Arrangement of container transport by railway

Transport development in accordance with the international standards and the advanced technologies enhanced interest of experts in the field of development of transport supply of the materials. Currently, intensification of competition resulted in more careful attention to the level of the service provided. This is growing to be crucial since companies have to satisfy the customers’ needs and provide services of a higher quality level to keep existing customers and bring in the new ones under the complex conditions of the today’s market.

Logistics approach to railway transport arrangement provides for a new methodology residing in fact that designing an optimum (rational) transportation process must become the basic component of transport. This implies search for the best administrative and technically feasible solutions providing for maximum efficiency of cargo transport from the source of production to the destination point. It bears mentioning that the term “designing”, that literally means selection of an intended outline, appears to be rightfully used in the process of inventing not only technical means but transport products as well [1, p. 26].

There is a direct correlation between the railway transportation and production spheres that is determined by effectiveness of speedy cargo delivery at long distances that, in turn, influences labor efficiency, profit margin, and level of work profitability. Concepts of transportation process effectiveness and rolling stock use effectiveness are equated.

The above mentioned gives rise to necessary analysis of the existing methods and technologies of transport network arrangement as well as search for corresponding optimum solutions and development of the technologies applicable to the domestic enterprises with due consideration of context of Kazakhstan, their development level and limited resources..

Designing definite routes with cars correspondingly loaded with electro insulating materials to decrease the time needed for delivery to the destination may become one of the most feasible ways of arranging the unified distribution network of two companies. A factor preventing from accelerated development of this area in Kazakhstan is insufficient development of research and methodological procedures in this field.

One of the prerequisites for selecting this topic for research was need for searching for the most efficient ways of arranging the unified distribution network for the companies involved in production and sale of electro insulating materials to delivery goods to the end user within the shortest time possible as well as need for development of methodological procedures of establishing and managing this structure.

Arrangement of logistics and sales stirs immense practical interest. As any other area of expertise and any other technical process, it has a procedure of step-by-step implementation of the process [2, p. 208].

Procedure of any cargo transportation process has three characteristics: breakdown of transport process, coordination and staging, un ambiguity of actions. The reason for breakdown of transport process into stages is to define the limits of immanent requirements to staff to follow such procedure in their work. Any operation should ensure approach of a control object to the set goal and ensure transition from one operation to another. The final operation of a stage should serve as a kind of introduction to the first operation of the next stage. The more precisely cargo transport process description complies with its subjective logics; the higher is the possibility of obtaining the top efficiency in work of staff involved. The procedures to be developed should incorporate requirements of the basic economic laws and, first of all, the law of increase in public labor performance.

Coordination and staging of actions, aimed at reach of a definite set goal, should be based on internal logics of functioning and development of a definite transport process. Procedures are not developed “from scratch”, they are linked with past and future procedures. The procedures in effect today must be grounded on principles allowing its transfer into procedures of future [3, p. 497].

It is noted that a significant number of logistics operations en route of material flow from the original raw material source to the final consumption point involves use of different transportation means. The expenses for these operations comprise up to 50% of total logistics expenses.

Based on their designation, there are two transport groups as follows:

- public transport is a national economy area satisfying needs of all national economy areas and population for cargo and passenger transport. Public transport serves distribution area and population. It is often referred to as arterial (main) system, i.e. principal, basic line in a system, here – in communication lines. Concept of public transport covers railway transport, water transport (both sea and river ones), automobile, air and pipeline transport;

- specialized transport is intra-industrial transport as well as transportation means of all kinds owned by non-transport organizations [4, p. 208].

Let us review railway type of transport more thoroughly. Transportation plays an important role in public production system. Transportation system is a complex aggregate of different, branched communication lines conditionally subdivided into two types: arterial and intra-industrial. It stands to reason that railway transportation is the leading element of transportation system and takes the top position among other types of freight / passenger transportations.

Railway is the main business component of industrial structure of railway transportation. Its functions include development of target indicators for transport activities as well as financing and development of material and technical base for industrial production unions to ensure proper satisfaction of needs for freight and passenger transportations, increase transportation efficiency due to technical renovation and decrease of material, labor and financial resources.

In transport sphere, the most important factors are observation of railway timetable and schedule and implementation of freight transport plans. Train schedule is a basis in train traffic arrangement; it consolidates activities of all subdivisions and expresses plan of railway operations. The train schedule is a fundamental law for the railway transport workers, and its fulfillment is one of the crucible parameters of the railway operation. The train schedule should ensure satisfaction of needs for freight and passenger transportations, safe train traffic, the most efficient use of traffic and carrying capacity of areas and estimated capacity of railway stations, and rational use of the rolling stock.

Quantity and quality parameters of railway operations are important for understanding of their role and preparation of an optimal development strategy. Besides, they are important for gaining a correct, unbiased understanding of the railway transport position in the general transport system, and, in particular, interrelation of railway and automobile transport.

The following quantity and quality parameters are also taken into consideration in development of transport plans:

- loaded car miles;

- empty car miles (empty car miles depend on distribution of production capacities over the country; in particular, loading and unloading areas, unequal traffic distribution in different directions, cargo type and profile of a car fleet).  Decrease of empty run percentage results in reduction of mileage and work in gross ton-kilometer per transport unit. Therefore, we reach economy in locomotive crew allowances, fuel, electric power supply, maintenance and repair of railway cars and locomotives; we decrease capital expenses needed for the rolling stock and railway network development [5, p. 6].

The quality characteristics are as follows:

- empty run ratio (to reduce empty run ratio, it is necessary to load empty cars following the same direction to the possible maximum);

- empty-loaded run ratio;

- dynamic load of loaded or empty car (dynamic load depends on cargo mix structure, car fleet as well as millage with small and high loading). Decrease of average dynamic load negatively affects the railway operations; this leads to greater involvement of cars from the operational fleet, and, therefore, greater expenses for their repair and maintenance. To increase average dynamic load and, consequently, decrease the expenses, cars of maximum allowable loading capacity should be used, which would allow to perform transport with minimum operational car fleet;

- average daily car mileage, average daily car performance (decrease of daily performance of operating freight car negatively affects railway operations. To improve car performance, it is necessary to decrease waits and increase car speed, on the one hand, and improve use of their loading capacities, on the other hand; at this, car performance improvement measures should be in compliance with economic efficiency of transport staff work);

- interrelation of supplementary run to head run and linear run of a locomotive; average train weight – both gross and net; average daily locomotive mileage; and locomotive performance.

Quality parameters characterize efficiency of the rolling stock based on its loading and working capacities, time and volume of performed work per time unit.

Values of quality parameters depend on technical status of the railways and their companies, use of up-to-day technologies, organization level of traffic, shunting and handling operations, and other factors [6, p. 208].

The peculiar features of such freight and cargo delivery method as container transport include item loading into standard containers to be transported by automobile, railway and water transport.

Containers are metal cases of definite dimensions used to package cargo. They are furnished with all necessary fixtures and accessories for cargo reloading into different transportation means.

Container transport as a shipping method is quite convenient for conveyance and renders it possible for companies to ship different cargoes as small lots of 1.5–30 tons and area of 5–40 square meters.

The advantages of such shipping method as container transport include as follows:

- simplified cargo transfer approval by railway station management, that  results in faster shipment of cargos (the goods might be shipped out the same day when the request is submitted);

- minimum number of cargo handling operations in change of  transportation modes. Even when a container is reloaded, the goods are in the closed-type metal shipping package, i.e. the container itself. This results in goods safety in freight operations and makes it difficult for the ill-minded-persons to tamper the container and steel the cargo;

- observation of policy of economy in use of container transport as a shipping method, which remains the most economic freight transportation mode;

- area of coverage of the shipping method (the whole country is covered with road and railway networks which may be used to deliver container cargoes;

- container transport under unified shipping documents but with different transportation modes to deliver the needed goods to the destination (combined cargo transport); and

- global standardization of dimensions and linear sizes of a definite cargo type.

The disadvantages of container transport as a shipping method should be added with some longer terms of cargo loading and shipping. This depends on particular characteristics of gathering and placing the containers in special cars – container cars. There is a special layout of containers arrangement in the car to have center of gravity in about mid-length. Such cargoes are also transported by special trucks – container trucks.

Let us review another type of transport allowable in high loading capacity of the materials to be transported; it is post baggage transport, i.e. railway cargo transport: a post baggage company delivers small and middle lots of cargoes sent with passenger and post baggage trains in accordance with a definite railway timetable with stops at railway stations [7, p. 25].

Post office car is a special railway car designated for transport and processing of postal items. Post office car is usually a part of passenger trains and can go both at a regular speed, with stops at all railway stations en route, and at an accelerated speed (high-speed trains).

Industrial enterprises not only manufacture products of the needed volumes, range and quality in compliance with the customers’ requests but also provide for commercial activity in sale of the finished products; and the role of the latter is being increased, the whole process is growing to become more complex.

Sales activities of an industrial enterprise imply process of market promotion of the finished products and arrangement of commodity exchange aimed at profit taking. Profit resulting from sales is business profit itself. It can be improved provided that the following tasks are completed:

1) production capacities are used optimally due to the customers’ orders;

2) products promotion channels are selected rationally;

3) total expenses in products economic cycle are brought to minimum.

The task of selecting distribution channels is the main in development of sales policy and has an increased importance since correctly selected channel helps to eliminate time of the finished products delivery to the customer thus satisfying its needs.

Mostly, production and consumption correlate neither in time nor in space. Thus, no matter how diverse the products qualities are, an industrial enterprise can reckon on a real commercial success only when sales of its finished products are rationally arranged.

Sales activity receives practical approval in the course of time. Eventually, the process is clamped up at effective sales arrangement. Market research involves analysis of several components.

When marketing policy is implemented, and the estimated result is achieved, the company reached its aim and, therefore, it is considered to be effective. When the aims are not reached, the marketing policy needs to be either revised or improved, or refused. Besides, it is important to understand that one of the key factors in sales arrangement and research is planning and forecasting market trends. Arrangement of sales activities involves a continuous consumer analysis, search for the new customers and satisfaction of their demands, market selection, and increase of sales profitability [7, p. 33].

For a company to gain maximum potential, its managers should act together to thoroughly develop marketing strategy and successfully implement the process in real life conditions with numerous internal and external difficulties. The more sophisticated the strategy is and the more aptly it is arranged, the more chances the company has for gaining a strong market position. Auspicious arrangement of the strategy implementation is not only a passport to business success but also the best examination for the company. It is an ideal that is worth striving for.

REFERENCES

1. Eliseev, S.Ju. Logistika operativnogo regulirovanija pogruzki i prodvizhenija gruzov // Zheleznodorozhnyj transport. - 2004. № 11. S. 18 – 26 | S. Yelisseyev. Logistics of Operational Management of Cargo Loading and Shipment // Railway Transportation. - 2004, No. 11, pp. 18-26 (in Russian)

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6. Gomankov F.S. Tehnologija i organizacija perevozok na zheleznodorozhnom transporte. Uchebnik dlja vuzov zh.-d. transporta. M.: Transport, 1994. - 208 s. | F. Gomankov. Technique and Arrangement of Railway Transportation. A textbook for Railway Transport Universities. Moscow: Transportation, 1994. - 208 p. (in Russian)

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