Interactions between ocean carriers' operations and shippers' supply chain

• Main Author: Ong, Li Ping.
• Other Authors: Teo Chee Chong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Maritime studies::Maritime management and business
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/15933
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The transportation function is a critical element within the supply chain. Seaborne transport is a common method for transporting large volumes over great distance. As such, the operations of ocean carriers and their interactions with the shippers will strongly affect the shippers’ supply chain performance. This research shows that reliability, price, time-sensitivity, service frequency and geographical coverage are the most important service attributes that shippers are looking for. To gain a competitive advantage and maintain their customer base, shipping lines have to meet the shippers’ needs. This report provides insights on how shipping lines can improve their liner operations so as to achieve high schedule reliability, low transit times, high frequencies and extensive geographical coverage in their service, which are instrumental in improving the supply chain performance of the shippers. In addition, the interactions between the ocean carriers and shippers, namely the relationships and information sharing between these two parties are examined. The characteristics and impacts of these interactions on the shippers’ supply chain performance are discussed. These are supported by industry evidences gathered from the interviews with shippers and shipping lines. Besides providing shipping services, some shipping lines have set up logistics divisions to provide integrated logistics services to the shippers. This report will study the impact of the logistics venture by the ocean carriers on the shippers’ supply chains. The discussion in this report will be beneficial to both shippers and ocean carriers as it provide insights on how the ocean carriers can enhance their operations, and improve the overall supply chain of the shippers.