Please Follow directions or I will dispute 

Pleas answer original forum with a minimum of 250 word each and respond to both students separately with a minimum of 100 words 

page 1 Original Forum with References 

page 2 Brent response with references 

page 3 Domonic response with references 

Original Forum

Part I: In your view, does transport add value in the supply chain? Please give an example to back up your answer.

Part II: End your initial response with a follow-up question for your classmates to address in further the discussion.

student Response 

Brent 

Good Afternoon Everyone,

Transportation is potentially the most import part of supply chain and it can add value to the overall movement of material. The movement of materials from the source to production or manufacturing to distribution centers and ultimately to the end user is the basic flow of products for a company. The ability to move products faster at a lower cost enables a company to have a competitive edge. If 2 organizations both provide the same quality for a product, but 1 company delivers the material faster and at a lower cost to the customer they are more likely to have better sales than their competition. Another benefit that transportation adds to the supply chain is the ability to create optimal movement efficiency within the organization. The ability to ensure that movements from different locations doesn’t create or add to internal delays is critical. Also the ability to transport a greater amount of material enables production and sales to increase due to the overall increase in volume moved. 

An example of this often occurs in military supply operations and the movement of high priority cargo. If a helicopter located in the United States territory of Guam needs a new rotor and the product is built in California, the ability to use military aircraft dedicated to the movement of materials provides the ability to receive the required part as quickly as possible. Since it is always best practice to not waste space, the aircraft can be loaded up with other high priority materials that can be delivered to Guam or at a stop in route. That dedicated aircraft has the ability to add significant value as a part of the transportation in the supply chain of the helicopter rotor.   

Transportation can also decrease value in the supply chain just as easily. Continuous monitoring and verification that the most effective and efficient method is being used. The building of a new bridge on a particular route could save time and money by shortening a trip. The inability to move the required volume of materials can easily create a backlog in the supply chain. 

As advancement in technology continues at a rapid pace what new inventions, such as drones, do you think will eventually make some of the current forms of transportation inefficient in the future?

Domonic

PT I. 

    As seen in this week’s lesson, transportation is absolutely critical within the supply chain process. Transportation should be seen as one of the primary components encompassing supply chain management as it adds tremendous value. It would be extremely difficult for a supply chain to maintain its effectiveness without various modes of transportation; specifically supply chains that encompass global routes. Ensuring that the correct mode of transportation is selected is essential to supply chain operations. For example, the benefits that cargo ships provide versus air transportation are vastly different in both cost, speed and efficiency. Cargo ships allow for large amounts of goods to be transported at a relatively low cost while air transportation allows for the fastest delivery time, however, it is limited by the weight it can transport and remains the most costly. Many supply chains use multiple modes of transportation within their supply chain (The Role of Transportation in Supply Chain Management, 2020). For example, as the supply/fiscal officer for my battalion I oversee the procurement and transportation of maintenance parts for the unit’s assets. Since I am stationed oversees many of the parts are shipping from oversees. The mode of transportation is decided based on the part priority; parts with a higher priority are transported via air while parts that are routine and nature are transported via “slow boat” or cargo ship. Once the parts arrive on island, they are transported via truck to my warehouse where they are receipted for and then picked up. From my experience, high priority parts that are shipped via air can arrive to my warehouse in under two weeks while parts shipped via cargo ship typically take anywhere from 2-3 months. All in all, transportation within the supply chain is a dynamic and multifaceted concept; a company must look at their objectives and decide how transportation can best serve them. 

PT II. 

If you owned a supply chain, how would you decide which factors constitute the use of air vs cargo ship transportation?

References 

The Role of Transportation in Supply Chain Management. (2020, October 29). Retrieved December 23, 2020, from https://www.prologis.com/about/resources/role-of-transportation-in-supply-chain