Volume 08, Issue 01, November 2018
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“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” ~ Henry Ford
Shippers of Choice ‘Shippers of Choice’ mean driver in a friendly way. For a business to become a ‘Shippers of Choice’ the companies should work in collaboration rather than working in an ad-hoc transactional manner. Several ways suggested to become a ‘Shipper of Choice’ include: Detention is bad hence keep drivers moving – business to maintain good loading and unloading services so that the drivers out of the docks as fast as possible Provide drop-and-hook, then return the equipment – allowing drivers with time to get the maintenance of the truck done till unloading process gets over. Offer basic amenities to the driver – business to ensure availability of basic amenities during the waiting period. Have a plan for the dock delay – clear communication between the driver and dock officials during the loading or unloading process. Ease of Access – ensure efficient traffic patterns and dedicated yard jockeys to avoid parking issues. Carriers like forecast and lead time – sufficient lead time to reduce freight charges and get drivers at a cheaper rate. Offer more hours, be flexible – businesses to be available on off-peak hours and weekends to ship so that the driver gets a chance to drive during the mid-day, evening or weekends whenever the traffic is lighter leading them to maximize their 11 hours. Overnight parking is a nice touch – Drivers drop the load and leave, park overnight with load or communicate their boss. Carriers don’t like unwelcome surprise at the dock – to provide services (any fine or
fees due) with carriers or suppliers but not with drivers bumping the at docks. Shippers always want to negotiate with the carriers but to be Shipper of Choice the drivers’ treatment with respect considering the rates, payment issues, consistency and interaction with drivers in a professional manner. This keeps the shippers motivated. Source: JOC Inland Distribution
~ CNSV Datta (17 JGBS)
Seven industry trends shaping the ecommerce logistics landscape include: Mobile-Friendly Technology, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, Automation, Chatbots, Delivery Options, Easy Check-Out, and Payment Options; as B2B e-commerce to grow to $6.7 trillion market by 2021. (Forbes, 2018)
The Game Changer for Supply Chain Management The Blockchain is a distributed database containing records of digital information or happenings that renders them tamper- resistant. Although many users can access, monitor or add information, they still cannot alter or censor. The original information remains which leads to rendering a perpetual and public trail or chain of trades. Perhaps most potent use of blockchain technology is Bitcoin, a currency system that stormed technologically savvy traders. Although it was originally envisioned for financial transactions, companies of all kinds have become creative with the blockchain leader since it can be used to record, track and authenticate transactions of virtually anything that retains the intrinsic value.
From travel sharing to cloud storage to campaigning, companies in all industries see a real potential of the blockchain. If blockchain technology permits us to track all types of transactions more safely and robustly, imagine the carnage it presents all across the supply chain. When the product changes its hands, the transaction could be recorded which leads to building a new history of the product or service from production to sale. Blockchain can transform current supply chain models while reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Its four uses would include existence, ownership, tracking, and storage. Presently, supply chain leaders continue to remain woefully misguided about technologies near future. They may comprehend all their other real purpose, but the implementation of block chain technology in the commercial world certainly appears mostly out of reach. Consequently, supply chain managers could not realize that investment in blocks and technology might be the only way of successfully mitigating this radical change in standard operating procedure. Source: Supply 24
~Varsha KS (17 JGBS) Student’s Feedback Corner OCTANE is an insightful source. I truly recommend all management students to read this regular newsletter. ~ Parv Chawla (NITIE) Octane is a good platform to keep you updated. I strongly recommend reading it as its keeps pulse on how change affects business activities. ~ Karan Kasid (Monash, AU)
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Student’s Feedback
Student Articles Crossword Puzzle Industry Trends
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In this issue
OCTANE-The Octaphi Newsletter
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Drones: An escape clause or not?
Business Values & Information Technology
The primitive utilizations of drones in logistics can be credited to constrained innovation and limitations forced by the government. However, there is still a rudimental use drones in the primary step of supply chain i.e. procuring the requisite raw materials, distribution management and warehousing. The prospective opportunities include: Last mile delivery enhancement and optimization despite the technology’s developing stage, drones yet have the potential to cater to customer needs in a cheaper and more efficient way. Favourable supply chain impetus as raw materials can move from warehouses to designated manufacturing domains at a comparatively faster speed. Improvement in inventory accuracy drones may act as the perpetual surveillance devices in the warehouses to reach nook where CCTV footage may not be available. Surveilling the supply chain route - this technology can be used to keep track of the deliveries and the contingent hurdles in the same. The constraints in drone developments: Government regulation state civilian drones must always fly in the line of sight (and not in the red zone areas); if above 2 kilograms must have a unique identification number; and delivery of goods to civilians is prohibited until revamped technology is not accessible. Shipment capacity: not be feasible until a modernized technology is released as the battery supporting time of a drone currently is just 15-30 minutes. Surveillance/theft problems: significant security and privacy issues can hamper the organisation’s growth. Further, as drones can only land in an open area, there are chances of theft/pilferage. Insurance & weather unpredictability: poses threat to personal damages, which in turn increase the insurance premiums; hence impractical. In conclusion, an answer to these limitations and unanticipated difficulties could be the development of an auxiliary Act which underpins the escape clauses in the advancement therefore, changing the business sector altogether.
With the advancement of Information Technology (IT), it is no more a support system rather it is now a part of the strategic planning of any organization. SAP ERP has been an inevitable part of any business process. With Industry 4.0 in the pipeline, advancement in SAP is also the need of the hour due to which IT experts have come up with a better and faster version of SAP - SAP S/4HANA. So do companies migrate to SAP S/4HANA? The answer to the question always starts with “Business Value”, though this term can be vague and typically something that can’t have true calculated monetary value. In an organization, different business parts have different estimated values of the projects (in terms of man and material as resources) which are used as post-project measurement success calculator. Where the material gives direct value, the value of the manpower resource isn’t that easy to be calculated directly. So, whenever there is a software updating project, there would be an attempt to calculate “Value” based on perceived time savings for employees where a simple change to the software could “in-theory” save 15 minutes over the course of a year derived from any basic formula of utilized man-hour. And, with a large number employees in an organization, this value turns up to huge savings at the end of the year. Though it’s not the wrong way to calculate the “Value” of manpower resource, its high time to change the thought process in a more constructive way and to say that the “Value” is not based on employee time savings, rather the “Value” of whatever efforts they do with the extra time (like more time to focus on sharpening their hobbies). So, companies should be looking at “Business Value” areas by migrating to SAP H/4HANA. Since SAP H/4HANA is focused on speed and the ability to have information available on REAL-TIME, in turn making faster data retrieval with RUN-LIVE user experiences. Several well-known organizations across the globe have adopted this emerging technology which enables a connected and high-speed business. Companies have shared their positive
Source:drones-and-its-impact-on-supply-chain-ISM
~ Purva Sikri (17 JGBS)
Crossword Puzzle 1
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CLUES ACROSS 3 Concept of maintaining enough supplies to stabilize fluctuations. 4 Also known as TPS. 6 Effect which causes uncertainty in information flowing up and down the supply chain. 7 Process of selecting efficient path from its source to destination. DOWN 1 Japanese word which means 'change-good'. 2 Action of loading a ship cargo. 3 Point of congestion in production system. 5 Information tag attached to an object.
feedback on migrating to SAP H/4HANA, efficiently facilitating increased volume of business transactions. The speed of transactions has reportedly become 1520 times quicker, leading to reduced wait time. Thus, migrating to SAP H/4HANA would not only be considered as a mark of technical excellence but also synonymous to keeping pace with the evolving business and technology landscapes. Source: SAP; www.jindalstainless.com
~ Lovlin Swain (18 JGBS) Editorial Board: Purva Sikri, Aiswarya Martin Faculty Mentor: Saroj Koul Jindal Global Business School, Delhi NCR Contact us:
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