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Introduction
Perishable goods require special modes of transportation owing to the complexity of their logistics. The supply chain may have to be modified slightly in order to accommodate these changes. It may also be necessary to use unconventional methods so as to meet deadlines and sustain quality.
Special factors to consider
When transporting perishable goods, it is always essential to keep in mind the deadline of the respective goods. No other kinds of items are as demanding as perishable goods because the deadlines are usually instated in order to avoid spoilage. These deadlines must be met even though the distance between the producer and the destination is quite large. Therefore, a high degree of organization is required by the transporter. He must be able to plan his time well so as to ensure that the goods reach their destination at the right time. When they arrive too early then the transporter may not find the expected consumer and he may have to stay there and wait for him. Eventually, this means having to delay the deliveries of other items. Conversely, if the goods arrive late, then the consignee may reject them. Once perishable goods go beyond their sell-by date then recipients have the right to reject them. This will often put a courier service or transporter at a serious loss because he will be stuck with goods that are pretty much useless to him or anyone else. Furthermore, delivery of spoiled perishable gods could tarnish the name of the transporter and may cost him future business. Given such dire consequences for failure, there is simply no room for second guessing or mistakes in such a system. Therefore, companies must instate very high standards (Keller & Stank, 2001).
Perishable goods are not only problematic in terms of the time constraints; they also require special transportation equipment, storage and handling processes. Accuracy in carrying out these functions is of utmost importance because failure to do so may result in losses. Given such concerns, it is essential to think of ways in which perishable cargo can be best transported.
These days, products do not simply come from one part of the country to another. Most of the time, they emanate from one part of the world. For example, bananas may need to be carried from Brazil to Germany. What this means is that goods will stay in transit for a longer time than is ideal. The transporters will also need to curve out the best strategies for taking their goods as quickly as possible from a country entry point to the market.
Because perishable goods must always be delivered in certain conditions, it is sometimes necessary to keep them refrigerated. In other words, companies must engage in temperature control. Usually, different products have their own requirements but a large number of them require a temperature of between ten to twenty five degrees Fahrenheit. Humidity is always another problem in the transportation of these kinds of merchandise. Here, one should try to offer enough ventilation in the transportation facilities. However, few openings to external atmospheres should be allowed because this may mess up the humidity conditions in the transporting container and may eventually lead to spoilage. Some of the clients have specific shipping requirements and these should always be given the utmost precedence.
Logistics
In order to ensure that perishable goods arrive in good condition then a transporter must implement a well integrated supply chain system. This means that all the processes in warehousing need to converge with transportation. Flexibility should be the main trait that the integration process attempts to instate. One way of ensuring that this occurs is by locating a very effective transportation system. Rail movement has been identified as one such platform. Here, it can be possible to offer different temperature ranges for different products and this often implies that various products may be transported (Xiaowen, 2006). Alternatively, an integrated network also involves optimization. Since companies often need to move their stock in between certain areas then one ought to do an analysis of all the plausible options then select the most effective. This allows easy management of stock that needs to be moved in between warehouses. Sometimes this may necessitate movement from one town to another. One may have to transport the goods to a statewide warehouse and then distribute them to another location. However, public warehouses have proven to be quite slow and may affect the quality of perishable goods. Instead, producers need to employ private warehousing if they have to take their commodities to various parts of the country. Private distribution systems are always much faster and they allow for greater networking of the centers. In other words, they easily lead to synchronization and integration of services(Keller & Stank, 2001).
Another manner in which integration is normally achieved is through automation processes. Here, the process of loading and offloading can be done through automatic processes that assist in preventing time wastage and also in streamlining all the steps. Even the actual process of moving the goods should be under constant monitoring so as to ensure that everything is in order and that expected conditions are maintained. Very little time should be spent in the process of offloading because this minimizes time wastage. It should be noted that sometimes some clients may be unethical. Some of them may purport to have kept their perishable goods at a certain condition but this may be false. It is the duty of the transporting company to ensure that the goods they receive are in good condition. This allows them to be free from any accusation concerning the spoilage of commodities. If it has been ascertained that the goods are in the stated condition then it is necessary for the transporter to keep monitoring the temperatures so as to ensure that fluctuations do not occur. Once that has been ascertained then the goods can be rechecked again during the offloading process.
Integration does not always mean shipping perishable goods by oneself. Nowadays, it is common and even advantageous to outsource this service. Sometimes this can be done by a supply chain partner. Normally, these entities have specialized in the shipment of perishable goods so they have the right equipment, systems and standards that would assist them in offering such a service. This is a cost effective way to transport perishable goods because sometimes various perishable goods clients may have the same product specifications (Carter, 2002). In other words, their requirements for shelving, humidity and temperature may be the same. This means that companies can be in a position to match up various orders so that the ones that require similar conditions can be placed in the same container. What this does is that it saves up on space that may otherwise go to waste if only one consignment is handled at a time. Furthermore, this allows the outsourcing providers to invest in the best transporting facilities because they know that these will be fully utilized. It is often difficult for producing companies handling these various challenges to engage in technology and research development because they already have so much on their plate in terms of the supply chain so outsources spare them from the hustle. These investments in large refrigeration facilities also create economies of scale that eventually enable the outsourcers to lower their asking price for the service. In the end, perishable goods manufacturers or producers may enjoy lower prices without compromising on the transportation services.
In this process, it may be useful to apply a first in- first out system. Here, the perishable goods that were harvested and stored need to transported first because they have less storage capability than those ones that were harvested last. Companies or independent transporting agents need to ensure that they organize their merchandise in such a way that one can effectively identify the ones that were placed in first. Alternatively, instead of using a manual process for this, companies have the option of employing identification technologies to simplify this process.
Logisticians can also make use of transshipping terminals for perishable goods in case they are transporting them to international destinations. Normally, various countries have set aside perishable goods centers in their airports such that all the necessary facilities and conditions needed in order to keep such items in viable conditions is present. Transporters need to avoid airports or other ports that lack such provisions because they would face the brunt of choosing less than ideal conditions. Notable countries include Dubai, India and Germany; these nations have invested in the creation of a perishable goods center.
When goods come from an international market, it is common to find that most of them may be expected to go through several nationwide distribution networks. This may be quite applicable to non perishable items but the same cannot be said of the perishable ones. In this regard, companies will be better off decentralizing their distribution networks for perishable goods. This can be done by working hand in hand with distributors in the most convenient locations. One does not have to tie oneself to a particular group. It is always best to work hand in hand with others who can be able to deliver the goods on time and in the best manner possible. This means that allegiance to one supply chain partner may not always be the best way forward for these kinds of merchandise (Murphy, 1998).
Technology is an important aspect of transportation of perishable goods. Consumers may always want to know where their goods are located so that they can assess the time needed to get the goods to them and the possibility of compromising the quality of their goods. Usually, a transporter who has IT systems in place designed to trace where goods are will be at an advantage. This is because customers can always track the movement of their commodities. Businesses offering the transportation services can also keep checking such that they become vigilant about the quality or freshness of the produce they may be transporting.
Conclusion
The need to maintain the quality of perishable goods is what causes its transportation to be quite tedious. Refrigeration, proper storage and careful handling may be necessary so as to preserve quality. Companies can achieve this by constantly monitoring temperatures and other conditions during, before and after transporting the perishable goods. Some may have to integrate their systems, others may outsource while others may use information technology in order to streamline systems.
References
Xiaowen, Y. (2006). Choosing transportation alternatives for highly perishable goods. MA: Massachusets Institute of technology press
Murphy, P. (1998). Third-party logistics usage: an assessment of propositions based on previous research. Transportation journal, 4(3), 56
Carter, J. (2002). The impact of transportation costs on supply chain management. Transport logistics journal, 2(6), 18
Graudina, V. (2005). Technologies and multi agent system architectures for transportation and logistics support. International conference on computer , 15(9), 64
Keller, S. & Stank, T. (2001). Performance benefits of supply chain logistical integration, Transportation journal, 8(23), 80
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