As the world populace continues to grow and the technological advancements enhance economic integrations throughout the globe, there has been an increasing flow of goods within different nations in larger scales. This phenomenon has greatly impacted the shipping industry with more players moving into the cargo business. In the freight transport business, just like in any other venture there is the need to provide tailor-made services to be able to cater to the client’s specific needs and expectations. Consequently, with the competition getting stiffer in container terminal handling, various ports have had to improve the quality of their services to deal with the evolving demands of container owners, while adopting a low-cost strategy in its implementation.
For the organization to deliver effectively, it first needs to evaluate its service quality strategy which involves the production process that takes into account the organization’s ability to design their delivery approach; then takes into consideration the client’s expectations through the employment of contact personnel to bridge in (Konings, 2008). Thereafter it needs to consider the cost of employing the approach decided upon. For an operator to incur a lesser cost in handling containers, they need to go for a high-value delivery system in which the only costs incurred would be inspection and prevention costs as compared to a system that would include repair costs as well. There is the need to adopt the SERVQUAL model that analyses the terminal service quality to ensure the client’s expectations match up to his observation of the operator’s port. In fact, the observation should be greater than the expectations to indicate the high quality of service delivery. But to be more effective in the delivery, the provider has to move from a production-oriented attitude and adopt a customer-oriented approach that considers the transport channel for the customer. However, these quality improvements need to come down to cost reductions since the upgrade doesn’t necessarily reflect price increases. The tool needed for this upgrade is to offer a total service assortment that entails logistic solutions alongside the container handling to broaden the service package offers to attract a larger customer base while retaining the original clientele. The critical improvement characteristics for terminal operators are information and communication about the performance of the transport channel (Konings, 2008). However, as the entire U.S. transport system undergoes major developments, there is the realization of other forms of transport that could be used to transport bulky goods. Many people are turning away from intermodal transportation because of its slow speed in delivery especially through the use of trains, which are not only slow but are also inflexible due to the fixed routes followed. Another limitation is the high infrastructure costs incurred to establish cranes and other equipment that help in containerization, a fact that is perceived by investors to reduce the industry’s profitability (Allen, 2017).
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So as the industry continues to grow, there is the need to address the emerging issues that affect the development of these main ports including the increasing volume of shipping that demand upgrades in handling and storage capacities of terminals, the need to privatize the industry with the government looking for ways to boost the sector’s profitability to make the conditions favorable for the private investors (Hsu, 2013). With the introduction of ultra-large container vessels, there is also the need to review the infrastructure and superstructure of ports and terminals to accommodate such vessels. These need to be upgraded for convenient handling of cargos, and so do the container cranes need an upgrade too. Gate operations also need an automated upgrade in its security passes, ample parking, and storage. Well-coordinated rail transportation also needs to be put in place to decongest the terminals while at the same delivering the containers on time.
References
Allen, R. (2017). The disadvantages of intermodal transportation . Retrieved from https://bizfluent.com/info-8420695-disadvantages-intermodal-transportation.html
Hsu, W. (2013). Improving the service operations of container terminals. The International Journal Of Logistics Management , 24 (1), 101-116. doi: 10.1108/ijlm-05-2013-0057
Konings, J. W. (2008). The future of intermodal freight transport: operations, design and policy . Edward Elgar Publishing.
