transport network

Examples of transport network in the following topics:

• Routing

  • Routing is performed for many kinds of networks, including the telephone network (circuit switching), electronic data networks (such as the internet), and transportation networks.
  • This chapter focuses on the role of routing in transportation networks.
  • A transport network, (or transportation network in American English), is typically a network of roads, streets, pipes, aqueducts, power lines, or nearly any structure which permits either vehicular movement or flow of some commodity.
  • Transport engineers use mathematical graph theory to analyze a transport network to determine the flow of vehicles (or people) through it.
  • A transport network may combine different modes of transport.

• Outsourcing

  • The specialization model creates manufacturing and distribution networks composed of multiple, individual supply chains specific to products, suppliers, and customers who work together to design, manufacture, distribute, market, sell, and service a product.
  • This movement has been particularly evident in logistics, where the provision of transport, warehousing, and inventory control is increasingly subcontracted to specialists or logistics partners.
  • Also, managing and controlling this network of partners and suppliers requires a blend of both central and local involvement.

• Supply Chain Management

  • Supply chain management is the management of the network of interconnected steps involved in the provision of product and service packages.
  • Supply chain management (SCM) is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the provision of product and service packages required by the end customers in a supply chain.
  • Distribution network configuration: number, location and network missions of suppliers, production facilities, distribution centers, warehouses, cross-docks and customers.
  • Distribution strategy: questions of operating control (centralized, decentralized or shared); delivery scheme (e.g., direct shipment, pool point shipping, or cross docking), DSD (direct store delivery), closed loop shipping; mode of transportation (e.g., motor carrier, including truckload, LTL, or parcel); railroad; intermodal transport, including TOFC (trailer on flatcar), and COFC (container on flatcar); ocean freight; airfreight; replenishment strategy (e.g., pull, push or hybrid); and transportation control (e.g., owner-operated, private carrier, common carrier, contract carrier, or 3PL).
  • If, however, a full truckload of a product is ordered to reduce transportation costs, there will be an increase in inventory holding costs, which may increase total logistics costs.

• Types of Networks

  • A storage area network (SAN) is a dedicated network that provides access to consolidated, block level data storage.
  • A campus area network (CAN) is a computer network made up of an interconnection of LANs within a limited geographical area.
  • A backbone network is part of a computer network infrastructure that interconnects various pieces of network, providing a path for the exchange of information between different LANs or subnetworks.
  • Network performance management, including network congestion, are critical parameters taken into account when designing a network backbone.
  • Backbone networks are similar to enterprise private networks.

• Channels for Consumer Goods

  • With the growth of specialization, particularly industrial specialization, and with improvements in methods of transportation and communication, channels of distribution have become very complex.
  • Selecting the right modes of transport is also very important in saving costs

• Inventory Management

  • At different locations within a facility, or within many locations of a supply network, inventory management must precede the regular and planned course of production and stocking of materials .
  • Strategic: Network optimization, including the number, location, and size of warehousing, distribution centers, and facilities.
  • Operational: Sourcing planning, including current inventory and forecast demand, done in collaboration with all suppliers; inbound operations, including transportation from suppliers and receiving inventory; outbound operations, including all fulfillment activities, warehousing, and transportation to customers; management of non-moving, short-dated inventory and avoidance of short-dated products.

• Building a closed-loop eco-industrial park

  • A network flow strategy is then devised to examine synergistic links between existing or interested companies (see FIGURE 23-1).
  • Placing companies in close proximity to minimize transportation and material transfer costs.

• Channels for Industrial Goods

  • With the growth of specialization, particularly industrial specialization, and with improvements in methods of transportation and communication, channels of distribution became very complex.
  • A marketing channel is the network of organizations that work together to provide goods for consumption.

• When building new, think before doing

  • This includes placing the building close to major transportation routes, locating next to hills or trees for protection from wind and sun, aligning the building with the sun's trajectory to maximize or minimize solar heat gain, and using the structural mass and shape of the building to the utmost benefit.
  • Channelling rainwater runoff from a building into tanks (for later use) or swales lined with indigenous vegetation is not only eco-friendly it's also cost-effective when compared to an expensive network of underground pipes and treatment plants.

• Reducing Waste and Environmental Impacts

  • Supply chain sustainability is a business issue affecting an organization's supply chain or logistics network in terms of environmental, risk, and waste costs.
  • Investment in alternative modes of transportation, such as use of canals and airships, can play an important role in helping companies reduce the cost and environmental impact of their deliveries.