Tuesday, 26 September 2006
WESTERN Australia-based coastal shipper Craig Thompson has warned of the danger to the shipping industry from the trend towards "just-in-time" principles in the Australian manufacturing sector.
Just-in-time is a inventory strategy employed to increase efficiency and decrease waste by receiving goods only as they are needed in the production process.
Thompson, who is Fremantle's Seacorp Logistics managing director, claims many procurement and logistics managers following this approach mistakenly believe shipping does not service their needs.
He said there were many myths about the shipping industry that could deprive businesses of its enormous economic and logistical benefits.
These myths included that shipping was much slower, more expensive and less productive than other transport modes, and using it would therefore have an impact on storage space.
Thompson said Australia's waterfront reforms since the early 1990s had generated enormous benefits for transport users.
"I can't remember the last time a day was lost due to an industrial dispute," he said.
"Our docksides are very efficient and Australian seafarers are not only amongst the world's finest trained, but they also bring greater potential of improving security around our vast coastline."
According to Thompson, the majority of logistics managers have a one-size-fits-all approach to inventory, using just-in-time practices for all of their transport requirements.
An approach that used marine as well as land transport modes could improve inventory management and achieve savings on freight costs, he said.
"There are lots of situations where cargo can be mixed and matched," Thompson said. "Procurement and logistics managers stand to gain a lot if they think about what cargo can go now and what can go later."
Seacorp claims to have consistently delivered savings to shippers of non-time sensitive and heavy, over-dimensional and awkward project cargo.
The company's coastal shipping service is operated with the 105m SCS Anne, a multipurpose vessel that can ship containers, break bulk, heavy lift, over-dimensional and hazardous and dry bulk cargo.
It has a deck length of 65m and is equipped with two 60-tonne cranes, located on the port side and able to be operated in tandem, with a lifting capacity of 110t.
The service is partly underwritten by the WA Government and according to Seacorp, is the cheapest option of transporting cargo between Fremantle and the ports of Dampier, Port Hedland, Broome, Wyndham and Darwin.
The company said there were many situations where transit times on a sea journey to a northwest destination were just one day longer than those of road transport.
Thompson said Seacorp's service debunked the perception that using shipping services could impact on storage space.
He said the company offered continuous receivals on the wharf to all the ports it serviced, as well as a complete door-to-door service.
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