City Bus Service: Small could be beautiful

Hi Readers !!! KiaOra (Welcome) !!! Hope you are moving on well with your routine work. Coincidently, this post is all about movement and the logistics that support it. When I was doing my management study at University of Canterbury, I came across an office which was coordinating the carpool for students coming from different corners of Christchurch. I was very impressed with this practice. This reduces the cost of transportation, reduces the traffic congestions, and helps keep the New Zealand environment clean and green. This is akin to a famous logistics practice called “freight consolidation model” which is oft quoted in many supply chain journals.

However, there is a reverse side of the coin too. I have also observed many buses in Christchurch which move on the roads with just 5 to 10 percent of its total passengers carrying capacity…….what a waste of energy and cost….not to mention the traffic congestion caused by their huge sizes. City council can save a lot of money just by implementing a small change in its existing practice. For example, just by having different sizes of buses (big, small, mini.... sort of XL, L, M, etc) as per the traffic demand, the cost reduction could be significant……just assign the right capacity of buses on different routes as per the lean or peak hours.

Readers!!! What do you think? Is this idea tenable or not?

Ram

Does standing mean outstanding customer service?

Hello Readers,

How are you doing? I’m doing fine but not quite so due to some of my observations which I wish to share with you. I find that in most of retail supermarkets, the employees remain standing for almost the whole day while giving the customer service. I really find this practice ergonomically incorrect, and I don’t see why employees should be paid for carrying their weights which take a huge amount of biological energy that could have been used for productive work elsewhere.

Let’s answer a few questions honestly:

Does this practice not affect the stamina and alacrity of staff?

Don’t we see them giving us a tired look while trying to say hello with a smile?

Should we expect that smile despite what we are doing to make them stand the whole day with about 50 to 80 kgs of weights on a pair of columns?

I don’t know about what my readers think, but I feel sympathetic to the point that I feel like replacing one of them for a few moments…as a reliever…as a fellow human being.

However, it’s really nice to see that some organizations like Pak n’ Save have taken a lead among the supermarkets to allow their employees to remain seated while discharging their duties. I consider this a very smart move on part of employers…it has also changed the quality of smile.....thank you Pak n Save!!!

Another move from this organization is passing the job of packing the stuff in shopping bags to the users, which is quite in line with what the CRM principle says……enable end users to do part of your job….that is what most of the e-organizations do through their websites. For example, we book our tickets through Air-New Zealand website….a job which used to be done by Air-NZ Staff…..what a way to save time & cost that could be easily passed to consumers.

Readers, say what you feel….you don’t have to take what I say lying down. I will absorb your opinions sportingly..

JIT Supply Chain Logistics in New Zealand

Hi Readers,

Let me take this opportunity to wish all of you a very happy, fruitful, and eventful 2007. It's my first post on this site, and I'm sure you will have lots of it coming later. I will be concentrating more on JIT related supply chain logistics in different parts of the world. But as they say...charity begins at home, so let me start it with the place where I am now....New Zealand. I have attended a couple of seminars on logistics here..some were excellent, but others were not so impressive. From the view points of participants, I could safely say that JIT is not very popular with many industries. The term is popular with academics, research scholars, CEOs but not with people down the organizational ladders. They simply believe that JIT is not invented here, and for so many reasons it can't succeed...a mindset which will be difficult to change. In fact, I remember one seminar where I didn't hear the word JIT at all...not even once, which motivated me to start this blog in the first place.....to create awareness among people. Captains of industries have a huge role to play in bringing about this awareness by investing time and money in JIT training.

I'm very happy to know that some of the progressive industries in NZ (Fonterra, CarterHoltHarvey, NZ Post, etc) have greater awareness of JIT and the matching supply chain logistics. Most of the importnat seminars on logistics are sponsored, organized, and coordinated by these industries, which underlines the importance of logistics in their operations.

In my next post, I will try to highlight some of the stumbling blocks in JIT supply chain from the New Zealand perspective. In the meantime, have a quick read, and send in your thoughts....I'm sure you'll get a very patient and freindly hearing from me.

Bye, and take care.

Logistically yours.......Ram