Modes of Transport

Posted: January 5th, 2023

Modes of Transport

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Modes of Transport

Transportation is an essential factor of the global economy and societies, but it is imperative to embrace proper management of transportation practices to achieve the targeted results. Moreover, effective adoption of transportation practices provides an opportunity to achieve sustainable practices at the organization (Tseng et al., 2005). Unfortunately, small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) have a comprehensive transportation plan to handle inputs and incoming supplies and outputs such as finished products. It also emerges that firms that grow every fast tend to experience significant hurdles when buyers across the nation or worldwide start to demand their goods and services. Because there are continuous transformations in various factors, including business requirements, laws and regulations, and geopolitics, even large corporations need relentless transformations of their transport networks and approaches. The study identifies transportation approaches that would suit a shoe company that seeks to broaden its markets and sales across and beyond the U.S. The comprehensive strategy for planning and implementing a global transportation plan presents a better chance for the company to broaden its sales and possibly generate more revenue and profits from its activities.

Choosing Modes of Transportation

The company can choose from a wide range of transportation modes that support the movement of goods and people. The corporation may choose to move its products via railways that have made significant improvements and improved efficiency over the recent years. Alternatively, the company may move its products using road vehicles such as vans and trucks depending on the quantity of produced items. Moreover, the shoe-maker may choose to move the products via deep sea or inland waterways depending on the number of items moved or the availability of the water surface. The company’s management or the team overseeing transportation activities may also choose to transport the goods using air, either by aircraft or delivery drones that are increasingly trendy. Alternatively, the group may opt to embrace a combination of two or more of the identified modes, which is known as multi-modal or inter-modal. Thus, the suitable mode of transport in this instance is air and road, especially through trucks and vans. The benefits of using air transport include enhanced speed, increased security, and moving a long distance (Tseng et al., 2005). Nevertheless, the group should be concerned about the high cost associated with the mode and understand the level of risk involved when using air. On the other hand, road transport is effective because it is flexible and provides a lesser risk of damage during transit (Tseng et al., 2005). However, trucks and vans may not be helpful when moving products beyond U.S. borders. Consequently, the management must select the modes that best suits the company to enjoy efficiency and avoid time wastage.

Constructing an Intermodal Network

The company may have to embrace an intermodal transport system, which entails moving freight from its original point to the targeted destination using two or more transportation modes. The company, in this instance, should settle on an effective plan that would facilitate movement from Manchester, NH, to Munich, Germany. A suitable approach, in this case, is, to begin with, air transport that would deliver the products from Manchester to Munich within a good time. The group will then have to move the goods using the road from the hub in Manchester to the targeted location in Munich. The selected intermodal system is appropriate because it presents an opportunity to move the goods fast enough, reducing the time it would take to deliver items to targeted buyers (Meixell & Norbis, 2008). However, the management must plan well to ensure a smooth transition from one mode to the other.

Choosing a Carrier

The group should be careful when selecting a suitable mode of transport to move goods across the U.S. and Europe. An effective plan in this instance is to select appropriate carriers that are effective in the way they offer their services and, at the same time, not very costly.  The most suitable carrier, in this case, is EasyJet that makes regular movements from the U.S. to Europe (EasyJet, 2021). The primary reason for choosing EasyJet is that its prices are fairly affordable, and the company has gained much prominence over the years (EasyJet, 2021). The carrier proves efficient and honest with consumers, making it the favorable option in this case.

Environmental Effects and Consumers’ Value Judgement

The company must consider the environmental implication of the identified approach and consider how buyers would perceive the selected modes. The identified modes should not be harmful to the environment because firms increasingly focus on achieving environmental sustainability (Meixell & Norbis, 2008). Besides, the identified methods should be those that buyers appreciate in terms of flexibility, cost, and speed (Meixell & Norbis, 2008). However, selecting methods that are not environmentally sustainable and which do not go down well with buyers could derail the company’s attempts to adhere to stipulated regulations and to meet consumers’ desires.

Conclusion

The study identifies the need for the company to improve its transportation approaches by settling on the most appropriate modes of transport. The report urges planners at the firm to consider using modes that are readily available and which can enhance movement without wasting much time. The paper identifies air and road transport as the most suitable options because they facilitate cross-border movement and make quick deliveries. Nevertheless, the management should consider the possible environmental impacts of using either of the techniques.

References

EasyJet. (2021). EasyJet. Retrieved 8 September, 2021, from https://www.easyjet.com/en

Meixell, M., & Norbis, M. (2008). A review of the transportation mode choice and carrier

Selection literature. The International Journal of Logistics Management, 19(2), 183-211. doi:10.1108/09574090810895951

Tseng, Y., Yue, W., & Taylor, M. (2005). The role of transportation in logistics chain.

Proceedings of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, 5, 1657-1672. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281230908_The_role_of_transportation_in_logistics_chain