Different Modes of Transport

Executive Summary

Different modes of transport have their own mixture of advantages and disadvantages ranging from fast and efficient service to cost effectiveness and reliability which is discussed further in the report.

As the company is located in Doncaster, South Yorkshire it provides excellent transport links to all parts of the country and thus has access to a wide range of customers.

With regard to company's customers such as larger local retailers located within 100 km of the company, these can be served by road transport in Large Goods Vehicles (LGV's). This can provide fast and efficient door to door service over short distances. Deliveries to large retailers can be served with the use of Intermodal mode i.e. road/rail from the Doncaster International Railport as the products are of low value and will not damage due to shunting shocks. This works out to be more cost effective and is not restricted by capacity. Rail also tends to be more environmentally friendly and does not add to road congestion. Asda and Marks Spencer both have been taking advantage of rail's fast and punctual services.

The image of the company can be improved by using integrated transport infrastructure for example using intermodal mode for delivering ambient products which will reduce the congestion on Britain's roads and also reduces the company's overall cost.

Reducing the number of LGV's on roads can improve the image of the company which can be achieved by avoiding empty and light running. Some of the other factors to make the company's operations more sustainable can be gained by the use of Computerised vehicle routeing and scheduling (CVRS) software, use of 44 tonne LGV's, giving in-house training programme to its drivers and by joining the "Well Driven" scheme which encourages drivers to drive safely and carefully.

Introduction

As a new Supply Chain director of a large food processing company based in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, the purpose of this report is to undertake a research to consider other transport possibilities for distributing branded and own label ambient food products to larger local retailers within UK and to large grocery retailers across UK and to France. This is due to the concern of the company's Board of Directors regarding the rising costs of road transport and the adverse local publicity the company has been receiving for the growing number of LGV's.

In this report, different modes of transport will be looked at such as road, rail and sea and the advantages and disadvantages they can provide for delivering the company's products to its specific markets i.e. to retailers. Based on this research, the best modes of transport will be chosen to serve customers in the UK and to France and finally many solutions will be discussed to improve the image of the company and to make the operations more sustainable.

Modes of Transport

a) The advantages and disadvantages of road, rail and sea transport as far as the company's products and markets are concerned.

At present, it has been noted that road freight transport continues to be the dominant mode of transport in UK. A look at recent Transport statistics confirms this.

Domestic Freight moved by mode: 1980 - 2004

This data shows the overall increase in freight moved between 1980 and 2004 from 175 to 250 billion tonne kilomatres which is an increase of 44 per cent. Most of the percentage increase came from the use of road which accounts for 64 per cent of all goods moved although it has stabilized since 1997. The slight increase in goods moved by rail and water has also been seen. (Anon, 2005a)

There are various advantages and disadvantages of using road, rail and sea transport which are as follows:

Road Freight Advantages

* The capital cost of vehicles is relatively small. This produces several key characteristics of road transport. Low vehicle costs make it comparatively easy for new users to gain entry, which helps ensure that the trucking industry, for example, is highly competitive. Low capital costs also ensure that innovations and new technologies can diffuse quickly through the industry.

* Another advantage of road transport is the high relative speed of vehicles

* One of its most important attributes is the flexibility of route choice, once a network of roads is provided. Road transport has the unique opportunity of providing door to door service for freight. These multiple advantages have made trucks the modes of choice for a great number of trip purposes, and have led to the market dominance of trucks for short distance trips, national or mainland Europe.

* Cost effective

* Easy to monitor location of goods

* Easy to communicate with driver

* There is a greatly reduced need to double-handle and transship goods and packages, and for direct, full-load deliveries this is completely eliminated. This saves time and minimizes the likelihood of damage.

* For cross-channel routes, there is a great flexibility for through movement as a unit load. This is because the system combines the large routeing choice provided by a road vehicle with the short ferry/tunnel crossings.

* Packaging cost can be kept to a minimum because loads are less susceptible to the extreme transit 'shocks' that other modes can cause.

* No customs and excise restrictions as UK and France are the members of EU

(Anon, 2005b)

Road Freight Disadvantages

* Transport subject to traffic delays and national speed limits

* Transport subject to breakdown

* Goods susceptible to damage through careless