Transportation

Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another. The term is derived from the Latin trans (”across”) and portare (”to carry”).

Industries which have the business of providing transport equipment, transport services or transport are important in most national economies, and are referred to as transport industries.

On my travels I’ve come across all manner of odd transport which we are not used to see in Europe. For example in Asia there is the tendency to transport anything on two wheel vehicles. Credit goes to Koos for the pictures!

Dabbawalla Logistics

In the Indian city of Mumbai Dabbawallas are persons employed in a unique logistics service model. The primary business of a Dabbawalla is collecting lunch boxes from the homes of the office workers (mostly in the suburbs), delivering it to their respective workplaces and returning back the empty boxes by using various modes of transport.

With uncanny precision they deliver hundreds of thousand of lunches each day. It is a logistical achievement beyond FedEx. The system is low tech: Aluminum containers, each with a simple code on the lid, racks to hold the containers, and men and boys with good memories. Reputedly their error rate of wrong delivery is only one in 6 million. The word “Dabbawala” can be translated as “box-carrier”.

The dabbawalas at both the receiving and the sending ends are known to the customers personally, so that there is no question of lack of trust. The success of the system is achieved through teamwork and time management as well as the dedication and commitment of the barely literate delivery men in this extensive delivery chain.

Although the service might sound simple, it is actually highly specialized also bearing in mind that all is done without a system or documentation. This unique concept is over a century old and has become integral part of Mumbai’s culture. In 2007 The New York Times reported that Dabbawala logistics service continues to grow at a rate of 5-10% per year.

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Living in a box

In today’s world approximately 90% of general cargo is moved by containers stacked on ships. Containerization has not only revolutionized cargo shipping it also presents an affordable solution for Housing.

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Stella Trip - Memorial

The last time I visited Stella Trip, was together with Elger Postma in November 2007. Although Stella was visible exhausted because of all the treatments to fight her illness, she was determined to join a cruise trip to Boston together with her husband. Unfortunately Stella’s conditions worsened rapidly, on December 20th 2007 Stella passed away at the age of 52.
There were two hobbies that brought joy to Stella; her travels to Asia and the music of the Golden Earring.
Stella was honest, helpful, determined and a very trustworthy person. As a respectful person and a good colleague Stella always had a positive look at life and always ready to help someone in need. I know she would like us to remember her only in joy and happiness. Keep her in your heart and hold on tight!

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RFID

RFID is an automatic identification method, relying on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags.

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The Beer game..

Playing a simple game is an easy way to introduce people to the challenges of supply chain management. This post is an introduction to the Beer Game… 

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Logistics in the Middle East

Within the Middle East there are many countries and regions with future logistics aspirations. Although the exact details are not always known, there are a variety of different stories about projects designed to compete with the modern logistics hub in Dubai.

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Hong Kong Logistics

This videp clip was produced by Pearl TV at the beginning of 2007. It explaines the challenges Hong Kong is facing as a Logistics Hub for the Region. Competition at the Container Terminals is addressed as well as the kind of value added services offered by warehouse operators. 

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