The Changing Nature of Markets, Technological Advances - Coursework Example

With globalisation taking place the world has become a small place. Today, there is intense competition. People have lot of options. This is making companies to be more aggressive and at the same time see that customer are satisfied. One of the most important thing companies are working is on improving their logistics. This will ensure timely delivery. Since, there are a lot many options so having this in place is very important. It is more important is the education sector. With varied education facility available this has become more competitive. Today, students are provided both on the site and off the site training. Even the use of internet has increased. This is making new technologies come up. Here, the students have the advantage of studying is any place they feel like and also on their convenience. Logistics so has gained valve. “Effective logistics help to manage the effectiveness of the supply chain and deliver the correct product at the right time”. (Krishna, 2007) Logistics in education sector is a distinct field and companies are working to improve it. For the education sector “both the buy side and supply side plays a crucial role”. (Krishna, 2007) The process followed by education sector for the books is vendor based. Here, “the books are delivered by the vendor to the universities after the demand for books have been placed i.e. books are delivered after receiving the customer order”. (ICFAI, 2007) Here, “vendor inventory management works and books are delivered only after orders have been placed”. (ICFAI, 2007) The process resembles as above. “Here the vendor after receiving the order process it and then ships the product so that the books reaches the university at the correct time so that there is utility and timely delivery of books”. (Nagporewalla, 2007) With increased use of “e-commerce learning has changed as people have more access to the internet and the penetration level is also high”. (Sinha, 2009) This has made books available to people at place of their convenience. This has made the logistics simpler as there are many forms in which this is available to the public. “People can use e-books at any time as every person who has purchased one downloads it from the companies’ site and can use it at their convenience”. (Sinha, 2009) Education institutes are also working on providing materials to students to read at places they find comfortable. This is that “universities have gone online and students can access their materials and books from any place”. (Chen, 2009) This has led to timely delivery. Students have a better learning experience. Even a research shows “public library usage has increased with libraries becoming more technology savvy’. (Chen, 2009) With electronic reading availability “customization has gained importance”. (Roberto, Charles & Qiao, 2007) Companies look to “deliver products as per the customer wants which has led to new type of retailing in the education sector”. (Roberto, Charles & Qiao, 2007) New providers line Amazon is an example. This is making “easier for customer and then there is more timely delivery of goods”. (Roberto, Charles & Qiao, 2007) This can be even seen from the above diagram. We see here that customization due to individual wants of the customer has led to a more concentrated effort. We see that after the students or the university decides the book they would want as per the curriculum orders are placed. Then they are processed and finally the universities receive their books. This has increased the utility function. Students can now avail it anywhere. They have access to the internet and using the password they can study. This has also made timing very important as it is easier to deliver books through this method as the delay in shipping is saved from. This also reduces the extra burden the company had to bear to deliver the product. Another research shows that “having delivery of books directly to customers has also helped to control emissions and improve the energy consumption by using more sustainable delivery network system compared to the traditional ones”. (Kim, Ming, Allenby & Williams, 2008) This is due to the fact that newer and better methods of delivery and improvement of logistics is designed. A research shows that “e-commerce has affected the logistics business environment which is considered as a backbone of every business organisation”. (Delfmann, Albers & Martin, 2002) This is due to the fact that “e-commerce has so widely increased that the original providers of logistics i.e. companies are missing and this has led to new developments”. (Delfmann, Albers & Martin, 2002) Another research shows that “organisations supply chain measurement depends upon three factors and they need to devise strategies to remove the bottlenecks present in the system for more timely delivery and better utility function”. (Gray & Khalid, 2006) Now, we try and have a look at how the logistics system works in the education sector. This will help us to realise the importance of logistics and also how it has evolved over time. It will help to identify the way technology has improved the education sector and helped to increase the utility for students by having more timely deliveries. When we have a look at how universities decide upon the books they are going to order the process flow chart resembles something as shown above. “Here the course director has to discuss with other like the course co-ordinator on the type of books they need to order for their students. While deciding they make a report which is finally given to the course head. On the basis of the report they decide what they need to teach the students. Here they also ensure that the course is according to industry requirements. After this a final recommendation is made and a vendor is selected to whom the order has to be placed”. (Rushton, Oxley & Baker, 2006) Now, when we look at a detailed picture from the supplier of books till the books are delivered it looks something as shown above. Here, we see that after the order has been placed. The vendor goes about managing the required book from the publisher. If he has the book in his stock then he ships those. Else, he makes a request order and after receiving the books from the publisher they are stored and shipped. “Transportation becomes a hurdle as many times they are delayed”. (Rushton, Oxley & Baker, 2006) “The other reason is that even getting the books from the publisher sometimes delays the entire process” (Rushton, Oxley & Baker, 2006) and this creates problems in the logistics as universities have to sometime wait for the books to arrive. Now, with advancement and development of new methods this has eased some pressure. Today, with electronic media developing it has become easier. With electronic commerce gaining prominence and with high usage of internet it has become easy to deliver books. Today, the usage of e-books have increased manifold. It follows the following procedure for delivery of books. Here, we see that after the customer places the order with the vendor and after the books are determined then in this process instead of dispatching it used sea or road it is send through electronic media. This means that books are send through the computer. It’s in the form of an electronic book. The advantage is that it helps in quick transfer of book. It also saves the delay and cumbersome process of sending the book. At the same time it reduces cost. It also helps to increase the utility function. As the books are delivered via the electronic media and everyone has a password to access so students can access the books from anywhere. This has helped the students and made it more productive for students. At the same time since it can be used anywhere students have an advantage of timing also. They can read it anywhere they feel like and at any time. This has also reduced the process of delivering and the time lost in sending this books and the unnecessary delay caused. When we have a look at how the transportation logistics look will help us to better understand the problems faced. Sender Carrier Addressee Loading Unloading Here, we see the process of transport that takes place and how it affects the delivery. “Since many services and department are involved in the transport of books from the vendor to universities it delays the process”. (Janos, 2002) This is due to the fact that “agencies like clearing and forwarding, packaging, timely delivery depending on some external factors affect the delivery process”. (Janos, 2002) In the above diagram we see how cumbersome the process is. Every stage has to be passed through to deliver the books. With the involvement of different agencies the process gets more complicated which further delays the delivery of goods. This affects the utility function. As there is delay this affects the curriculum as students don’t have the advantage of studying and it affects him. The other problem which the logistics face for timely delivery is that “sharp rise in price of energy used in transport is also affecting the logistic sector”. (Economic commission for Europe, 2009) This is so because it is putting extra burden and since books are revised and published with a new edition every year its utility reduces if there are delays. The other problem faced is “shifting of mode of transport i.e. the books once shipped has then to be send by road thus adding extra pressure to shift from one container to the other adding extra cost and time and also resulting in mishandling”. (Economic Commission for Europe, 2009) Thus this affects the utility function if there is better transport system and timely delivery it helps to ensure that the books reaches the institute on time and it will help to impart knowledge. Since, books come with new edition every year so it’s utility depends on the timely arrival. If it is delayed then it affects the overall process. With advancement and newer technology this has become better. Students have options. They can decide on the course of action they would like to follow and this helps and makes studies fun. It also at the same time reduces pressure on universities as they don’t have to handle the books but instead pass it on to the students through electronic transfer which can be accessed by students form wherever they feel like. References Chen C, 2009, “The delivery of library materials to end users”, Electronic Journal of Academic and special librarianship, Volume 10, issue 1, Taiwan Delfmann W, Albers S & Martin G, 2002, “The impact of electronic commerce on logistic service provider”, “International Journal of Physical distribution and logistics service provider”, Volume 32, Issue 3 Economic commission for Europe, 2009, “Supply chain and logistics implications for transport”, Europe Gray R & Khalid B, 2006, “a logistic and and supply chain approach to efficiency”, Research methodology in supply chain management, Part 4 Kim J, Ming X, Allenby B & Williams E, 2008, “designing and accessing a sustainable delivery system”, American chemical society, Arizona Krishna J, 2007, “The ICFAI University Press on Supply Chain Management”, ICFAI, India Janos K, 2002, “running logistics process of transportation”, University of Technical and Economic Studies, Budapest Nagporewalla Y, 2007, “Skill gaps in the Indian Logistics sector”, KPMG report, Confederation of Indian Industry, India Roberto F, Charles M & Qiao G, 2007, “Process control and logistics management for mass customization manufacturing, USA Rushton, Oxley & Baker, 2006, “Handbook of logistics and distribution management”, 3rd edition, management business book Sinha A, 2009, “The future of book retailing”, India Read More