reflective statement:.................................................................................................................28

4
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
1.0. Part 1. Introduction:
The topic which the research would explore would be factors affecting transportation in
supply chain management in Singapore and the United States of America. Hugos (2018) in the
work define supply chain management as the coordination of the business functions all across the
supply in order enable business organisations sell products and improve the performance of the
firms concerned. The authors then go on to define the term supply chain management as a
combination of its constituents namely, production, inventory, location and transportation.
Thus, it can be inferred from the discussion that supply chain can be defined as the coordination
of production, stock management, location and transportation. The report would stress on the
importance of transportation among the all four components in Singaporean and American
contexts.
1.1. Reason for choice of topic:
The reason for choice of the topic namely, importance of transportation in SCM of
Singapore and the USA can be justified by the flowchart showing importance of transportation in
SCM below (Christopher, 2016). The flowchart shows transportation comes to play in all the
parts of the supply chains of goods and services. As shown below, the procurement departments
of companies procure raw materials, finished goods and work-in-progress from suppliers using
transportation. Turki et al. (2017) strengthen the discussion by pointing out that the procurement
departments of the companies usually store heavy and bulky inventory in their own warehouses.
They require to transport the bulky inventory from warehouses to the manufacturing sites using
in house transportation. Similarly, the bulky finished goods stocks are once again transported to
warehouses till they are mobilized down the supply chain. Validi, Bhattacharya and Byrne
(2015) pointed out that transportation enables manufacturing firms to mobilise finished products

5
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
to wholesalers and distributors. Retailers also use transportation to mobilise finished goods to
their own respective shop premises. Vernon (2017) point out that that consumers also use
transportation services to transport heavy consumer goods products like white goods. Thus it is
clear from this discussion that transportation plays several very significant roles throughout the
supply chains of goods and services.
Figure Flowchart showing importance of transportation
(Source: Christopher, 2016)
First of all, transportation services enables procurement of raw materials and work-in-
progress goods from suppliers to manufacturing companies. Secondly, transportation facilitates
movement of goods from warehouses of companies to the manufacturing facilities which ends
the role of transportation in upstream supply chain. Thirdly, transportation comes into play while
post production when companies transport finished products to warehouses (Schor, 2016).
Fourthly, transportation comes into play while transportation of goods down to supply chain till
they reach final consumers. Mota et al.(2015) point out in this respect that transportation impacts
the entire supply chain. Christopher (2016) can be iterated in this respect to point out that the
supply chain refers to the entire system of which enables procurement of raw materials from

6
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
suppliers to manufacture finished goods and finally selling finished products to consumers. Thus,
it can be pointed out in this respect that supply chains of products would not function without
transportation of goods. Eskandarpour et al. (2015) point out in this respect that availability of
transport has direct impact on supply chains of goods. Oosterhaven and Knaap (2017) stress on
the importance of transportation in supply chains to point out that highly advanced transportation
facilities enables speedy transportation of goods.
1.2. Academic objectives of project:
The project under consideration would aim to explore the importance of transportation in
supply chain. Colicchia, Creazza and Dallari (2017) point out that with the increasing demand to
ensure customer satisfaction and sustainability, the companies marketing goods have to ensure
that they deliver goods to customers in appropriate conditions. This means that in case of
perishable goods like food products and bulky goods like machines, the marketing companies
have to ensure that there is minimum direct handling of goods. This means that companies
marketing goods have to depend on intermodal transportation of goods. Notteboom and
Rodrigue (2017) strengthen the opinion of the previous authors that transportation of goods are
subjected to different external market factors and internal factors. The transportation using
intermodal services are dependent on factors like political factors and technological factors.
Costantini et al. (2017) point out in respect that different countries have different macroeconomic
conditions which affect transportation of goods within those countries. Thus, it is clear that
difference in market conditions would affect the transportation sector which in turn would
impact the efficiency of the supply chains within the countries concerned. Vernon (2017) points
out in this respect that every country has different competitive advantages as far as its own
supply chain is concerned including transportation factors. Drawing comparison between

7
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
transportation aspects of the supply chains of two different nations would render the research a
more profound base. That is why the researcher would consider the USA and Singapore to
conduct the research. Thus, the academic objectives of the research would be delving into the
factors affecting transport in supply chains by drawing comparison between the USA and
Singapore.
1.3. Outline of sections:
The research would be divided into three sections. The introductory section would
introduce the topic of the research and the justification behind conducting the research. This
would be followed by the exploring the academic objectives of the research followed by
outlining the sections. The second part namely, Literature review would be divided into five
parts, each part containing thematic analyses of the factors affecting transportation in supply
chains. The third part would consist of summarising of the findings from the thematic analysis
followed by drawing conclusion from the discussion in entirety. This would be followed by a
review of the objective followed by exploring the limitations the researcher would encounter
while conducting the research.
2.0. Part 2. Literature review:
Rationale:
Hugos (2018) mentions that role of transportation in supply chains is one of the most
heavily studied area of research. This is because the transportation aspect lies at the very crux of
the supply chain. It is also clear that the transportation comes under impacts of different
macroeconomic factors prevailing in different countries. Thus, the literature review would
conduct a thematic review of the factors impacting transportation.

8
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
2.1. Political factors affecting SCM in the US and Singapore:
The main thing which one should note in the context of USA in terms of political factors that
could affect or do affect USA, is the fact that the country does not enjoy full political stability.
This is because of the fact that he regime under Donald Trump has suffered severe crises in the
recent years, to a point where the president might nearly be impeached. In this context, the
president has made several outrageous laws in the country regarding residence and business both,
which could be disastrous for the SCM of any company. This is because it limits various new
entries into the American market, and also puts tariffs on them for trading in the USA.
It is for this reason why the main thing which organizations could look to do in this
regard is to make sure that they capitalize on the opportunities that could come in their way from
the various economic advantages that the country provides, while mitigating the few risks that
could possibly arise from the main political instability in the country. It is for this reason that the
main thing which has to be done in order to be on track and not be affected by the US politics, is
to keep a track of all the developments that could arise in the context, and strategize accordingly.
However, one must know that suppliers in the country have minimum to no political affiliation
or influence attached to them, and new entries can choose their suppliers simply based on the
market dynamics, with zero influence from politics (Hainsworth, 2016).
Therefore, it can be said that the country, although is suffering from a fairly low political
stability, does not adversely affect the SCM of the various businesses that do business in the
country.
This brings the discussion to the next country, which involves Singapore. It is one of the
most prosperous countries in the region of South East Asia, which is the main reason why the
country has been so actively involved in the Asian business scenario. The country has a high

9
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
political stability. It has not been observed since the independence of the country that there has
been any form of political instability or a social uprising against a political party in the country.
The country enjoys a modified version of the Westminster Parliamentary System, and has an
open gate policy to any business that has to run in the country. Bribery and corruption, which are
the major threats to any supply chain for any sort of business, have zero tolerance in the country.
This could be further validated by the fact that the country has been in a major position in the
world transparency index. The country ranks seventh in the CPI index, which is the international
index for transparency and fair trade in a country. It is for this reason why the country has been
prospering in economy since this fair trade between suppliers and businesses have attracted a lot
of new businesses in the country to flourish, coupled with the open gate policy which the country
enjoys.
This is indicative of the fact that the main thing which organizations need to consider in
the context of SCM is the fact that the main thing which has to be done in order to manage a
supply chain is to capitalize on the political stability which the country provides and be sure that
a proper structure for the supply chain is set up, without worrying about loopholes which
political factors could exploit (Tulchin, 2016).

10
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Figure 1.USA political stability
(Source: theglobaleconomy.com, 2019)
Figure 2.Singapore political stability

11
SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
(Source: theglobaleconomy.com, 2019)
2.2. Socio-economic factors SCM in the US and Singapore:
The current GDP per capita in the country of USA stands at approximately $5422. This is
highly reflective of the high purchasing power of the people in the country. It has a very
attractive economic growth, considering its current economy. Even in the HDI, the USA ranks
1st, meaning that socially, it is probably the most developed country in the entire world.
It is a general perception that the western culture is the most superior culture in all of the world,
after the USA virtually emerged victorious after the cold war. It is for this reason why the
country has been widely perceived to have people with modern outlooks. This means that the
country has the tendency to try out new and developed products in the market, and that too, in
good numbers, if the factor of high purchasing power is coupled up with it.
It also has to be noted .hat the United States of America is one of the most populated
countries in the entire world. Therefore, such a high population enjoying such a high purchasing
power, is gold for any business to flourish, if it is operated well. This is where the context of
SCM comes in. It is because of the fact that movements of goods would be highly frequent in
such a socio economic condition. As a result, the supply chain management in any company
would be highly facilitated by the infrastructure that is present in the sector. This is because of
the fact that the supply chain sector in the country has established itself in that manner due to the
high demand of goods pertaining to the socio economic conditions, and therefore, it would not be
a factor to worry about by any means for any company practicing SCM in the country (Reza et
al., 2019).
The next country to discuss in the topic is Singapore. The purchasing power in the
country has been fluctuating over the course of the recent times, but has a decent figure of over
$4,000. This is supported by the high economic growth in the country. The country also has a
population of over 5.6 million people, which ranks it in the 114th position in the world. This
means that although the population of the country is not humungous, it has an economic stability
which gives a large number of share of the resources to the people of the country, thereby
reflecting the country’s main social stability. This is because when people do get a fair share of
the economic resources of the society, there are least number of conflicts that arise from that