Category Archives: Service Management

Journeys: Seeing the world as customers do

Posted on March 21, 2016 by | Leave a comment

Again McKinsey says something relevant to ocean carriers. Do you see the world from the customer’s viewpoint? You deal in journeys, why not look at the customer’s?  Or are you stuck trying to make touchpoints successful without seeing the big picture?

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To maximize customer satisfaction, companies have long emphasized touchpoints. But doing so can divert attention from the more important issue: the customer’s end-to-end journey.

Source: From touchpoints to journeys: Seeing the world as customers do | McKinsey & Company

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Posted in Production Operations, Service Management, Shipping, Supply Chains, Uncategorized

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Rethinking pricing at container terminals

Posted on December 18, 2015 by | Leave a comment

McKinsey has a new scheme for container pricing. They hope it will save the industry.  To be sure, segmented pricing is always good for incumbents, and port terminals often have a kind of monopoly, since once you’ve chosen a shipping carrier there are only certain ports and terminals it calls at.  But for customers (shippers of goods)? And will they really put up with it in the very competitive transport marketplace.  I think they have the bargaining power today.

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An innovative approach that creates incentives for efficiency could generate up to $3 billion in value for operators and their customers. A McKinsey & Company article.

Source: How to rethink pricing at container terminals | McKinsey & Company

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Posted in Ports, Service Management, Shipping, Strategy, Supply Chains

Top 20 Jobs in the U.S. Transportation Industry – Supply Chain 24/7

Posted on August 31, 2015 by | Leave a comment

This is an interesting initiative on the part of the government.  One fact I found useful is that they estimate that for every front line job in the category, 2 are created in service and 21 in operations.  This shows the leverage that the transportation sector has on economic prosperity in general.  You can also download the full report from the story.

U.S. Departments of Transportation, Education, and Labor has released a joint transportation jobs report indicating that transportation industry growth will add 417,000 skilled and semi-skilled job openings from 2012 to 2022.

Source: Top 20 Jobs in the U.S. Transportation Industry – Supply Chain 24/7

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Posted in Labor Economics, Logistics, Service Management, Supply Chains