Shipping Containers and the Supply Chain, Essay Example

Before selecting the type of packaging one should use in the transportation of a particular commodity, there are numerous factors that have to be considered. For non-retail supply chains, the advantages are compounded as compared to a supply chain with retailers. There are three types of shipping containers; plastic-based shipping containers, paper-based shipping containers and wood-based shipping containers. The different shipping containers offer particular benefits and also exposes the product and the company to certain risks. Furthermore, some shipping containers have been found to raise concerns about the effect to the environment.

Paper-Based Shipping Containers

This is the most widely used type of shipping container according to ITC (Prater & Whitehead, 2013). This is because of many underlying factors within the paper industry. Paper is readily available, making it cheap. This provides a cost effective way of packaging the good while ensuring the final product is kept to a minimum weight equal to or above the statutory weight limits. There have been numerous improvements in the modern-day paper-based shipping containers. Different properties of the paper have been treated to enhance these properties. There are numerous advantages associated with this king of shipping containers.

Advantages

These paper-based shipping container have advantages that are experienced on the different section of the non-retail supply chain.

To Manufacturer

The manufacturer realizes little to no benefit of using the paper-based shipping containers when against the other alternatives present in the market.

To Logistics

Logistics benefits through having to handle a much lighter load of products when storing the products before distribution (Grant, Trautrims, & Wong, 2013). Such products consume minimal space saving on storage. There is also the advantage of a much lighter load when distributing or transporting the products straight to the customer.

To Customer

This form shipping container provides the customer with a product that is much lighter.

Disadvantages

These paper-based shipping containers also have their flaws and shortcomings that may affect different sections of the supply chain.

To Manufacturer

The paper-based shipping container is much more difficult to assemble. This leads to the wastage of time in packaging the finished product. This leads to an increase in non-value added time within the production process and reducing value-added time (Grant, Trautrims, & Wong, 2013).

To Logistics

Products and commodities with the paper-based shipping containers are prone to damage from physical and environmental factors. While modern paper-based shipping containers have been treated to enhance the different properties of the paper material, they still lack an assured durability when exposed to physical factors such as heat, water and pressure.

To Customer

The customer is always at risk of receiving damaged goods affected by either environmental factors, or to physical factors such as pressure and momentum. The packaging may compromise the quality of the product.

Plastic-Based Shipping Containers

This kind of shipping container is widely used by different manufacturers and suppliers of different products (Wisner, Leong, & Tan, 2012). As a matter of fact, more than 25% of all the packaging in most countries use plastic-based shipping containers. Plastic-based shipping containers offer numerous obvious advantages to the different sections of the economy, while other underlying disadvantages cannot be ignored.

Advantages

To the Manufacturer

The packaging process when using the plastic-based shipping container is much simpler and faster. This increases value added time in the production process.

To Logistics

Plastic-based shipping container are more durable and can withstand environmental factors such as water, and limited amounts of heat. They are also simpler to organize during storage and transportation.

To the Client

The client is guaranteed to receive their product, in good condition and maintain the product’s quality (Prater & Whitehead, 2013). There is also better presentation to the customer.

Disadvantages

The plastic-based shipping container has the following disadvantages;

To the Manufacturer

Plastic-based shipping containers are limited in the number and type of shapes and sizes that can be employed to package a particular product. There are certain products that are most ideal when packages in plastic container of a given shape and/or size.

To Logistics

Plastic-based shipping containers occupy much more space, thus increasing the costs of storage and transportation. While weight is not a big issue, space is of concern.

To Customer

The customer experiences problems while disposing the plastic-based shipping containers. This is because these containers occupy space and are not biodegradable, creating the problem of pollution.

Wood-Based Shipping Containers

This type of shipping containers are not commonly used in the transportation of most products. This type of shipping container is most ideal for those commodities that are heavy and are fragile in nature (Prater & Whitehead, 2013). This type of shipping container is also suitable for those commodities that require special attention so as to mitigate the chances of destruction during packaging, storage, supply and sale.

Advantages

The wood-based shipping container has the following advantages;

To the Manufacturer

The wood-based shipping container provides much safer and easier packaging process for the manufacturer. The manufacturer is able to package fragile and/or heavy commodities exposing them to minimal risks that associated with packaging.

To Logistics

Logistics can safely store and transport highly sensitive commodities and/or heavy products without exposing them to risks associated with storage and transportation, such as exposure to external environmental factors such as moisture and heat, and other physical factors such as pressure and sudden movements as a result of transportation (Taylor, 2006).

To Customer

The customer is guaranteed to receive their product or commodity in a good condition, preserving the quality at production. The customer can easily move the product around in the same container.

Disadvantages

To the Manufacturer

The production process and assembly of wood-based container is time consuming. In order for the manufacturer to package a huge quantity of their product, they have to use many wood-based shipping containers that are expensive to time consuming in their assembly and costly in its production (Grant, Trautrims, & Wong, 2013). Tis also provides for a heavier finished product as wood-based shipping containers are heavier than paper-based and plastic-based shipping containers.

To Logistics

These kind of shipping containers are more difficult to store and move around. This makes the process of storage and movement time consuming. The bulky nature of the commodities and shipping containers means they will consume more space, making the storage and transportation costly.

To the Consumer

The consumer ay have a relatively difficult time in disposing of the shipping container once through with it. This may pose a significant difficulty in ultra-urban areas.

In conclusion, before one selects the kind of shipping container that will be used to package a given product, there are numerous factors that have to be out into consideration. Factors such as the nature and form of the commodity, the size of the commodity and the available and viable modes of transportation all play a role in determining the kind of shipping container to be used.

References

Grant, D. B., Trautrims, A., & Wong, C. Y. (2013). Sustainable logistics and supply chain management. London: Kogan Page.

Prater, E., & Whitehead, K. (2013). An introduction to supply chain management : a global supply chain support perspective. New York: Business Expert Press.

Taylor, D. A. (2006). Supply Chains : A Manager’s Guide. Upper Saddle River: Addison-Wesley.

Wisner, J. D., Leong, G. K., & Tan, K.-C. (2012). Sustainable logistics and supply chain management. Mason: South-Western/Cengage Learning.