What are the current logistics considerations for the Finnish industrial sector with regard to the use of ports to transport products?
Logistics considerations for the use of ports and sea freight to transport commodities are heavily dependent on the individual industry sector, the price of service, turn-around times, dependability, accuracy, scheduling, the convenience of supply chain partners, customer needs and expectations, and safety. Most industries within the Finnish context use ports to transport commodities with a low price/kg ratio and long life cycles. Speed in the delivery of commodities is often overlooked at the expense of other factors such as convenience and schedule. Additionally, market and customer expectations are considered in depth while considering using ports and sea freight to transport goods not only to enable the products to reach the destined market in good time but also to ensure customers are able to receive their orders using the port infrastructure in their own countries.
What are the benefits of enlarging and increasing the use of e-business in supply networks using Ports in Finland?
Within the finish industrial sector, the development and adoption of e-business frameworks such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems have not only enabled supply networks to realize the identified savings potential provided by information integration in terms of fluent and automatic information exchange, but also to benefit immensely from other cost-cutting measures due to the transparency of information and its real-time distribution to the parties involved in the supply network (Punakivi & Hinkaa, 2006). Supply chain management (SCM) as a critical component of ERP systems has been credited for assisting the Finnish port of Helsinki in myriad ways, including cycle time reduction, productivity improvement, quality improvement, superior resource management, improved decision making and planning among supply chain partners, developing cost leadership in supply chains, building and sustaining external linkages, developing supply chain flexibility for current and future changes, and building common vision among supply chain partners (Punakivi & Hinkaa, 2006).
In the context of the Finnish industrial sector, what factors inform the use of road, sea, rail, and air transport in planning the logistics for importing and exporting products?
Road freight is indeed the fastest-growing transportation mode in Finland owing to the flexibility of service as well as responsiveness to shifting customer demands, particularly in short-range supply networks. For long-haul transportation of products from Finland’s industrial sector, road freight is also in many cases the cheapest solution, particularly if any of the parties in the supply chain requires flexibility in routing. However, common discourse and trends demonstrate that most Finnish foreign trade is transported by sea due to the low price/kg of sea freight when compared with other modes of transportation. From a logistics perspective, sea freight is also beneficial in Finland since the country is perceived as an ‘island’ when evaluated against its main markets in Western Europe. According to Punakivi and Hinkaa (2006), “rail freight is an affordable transportation mode especially for long journey, but the problem with it is the requirement of a combination of different transportation modes if the company does not have its own blind track” (p. 212). Air transport is considered a safe way to convey products from one location to another, especially when the journey is long or the schedule is critical (needed with speed). Supply chain partners also consider the product’s high price/kg value and a high need for security when making decisions to use costly air transport (Punakivi & Hinkaa, 2006).
Reference
Punakivi, M., & Hinkaa, V. (2006). Selection criteria of transportation mode: A case study in four Finnish industry sectors. Transport Reviews, 26(2), 207-219.