Transportation is an essential and a major sub-function of logistics that creates time and place utility in goods. The backbone of the entire supply chain is the transportation management. Transportation decisions affect the other sub-functions, and there is a close linkage between them. Hence, transport decisions cannot be made in a vacuum. This part of the role of transportation in logistics may be termed as 'Micro Logistics', where at the firms' level, the companies optimize this function for competitive cost advantage. The importance of transportation should also be seen by looking at the impact of transportation on a country's economy. The major infrastructure required for moving goods from one place to another in India involves the active roles of Roads, Road Freight Industry, Railways, Ports and Shipping, and Pipelines. The efficient and effective management of this infrastructure to enable the smooth flow of goods constitute 'Macro Logistics'. The objective of this article is to put forth the macro perspectives in Indian transportation logistics, the scenarios in the infrastructure, which constitute Macro Logistics in the country, and possible remedies. First the author discusses the component Roads and outlines the Indian road network, distortions in the inter-modal mix, problems, issues, and strategies and future plans. The profile of the road freight industry is discussed, the need for a fresh look at the industry's structure is underlined. The component 'Ports' is discussed with the following topics: 1. Trend in port traffic, 2. Projections and investments, 3. Strategic directions, 4. Policy initiatives, 5. Legal initiatives, 6. Commercial initiatives, 7. Development initiatives. At last, the author discusses the Railways. The discussion shows that there is an urgent need to revise the strategies and approaches to the infrastructure and the transport policies to facilitate free flow of goods and services. The Micro Logistics function have to be made more effective in order to allow Indian companies to compete globally.
Impact of transportation infrastructure on logistics in India
Die Auswirkungen der Tranpsort-Infrastruktur auf die Logistik in Indien
Logistics Spectrum ; 35 , 1 ; 12-16
2001
5 Seiten, 2 Bilder, 1 Tabelle, 6 Quellen
Article (Journal)
English
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