Anthony Whiteing

Establishing a transport operation focussed uncertainty model for the supply chain

Purpose – Much of the recent research on supply chain uncertainty has focused on relationships between manufacturers and suppliers and existing models have therefore been based on this dyadic structure. The aim is to establish a supply chain uncertainty model that explicitly incorporates transport operations and hence the logistics triad; supplier, customer and transport carrier. Design/methodology/approach – This is a literature-based activity that synthesises and extends existing models of supply chain uncertainty. Findings – The paper develops a newmodel to reflect the nature of transport operations. Consequently, it identifies five main categories of uncertainty, namely from the points of view of the supplier, the customer and the carrier, respectively, the control systems used in the supply chain and external factors. The interfaces between the uncertainty categories involving all three parties of the logistics triad are identified, so as to develop a more holistic perspective on supply chain uncertainty and how it can be reduced. Research limitations/implications – This paper is conceptual in nature and empirical research into the area of transport uncertainty will be required to validate its findings. Following this, the model can be used to investigate and evaluate improvements in the economic and/or environmental performance of freight transport within supply chains. Practical implications – The model is intended to provide a framework within which organisations, including logistics providers, can develop a supply chain strategy to mitigate the effects of uncertainty. By categorising uncertainty into the types described, organisations may determine where the greatest uncertainties lie and hence develop a prioritised plan for supply chain re-engineering by initially targeting those uncertainties with the most significant implications for supply chain efficiency. Originality/value – Little research has been undertaken on the impact of uncertainties on transport in the context of collaborative supply chain management. The model rationalises uncertainties into various types taking into account the nature of the logistics triad.

An analysis of the value of supply chain management periodicals

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide rankings of quality of peer reviewed periodicals for faculty research use, rankings of usefuless of both peer reviewed and non‐peer reviewed periodicals for teaching and outreach purposes, and rankings of usefulness of search engines for finding articles.Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was conducted during the Autumn Semester of 2006. 82 periodicals were identified as relevant to the Supply Chain Management field. Respondents were asked to rank their top used journals in terms of use for teaching, outreach and research.Findings – A total of 143 surveys were completed. Journal of Business Logistics, Harvard Business Review, and International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management were the top three ranked journals in the composite index. EBSCO Business Source Premier, ProQuest, and Google Scholar were the top three search engines used to find logistics and SCM articles.Research limitations/implications – A clear global cons...

Understanding trends in inter‐city rail traffic in Great Britain

This paper presents the results of an analysis of British Rail ticket sales data on routes linking the main conurbations over the years 1972–1981. It is seen that experience varies substantially across the sector. Provincial routes of less than 100 miles have experienced the greatest decline, but at the same time they exhibit the lowest fares elasticity. Longer routes to London have a somewhat higher fares elasticity and are particularly sensitive to the state of the economy; they have however enjoyed the traffic growth stimulated by the introduction of the High Speed Train. Longer provincial routes, which are dominated by leisure traffic, have the highest fares elasticities, and are probably damaged rather than helped by rising prosperity through the effect on car ownership.

Moving around the City: Discourses on Walking and Cycling in English Urban Areas

There remains only limited understanding of perceptions of travel behaviour in relation to short journeys in urban areas and, in particular, the perceived role that walking and cycling for personal travel can realistically play in contemporary society. This paper reveals discourses surrounding the practice, performance, identity, conflicts, and visions relating to walking and cycling in English cities. These were derived from a large-scale study that utilised a comprehensive mixed-method approach using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Q methodology was used as an additional tool to investigate subjectivities on walking and cycling in the city in a structured, interpretable format and it is this approach that is the focus of this paper. The paper concludes with a discussion on the implications of these discourses for policy makers interested in encouraging a shift from car use to walking and cycling for short journeys in urban areas.

Challenging established rules for train control through a fault tolerance approach: applications at a classic railway junction

Current rules of railway operations employed in the UK can be regarded as conservative. While the safety of passengers is a clearly an overriding paramount consideration, such rules may represent a drawback in that they reduce capacity. At present, with high and growing demand there is a clear need to increase railway capacity. While construction of new lines or significant augmentation of existing ones offer ways of providing increased capacity, there is a long gestation period and it is extremely expensive at a time of tight governmental budgetary constraints. A viable alternative is to investigate methods of increasing the productivity of the current infrastructure by understanding how the established rules of railway operation can be challenged without compromising the safety of the passengers. To accomplish this stated goal, a fault-tolerance-based approach to train controls at nodes (junctions and stations) is proposed. This paper introduces the concept of fault tolerance in the context of train operations at a classic railway junction, presents a dynamic, mesoscopic simulation model developed to represent the new control rules and discusses initial results from the application of this approach on capacity gains.

Developing “Extra Distance” as a measure for the evaluation of road freight transport performance

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to develop a measure that links the causes and consequences of disruptions in freight transport operations. Such a measure is needed to quantify the scale of impact and identify the root causes of disruptions. Design/methodology/approach - – In order to develop this measure, an inductive approach was adopted, using four primary case studies to test the measure in an industrial environment. The case studies are from the fast moving consumer goods sector with primary and secondary distribution networks included. The “Extra Distance” measure has been evaluated against established generic criteria that define the quality of any performance measure. Findings - – The research indicates good compliance with the criteria used to evaluate the “Extra Distance” measure. The measure is also found to be useful for practitioners who are able to directly relate the measure to their distribution network operations. Research limitations/implications - – Further research should see the “Extra Distance” measure further tested in other freight transport operations and industrial sectors. Practical implications - – The measure is directly related to a number of causes of uncertainty which helps freight transport managers to quickly identify potential solutions. The “Extra Distance” measure can be used to quantify the effects of disruptions which can occur in road freight transport networks generate unnecessary cost within distribution networks, potentially eroding profit margins which are known to be very low in the road freight transport industry. Originality/value - – This paper presents a novel approach to the assessment of the impact caused by uncertainty within freight transport operations.

Parcels and mail by high speed rail–A comparative analysis of Germany, France and China

As rail freight reform develops further, parcels transport by the high speed rail network is expanding in China. We explore the optimal operational method through case studies. Both France and Germany have operated parcels trains on their high speed networks, at a speed of 270 km/h and 160 km/h respectively; following the literature we consider both as high speed freight trains. The business model, transportation organization and performance are compared between Germany, France and China. The findings of our analysis suggest dedicated high speed freight trains are better than mixed trains at exploiting advantages of high speed railways and achieving economies of scale. However, the sensitivity analysis tells us the dedicated high speed freight train in China will require at least 5% mode share on the busiest routes like Beijing-Shanghai and Guangzhou-Shanghai and over 30% on less busy routes like Chengdu-Changsha. From German and French experience, volume guarantees seem crucial for the operation of high speed freight trains. Competitive price is also important to attract enough volume. The construction of a limited high speed rail freight network on key routes will permit exploitation of economies of scale. Also night trains are a better choice for parcels and mail delivery companies.

MODE CHOICE: A TOTAL DISTRIBUTION COST APPROACH

There are many problems with the orthodox discrete choice model of freight mode choice. In the first place, freight mode choice decisions are usually part of the general distribution strategy of the firm, rather than being taken on a consignment-by-consignment basis. Charges and quality of service are a matter of negotiation, rather than being exogenously determined. Particularly in Britain, use of rail frequently requires susbstantial investment by the firm in terminals and equipment, which needs to be evaluated over the lifetime of the project.

A chance-constrained stochastic approach to intermodal container routing problems

We consider a container routing problem with stochastic time variables in a sea-rail intermodal transportation system. The problem is formulated as a binary integer chance-constrained programming model including stochastic travel times and stochastic transfer time, with the objective of minimising the expected total cost. Two chance constraints are proposed to ensure that the container service satisfies ship fulfilment and cargo on-time delivery with pre-specified probabilities. A hybrid heuristic algorithm is employed to solve the binary integer chance-constrained programming model. Two case studies are conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed model and to analyse the impact of stochastic variables and chance-constraints on the optimal solution and total cost.