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 [分享]5PL, A Solution to Address Logistics Concerns & Problems |
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5PL, A Solution to Address Logistics Concerns & Problems(II) -- 二悟村 - (29076 Byte) 2007-3-05 周一, 22:22 (652 reads) |
二悟村
头衔: 海归少尉
加入时间: 2006/08/19
文章: 9
海归分: 3796
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作者：二悟村 在 海归商务 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
In spite of the long implemented ERP, the unit had regular face to face meetings of SCM/Logistics management, project managers, production managers…to pin point, in stare contests, the up to date status of the ordered and hopefully shipped materials or components. Apparently the ERP implementation did not help to provide the online transparency of concurrent progress status updating for accountable planning facilitated by the system. The frequent delays of these inbound shipments further delayed the production schedules; the premium freight (exceeding the freight budget) often had to be authorized and thus in deduction of projected profit regulated by sales orders. On those inbound shipments did arrive and were received, there was no technical means to verify against the shipping slip, as original inputs by the procurement hands into the ERP. On any contingencies of mis-shipment or shortage of these inbound shipments, the re-order and re-shipments would not always be immediately possible. (Some of these are custom made to order.) Imagine the impacts of such unaccountable inbound shipments!
The interrupted and delayed production schedules recorded in ERP never really provide accurate ship dates to logistics management, who acted upon which for a break bulk chartering arrangements. The total failure in up-to-date access to inbound shipment control in the upstream of the process impacted in the downstream and resulted in the chaos, true transparency over their outbound shipments of products often became valid concerns. Instead of being able to proactively manage its own operations by a planning capacity facilitated by the ERP, the management was exhausted by the constant incidents reactively to put out the fires. One thing led to another, the planning never worked out, everyone from line management to senior management hated the ERP implemented at cost of some 20 million dollars.
The chartering practice at the company unit was also problematic: for those who understand chartering, the term “Lay Can” and the legally binding effects by warrant of “Recap” in pre-fixture activities, the ship date is one of the essential commitments by the charterers. No commitments to Lay Can may jeopardize a ship position and thus unable to execute a delivery, but further changed production schedules after the committed “Lay Can” in a “recap” would subject the charterer to demurrage/detentions that could mount to significant dollar amounts…! Since “Ship Date” the ERP of the company unit never was accounted for and repeatedly cause demurrage charges at mega bucks, the 4PL handles all logistics for the unit was always fighting both ends to nail the Lay Can.
Then, the other uncertainly in logistics operations of the company unit also lies with a major commitment by the charterer: in exchange for the carriers’ commitment to specified availability of certain tonnage to meet the particular requirements of the former: the freight volume. Since this manufacturer never had same exact order twice (every order is custom made) from same or different customers, the speculations have been the basis of freight volume estimate provided to the carriers in all chartering arrangements. Such freight volume speculations were all intuitively produced by the logistics coordinators of a 4PL deployed, based on the spread sheets of historical shipments individually archived by the coordinators in their PCs. All carriers would try to sell their under booked break bulk space prior to the Lay Can. So if under estimated for the freight volume, the charterers would stand to risk losing booked space as the carriers shall be entitled to reject any booking outside its commitments. Most customers seemed to feel funny about allowing divided shipments, and at multi million dollar contracts, the manufacturer prefers complete title transfers too. Therefore over estimates on freight volume for space booking purpose were practical, the only questions was over estimate by how much. The range of the speculations were any where between 20% and 40% varying from the referenced historical shipments. This was because the coordinator would provide the first layer of over estimate, passing to the chartering arrangement making personnel who would add another layer of over estimate for “safe margin”. The over estimated never became under booked, since the dead freight would have got the charterer anyway. With repeated charters like this, the freight from the overestimate accumulated, when a simple optimization model could have solve the problem. It would have been an easy task for a B.I. implementation, or JD Edwards to go with the implemented Oracle, but again the company was tired of the infrastructure and may not motivated to go with more implementations, not to mention the logistics operations were outsourced to the 4PL, who did not have the access even to the Oracle!
On outbound shipments, the ERP could always produce the packing list of hundred pages instantly…but they do not necessarily match up to the other documents, not to mention they are on very generic basis: the export packaging services could not produce itemized list as they were not technically competent to identify the packages, nor were the in-house SCM staff. The impacted production/manufacturing capacity was always trying to play catch up to the adjusted schedules in the ERP, and always managed to roll out the last day up to the hour or even to the minutes...barely left sufficient time to perform the task of itemized check/verification by any competent hands! (if available)
The company can automatically manifest its packing list, but the computerized system needed the accurate inbound shipment data and information even after received by its own warehouse, as well as the in time data input from the export packaging service companies, so that the timing declaration to the Customs would not delay the scheduled title transfer as stipulated in its sales contract.
A planning capacity and capability and an automated online process should help this company achieving true operational excellence. This would be where a 5PL come in and make a difference.
In hypothetical case 4, a logistics service company specialized in project logistics, acquired and being integrated into a very impressive logistics service matrix organization by design. The Middle East originated company became an international company by heavily buying into the U.S. market sections, and is now expanding into the Far East market with new purchasing plans.
This new company, through the series of acquisitions, diversified from a warehouse service company into a full service company, expanded its capacities and market presences in new categories of freight forwarding in project logistics, moving services and the general freight forwarding, with hundreds of offices and tens of thousands of employees worldwide.
Especially in case of the project logistics division, what would often be dealt with could be: the break bulk cargo shipments individually may always be at a less than desirable volume, and they may not always be shipped in the most popular trade lane, the timing may frequently be out of synch with other shipments going into the same route…such isolated shipments obtained by the network may not really be desirable at all, while the network must facilitate the carriages with or without much profits, so as to earn the loyalties of the customers. Advanced planning would make great sense both to the shippers and the carriers, if the online transparency is achieved across the board from the shippers, carriers and the consignees! Freight consolidations can be fulfilled on such early planning capabilities.
With the newly acquired network of global sales capacity, penetrating into many geographic segments and industrial categories, it would make perfect sense to consolidate such accesses to freight and improve its overall service capacities by leverage from the new bargaining power before the carriers and the investments into upgrading service infrastructures…
Without such true integration programs, these acquired units, formerly somehow competitions, may still find themselves in operations of conflicting interests against each other. The strategic acquisitions were guided by the great vision, but the resources at the new logistics company must be well coordinated and act under an integrated chain of command. An online infrastructure capacity and capability is to be there first to interconnect in between all the strategically acquired branches, then more importantly to be linked to their customers…
Who at the new corporate level understand the customers and their needs at all the industrial categories and geographic segments in the market interests separated and isolated prior to the acquisitions?
What if a Center of Excellence is to be placed n top of the entire matrix to initiate and sustain a centralized control to guide and synchronize the operations at all units?
What if the Center of Excellence, made up by a small penal of operational experts understand, share and support the corporate visions, and coordinating the presence and operations between all the different targeted industrial categories and geographic segments with consolidated power, syndicated policies at leveraged costs, guided and measured by the established metrics…?
作者：二悟村 在 海归商务 发贴, 来自【海归网】 http://www.haiguinet.com
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