Universal Forwarding Supply Chain Analysis

Table of Contents

Universal Forwarding Supply Chain Analysis1

Universal Forwarding Supply Chain Analysis4

Introduction4

Services of Universal Forwarding4

Airfreight Services4

Aircraft Charter5

On-Board Courier5

IATA Airfreight5

Speed Consolidation5

Deferred Consolidation5

Sea-freight Services5

FCL5

LCL6

Documentation6

Road Freight6

Dedicated Vehicle6

Full Loads6

Courier7

Specialist Services7

Research Objectives7

Literature Review7

Warehousing7

Breakbulk8

Repacking8

Assembly8

Quality Inspections8

Intermediate, Short and Long Term Storage9

Layout9

Storage10

Material Handling Equipment11

IT in Warehouse12

Inter-Modality14

Order Processing14

Pickup15

Transportation15

Analysis15

Warehousing15

Layout16

Storage16

Material Handling Equipment16

IT in Warehouse17

Inter-Modality17

Order Processing17

Key Performance Indicators17

Conclusion18

Universal Forwarding Supply Chain Analysis

Introduction

This report is based on the supply chain analysis of a logistics company, Universal Forwarding. It is a twenty year old company and has been based at the Airport of Newcastle since 1989. The company was founded by veterans of airfreight industry. The company has evolved over the years and provides services in international freight to leading “blue chip” companies worldwide. The company prides itself as a provider of custom freight solutions for the companies. The company has an association of membership with The International Freight Association, IFA, which enables it to work globally. As a freight forwarding and courier company, the smooth and optimal functioning of supply chain is essentially important for the company. The supply chain varies from type of service being provided to the customers and management of incoming goods, which cannot be ascertained beforehand, the company is challenged to achieve operational cost saving. This report will look at the supply chain areas of the company in light of best practices and will analyse the management of supply chain against the world's leading cargo company DHL (Deutsche Post Company and one of the cutting edge cargo service provider).

Services of Universal Forwarding

The company divides its services into five categories.

Airfreight Services

This service category contains the freight services offered by use of air transportation. The services offered in this category are:

Aircraft Charter

The company has a network of international representation which it can use to hire an aircraft from any origination which can pick up the freight and deliver it to any requested point.

On-Board Courier

The company provides a much customized service giving special care to important packages. The company can pick up the freight from any place and send one representative with the cargo to personally accompany and deliver the goods to the destination.

IATA Airfreight

The company provides the standard air cargo service by booking directly with the available airline which is leaving after every 24hr. The company ensures that the flight being used has the minimum stopovers between its cargo destinations.

Speed Consolidation

The company provides economical option of transportation of cargo via air. It groups the consignment with other consignments and use reputable airline service which are leaving within twenty four or forty eight hours.

Deferred Consolidation

The company provides value its customers by providing savings in cost by consolidation. It uses the most economic channels where the customers require low freight cost and don't have urgency of transportation.

Sea-freight Services

FCL

The company provides dedicated containers of 20ft, 40 ft and 40 ft high cubes with scheduled shipment and standard transit time. It provides good saving to its customers and the goods are transported around the world using sea shipments. The complete container has the cargo of one client ...