Shipping Involves So Much More Than Ships
You might never have considered it, but one of the most important industries in the world is shipping. From containers to rail cars, to trucks and lorries, shipping is crucial for any economy that relies on importing or exporting goods. But what does this industry actually involve?
Shipping operations are responsible for such diverse tasks as planning the orders and routes of transport, negotiating deals with carriers, tending to administrative duties such as accounting and staff management and monitoring needs for things like fuel, equipment repairs or technological upgrades. Put simply: without good logistics there can be no effective operation.
Despite the evident benefits of efficient shipping operations, few people would imagine that these activities are quite as routine and mundane as they are. Travelers can often be surprised at how much shipping involves – and this is especially true when it comes to working with carriers or shippers. The news reports about seafaring tragedies may do little to dissuade them from making such a mistake!
Navigating international waters is a daunting challenge, as ships must travel from one country to another without being captured, sunk or damaged en route. Empirically, it's hard to find an industry that's more connected than shipping. This means that everything from supply chains to the movement of materials needs constant monitoring and care.
This is the kind of industry that companies like TCS are perfect for. The logistics sector can be a complex and difficult discipline to master, but with the right skills and resources, it can provide a worthwhile and prosperous career. The TCS World Logistics team shares their expertise on topics such as global trade, transportation and supply chain management. Our global consultants will help you improve efficiencies in your organization's delivery process by providing expert advice on everything from traffic forecasting to negotiations with carriers.
We are proud to play our part – working together with you – to make the world of shipping function better than ever before. Whatever your shipping needs may be, we promise we can deliver the results you require.
[/ARTICLE]
First Published on India Industry.co.in on October 20, 2013, this post has been updated for accuracy and to reflect the views of the author at time of publication.
Tags: Logistics, Shipping, TCS, TCS World Logistics | Posted in Cargo News & Trends, Freight Forwarding | 4 Comments »
RSS 2.0 So will postal services continue to lose business? Will it finally be recognized as one of the most inefficient ways to get things done? Not yet. The Postal Service remains popular because it is really good at moving physical mail from place to place – and because it is highly reliable along the way. I know that USPS has never been the most exciting thing in our lives. But despite its faults, it remains an excellent option for many businesses. For example, if you have a small business that does not need to get products to customers very fast, you should definitely consider using the postal service for your delivery needs. It will be cheaper than FedEx or UPS and it includes insurance plus tracking and signature verification. The upside is that overnight delivery is available – so packages will be delivered on time regardless of where they are sent from or what time of day it is when they are dropped off at your door. After all, it is easier to deliver your package to a local post office than to a recipient thousands of miles away. The downside, in comparison, is that afternoon deliveries are not available on the postal service and sprint delivery times are not particularly fast. This means that if you are in need of your item right now, you will have to pay extra for overnight shipping. But then again, it will get there faster and you don't have to wait until the next day. After all, having an internet connection is an important part of business today – especially if you can deliver something with one from your mailbox and get paid for it by credit card. But the USPS is far better than simply using your area's post office. Most of us go to the post office, get our mail and go on our way. So why not use all the postal services in one place? Remember that you are able to take advantage of a number of promotions and get discounts when you combine shipping from different postal companies – so if you have more products that need to be shipped at once, this could help save you money. The listing below shows an example of what some new options would cost if shipping was combined – but keep in mind that sales taxes are included in this price. For example, a 5-pound package sent to California would cost about $13.92 to be sent in total. If the same package was sent with USPS, it could cost almost $4 less ($9.01) than if it were sent with UPS Ground– and this is not even factoring in sales taxes. Read more... Comments (0) | TrackBack Posted by cargo2go on December 31, 2014
Big Data Meets Big Ships: Maritime Industry, Big Data and the New Age of Ocean Shipping If you are considering a career in shipping then you should know that this is an industry that has been transformed by the availability of big data. Few careers in the modern world are as efficient, reliable and effective as one that involves using big data to monitor and act on large scale shipping movements. As a result, this is one of the most exciting and promising industries for our time. In fact, something like this is going to be required in order to ensure that the shipping industry remains competitive in today's economy – even as the rest of our society fails to keep up with technological trends such as 3D printing and 4D printing. The recent announcement from FedEx that their ship loading times would be cut from 2 days to 1 day could not be a more hopeful sign for those interested in becoming involved with the shipping operations industry. The reason that FedEx has made this announcement is because of a new approach that involves the use of big data to speed up the loading process for their ships. Not only does this mean that overall shipping time will be cut, but also that total cost per package may be reduced as well – due to fewer mistakes and less wasted time.
It's an exciting time to consider a career in the maritime industry. The availability of big data is making it easier than ever for those interested in shipping to monitor and understand the operations of large scale freight transportation companies like FedEx and others.
Conclusion: Big Data + Shipping = High Growth and Big Opportunities for Careers in the New Maritime Economy Now, another example of a career in the shipping industry that requires big data skills is the role of an ocean freight broker. In this role, you will be able to analyze shipping patterns and make predictions based on what you find there. This can be incredibly helpful for any company that needs to set up a new supply chain or streamline their existing one. These days, more and more businesses are looking for an edge in the competitive world economy – which means that those with big data analysis skills can expect to have a lot of growing opportunity in this area. Read More...