物流英语

Unit 3 Transportation Manager’sActivitiesTransportation managers find jobs in many settings. Government agencies (e. g.，Department of Energy, AIntrak, or local municipalities)，private companies (e. g.，WalMary or Ford)，and third-party transportation providers ( e. g,，RPS, UPS, Federal Express) all require people to manage transportation. While the transportation manager^ s responsibilities will vary by the type of organization, many activities will be similar. Several common activities are discussed briefly in the next section.1.C ontract NegotiationsDeregulation brought contract negotiations, to the forefront of the transportation industry. A transportation manager may negotiate to buy transportation services.，to sell transportation services/ or both/The role of buyer requires different preparation from the role of seller* 1Buyers may focus on the ability of the seller to meet specific delivery requirements or provide special handling of materials. Sellers may focus on profit margin, labor requirements, frequency of shipments’, or lane bal-ance. Negotiations should address any items important to the relationship between buyer and seller. Rates, volume customer service standards, handling of .loss and damage claims，the length of the relationship, and special services are often featured in negotiations.2.E fficiency Improvement........... Most transportation: managers seek to improve operational efficiency. Increased competition creates pressure to eliminate unnecessary expense.2The cost of transportation may catch the attention of upper management. When this happens, the transportation manager may review operations for potential cost cutting and customer service enhancing opportunities. Managers faced with the need to improve bottom line fig-ures often seek improved asset utilization through increased consolidation and improved routing and scheduling.3.Evaluation of customer Service Quality LevelsTransportation managers must measure customer service, as surely as the system must deliver service. This demands a process to monitor and improve those services. First, the manager must identify the primary transportation customer, A transportation manager ata large retailer might define the retail outlets as customers. A third party might define customers as those who ship freight through them. A good long-term relationship requires continuous improvement of services and of the quality associated with providing those services. The quality is measured by customer standards. Key issues include terms of sale, credit arrangement, transit time reliability consistency，door~to~door transit tune，loss and damage percentages, and handling of lost or damaged shipments.4.SupervisionA key activity for any transportation manager is the supervision of personnel, while structure varies dramatically by organization, most managers supervise some-one. At a small firm, the transportation manager may directly supervise the people executing day-to-day activities (e. g.，routing» dispatching, scheduling). An inte-grated logistics manager for a large international company may oversee supervisors and managers charged with customer service，materials handling, transportation, and inventory control. A manager with this supervisory responsibility may act as a transportation manager, warehouse manager, information manager, and more.5.Skill RequirementsThe corporate transportation manager is often called the traffic manager. A successful traffic manager must understand the transportation industry，as well as the logistics requirements of the firm.3This includes far more than simply buying transportation services from third-party providers or contract carriers. Many organizations operate private carriers, providing their own transportation. The integrated logistics manager and. staff must thoroughly, understand the management of these services. Even when using purchased, for-hire transportation?logistics professionals still need a sound understanding of transportation management. Many careers frequently cross over between integrated logistics and transportation management.Chapter 6 Transportation Management 1736.Management OpportunitiesThere are different types of transpiration providers with different cost structures. Less-than-truckload and carload carriers are more asset-intensive than their truckload/ carload counterparts. They require significantly more rolling stock，a high-quality in- formation network, and consolidation facilities. As a result LTL carriers must charge a higher price per hundredweight (cwt) than carriers. Many transportation managers consolidate shipments to take advantage of lower vehicle load rates.Shippers will also try to minimize the cost o£ transportation by avoiding demur-rage and detention charges.. Carriers entering into a contract with shippers for transportation services allow for a reasonable amount of time to load and unload the ship-ment. When the shipper delays the carrier beyond the specified time for loading and unloading, the shipper pays a fee. The fee is known as a detention charge in the mo-tor cattier industry and as a demurrage fee in .the railroad industry.Other key issues for transportation managers include break-bulk services, transit privileges, product tracking, shipment weights, and product expediting. Break-bulk services take large shipments and break them down, into smaller shipments. Transit privileges allow for an interruption in the continuous movement of a shipment. The shipper may make an intermediate stop without paying the higher price for two separate moves. Product tracking allows the shipper to follow a shipment through the transportation system. Shipment weighing is usually agreed upon by the shipper and carrier during contract negotiations. The shipper, the carrier, or a third party may weigh the shipment. More shipments will be expedited as competition intensifies and customer service expectations increase. Product expediting simply refers to dramatic-ally reducing the total time of a product shipment.7. Documents requirementsDocuments accompany almost every shipment. Probably the most noted document is the bill of lading. A bill of lading serves as a contract for carriage and a receipt for shipped goods. The bill of lading may help reconcile possible discrepancies or pro-vide evidence of title to the goods. Bills of lading can be endorsed much like a check. A straight bill of lading is non-negotiable, which means endorsement does not transfer title of goods. An order bill of lading is negotiable and serves as a title to the goods listed on the document.The bill of lading includes the terms and conditions of transportation. The terms address issues like carrier liability for loss and damage and reasonable dispatch requirement.Common carriers are typically held liable for the full value of lost or dam-aged products unless they can prove one of five exceptions. The exceptions are：(1) act of God (e. g.，earthquake)，(2) act of public enemy (e. g,，military attack against .the United States)，(3) act of shipper (e. g. , improper packaging)，(4) act of public authority (e‘g.，impounded by the police), and (5) act resulting from the inherent nature of the goods (e. g.，rust). One or more of these exceptions must be solely re-sponsible for the loss or damage or the common carrier will most likely be found liable for the goods.A shipper must file a claim for lost or damaged goods. This document represents a claim against the carrier to recover financially from loss，damage, or unreasonable delay. The shipper must file a written claim with the carrier within a specified time limit, usually nine months after delivery of the product. In practice, freight should be inspected immediately upon receipt. Any detected damage should immediately be brought to the attention of the carrier. When the financial loss is the result of a lost or unreasonably delayed product, the best approach is to have the shipper and carrier work together to recover the product.A freight bill is an. invoice from the carrier to the shipper for transportation services. Freight charges are usually handled as either prepaid or collects charges. Prepaid freight bills are issued on the date of shipment, while collect bills are issued on the date of delivery.A shipping manifest lists individual stops when multiple shipments are on the same vehicle. Less-than-load operations require shipment manifests, since a basic LTL operation consolidates small shipments as a full load. A shipping manifest improves handling and scheduling of multiple shipments. The result is a more efficient delivery > better on-time delivery rates» and improved customer service.FOB terms determine when, title passes from buyer to seller, who incurs freight charges，and who maintains control of the shipment. FOB origin means the buyer in-curs all transportation costs and has responsibility for the shipment. Title to the goods passes from buyer to seller once the shipment leaves the buyer? s shipping dock. FOB destination means the seller has responsibility for the goods and incurs all transportation costs. Title to the goods does not pass from buyer to seller until the goods reach the seller’s receiving dock.While the carrier has possession of the goods, the carrier seldom takes title to the goods. Acceptance of goods by a carrier creates a bailment. A bailment must exercise due care while the goods are in their possession. In cases，where the carrier’s failure to exercise due care results in lost or damaged product, the shipper will often file a freight claim.New Words and Expressions政府责任效率—致性引人注目地滞留期，滞期中间的Notes句意，买主Notes1. The role of buyer requires different preparation from the role of seller. 句意：买主需要做的准备工作不同于卖主。