Public Transportation Systems and Supply Chain Management

Public transportation has proved to be the savior in cities where agglomeration happens all the time. It has come to save many people time, money and space in general. Many big cities around the world have employed the use of public transportation as a major transport facility and it has surpassed the test of time to prove to be the most efficient mode of transportation. Public transportation includes mainly trains and buses, and some countries have gone ahead to advance their trains to very fast-moving machines to increase their efficiency.

There are several intangible qualities that have made the public transportation system in the big cities to flourish and keep their relevance for a long time and they include the following. Safety at the station and safety while riding; this can be attributed to both the safety at these boarding stations or the guarantee that they will reach their destination safely. Over time many of this public transportation systems have put a lot of effort to ensure that the safety of their customers is looked into thoroughly. As human beings, we are inclined to use something if we feel that our safety has been properly checked. This is why as dangerous as rollercoasters may be, we still find ourselves riding them because their safety standards have surpassed the test of time, (Paulley, Balcomb, Mackett, Titheridge, Preston, Wardman, White,2006).

The ease of service that is provided by the system. One needs not worry much about needing to know all the destinations or roads that lead to the city. The public transportation system has laid out all the possible route and all you have to do is just select the place you are going and you are assured of going there without necessarily knowing all the routes involved as long as you know your final destination.

Finally, this system helps one avoid the stress that is associated with owning a personal car. For example, issues like traffic, the parking tickets and occasionally running into accidents are issues that are no longer a bother to you because the public transportation system caters for it all. Therefore, with the continuing improvement of their services, the public transportation system is bound to stay around for a very long time and flourish.

Supply chain management

This can be defined as the relationships both upstream and downstream between the customers and the suppliers for the purpose of delivering a superior value for the customer at a cost less to the whole chain of supply. The main goal in the formation of the supply chain management is to provide a linkage between the network of distribution, the marketplace, the process of manufacturing and the activity or method of procurement. In a system where the customers are provided with very high services but a very low cost.

The issue of time-based competition has affected this field in two major parts; the manufacturing and also the development of a new product. Over the time the demand for manufactured products has increased and therefore the pressure lies in the process of manufacturing, therefore looking into the issues of the manufacturing logistics. The two main important factors in todays markets are the availability and variety and therefore logistics of manufacturing have to be reevaluated. This is because the customers want a huge spectrum of the products and require them with immediate effect. This translates into the increase of products in the inventory and the value of the inventory. Increased diversity will also translate into small batch production which is a loss to the production line, (Storey, Emberson, Godsell, Harrison, 2006).

Other than looking at the logistics, the analysis of the value added also has to be done. This is a process that is designed to reduce the time waste on the supply chain. It focuses on looking at the activities that add value to the supply chain and cutting off the activities that dont add value.

Leagile supply

A leagile supply chain is a merge of the agile and the lean supply chains by providing a point for decoupling. The lean supply chain takes a systematic approach to eliminating and also identifying waste, improving the product quality, reduces the risks and its a mode of constant improvement and learning. An agile supply chain is mainly focused on increasing flexibility in the chain and introducing an element of speed. Agile is normally in cooperated where there is a volatility of the demand, (Kemppinen, Vepsalainen, 2003).

The upwards and the downstream parts of the chain of supply is normally separated by the decoupling point. It normally serves as the holding point of stock strategically between the variety of the product and the customer orders which are always fluctuating. Leagile supply chain has an advantage in that is able to balance a market where the demands for products is stable and a market where the demand for products is stable. The combined system normally provides a maximum value for the customers, therefore, a big advantage for the company and its long-time prevalence.

References

Storey, J., Emberson, C., Godsell, J., Harrison, A., (2006). Supply Chain Management: Theory, Practice, and Future Challenges. International Journal of Operations and Production Management, 26, 754-775.

Kemppinen, K., Vepsalainen, A., (2003). Trends in Industrial Supply Chains and Networks. International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management, 33, 701-719.

Paulley, N., Balcombe, R., Mackett, R., Titheridge, H., Preston, J., Wardman, M., White, P. (2006). The demand for public transport: The effects of fares, quality of service, income and car ownership. Transport Policy, 13(4), 295-306.