Case analysis of National Logistics Management - Essay Example

The company was founded in 1991 by Taylor, right from the start the company implemented an innovative approach- premium shipments were put by bid to the definite group of carriers. The former had to respond quickly in order to receive the order. Once several responses had been obtained the contract was awarded to the best bidder (the winner was determined by the number of factors: the price, the quality of the services provided and etc). NLM tracked the status of the order until the goods had been delivered, keeping all parties informed.

Despite the obvious fact that this system was more convenient and more efficient, some carriers as well as plant managers were dissatisfied with it, but NLM took several steps to remedy the situation. The company has maintained its approach since 1991.The innovative strategy implemented by company has several important advantages: it saves time and money by allowing all parties involved in the process to communicate instantaneously without making several phone calls and by expediting the process of premium freight.

By now the company has managed more than 1.3 million of shipments, it has extensive network in North America and has build steadfast group of carriers. Environmental analysis. In today's world of ecommerce and internet, when goods and services can be purchased instantaneously online, only those companies that implement new technologies will be able to survive; thus the logistics companies have had to use internet to inform their clients about quotes, facilitate the shipments of the goods and track other information.

Moreover, transport companies combined their resources with manufacturers and internet companies to expedite the delivery of their goods and improve the efficiency of the shipment. One of the most famous examples is the alliance of Ryder System Inc with Toyota, which was formed in order to increase the quality of transportation management. This process was also evident in airline industry where airlines use web-based systems in order to expedite business transactions. The implementation of high technologies into logistics industry has improved the quality of its business enormously.

The notable reduction of the costs of logistics companies from 20% of GDP in 1960 to 10.5% of GDP in 1996 is one of the few results of this process.By 1999, internet based logistics companies had become ones of the most important players in the industry, and the shares of non-asset based carriers traded higher than the shares of asset based ones. Such companies as Celarix introduced new services such as global tracking and landed cost assessment. Transplce, another player in the industry, increased the freight density across the carrier base of the company.

Several other companies implemented new strategies as well. From the examples mentioned one can see that internet technologies have been playing one of the