Transportation in Logistics

Logistics on its part refers to the management of warehoused materials, freight, inventory management and production (Ballou, 2011). Logistics further incorporates the activities of packaging of goods, storage and shipment. It involves the internal and external networks of distribution. This paper assesses the two concepts in manufacturing and how they work to ensure the supply chain runs smoothly and ensure swift distribution of goods to the final consumer of the manufactured goods. Literature Review Business Logistics Business logistics is conceptualized as having the right product in the required quantity at the right time and place for the right customer. The 3PL market in the world has outgrown over the course of the years with their fortunes increasing year by year. In 2014, the revenue earned by the various providers of this service stood at $750 billion in US alone and its demand is set to continue rising over the years.

There are various benefits that are derived by businesses from using 3PL logistics one of them being reducing the current costs of producing goods and transporting raw materials. Cost management is the number one priority for every business that wants to make profits from their operations. Transportation and logistics is an expensive affair and for a company that is not well-rooted and able to realize their economics of scale, it becomes costly and the business decides not to engage in it. Warehousing A warehouse is a commercial building that is used in storing goods and finished products. Such commercial buildings for storing goods are used by exporters, manufacturers, wholesalers, importers, customs and transport businesses. They are located in the prime areas such as the peripheral areas of industrial parks and zones, cities, towns and in the central business districts.

Warehousing refers to the act of storing finished products that will be distributed or sold later at a specified time (In Monios, & In Bergqvist, 2017). Huge businesses usually rent space in a warehouse for storing their goods before they are distributed and reach the final consumer. The other way of lowering cost of transportation is to consolidate the shipments and transport in bulk, procure partially assembled products from various vendors and lowering the number of trips made in shipping the raw materials. The other way of lowering the cost of transportation is setting the workstations closer to one another, and in turn reduces the internal transportation and time spent in production. Minimizing Logistical Costs The costs incurred in logistics are reduced directly by applying just in time manufacturing and using material planning to minimize the stock and wastages in the production process.

The parts involved in packaging should be one that can be sent and stocked directly in a warehouse (Bolis, & Maggi, 2013). This process eliminates the inefficient process of receiving, emptying and thereafter labeling the product for it to apply in the warehousing inventory management system. A single railway can transport a massive 23,000 tons fully loaded thereby save on time and cost. Pipeline is another mode of transport that is likened to rail transport due to lack of physical limitation as pipelines are not obscured by weather or geographical challenges (Monios, 2014). Pipelines can also be laid on water and land and are ideal for industries transporting their products in liquid form, more so the petroleum products and gaseous products. The only limitation is the cost incurred in the laying down of the pipeline which is an expensive affair are requires massive funding for the whole pipeline to be successful.