SBANC Newsletter
July
12,
2005
Issue
380-2005
QUOTE
"It has been my observation that most people get ahead during
the time that others waste time."
-- Henry
Ford
FEATURE
PAPER
A
Conceptual Model of the Effects of U.S.-Mexico Border Delays,
Including 9/11, on JIT
This
paper was presented by Nalini Govindarajulu and Bonnie F. Daily from
New Mexico State University at the 2003 Decision Sciences Institute
Southwest Region Conference.
ABSTRACT
Just in Time (JIT) production represents a move by manufacturers
to reduce inventories, waste and cost through a system that focuses
on efficiencies in procurement, production, and timely distribution
and delivery (Cammarano, 1997; Hutchins, 1999; Jackson, 1983).Furthermore,
the use of JIT manufacturing has drastically increased
in North America in the previous decade (Bagchi, 1988; Rao &Young,
1991; Vickery, 1989). This increase has been particularly significant
in the U.S.-Mexico Border region.
In
the last twenty years the U.S.- Mexico border has undergone a
boom in manufacturing (Fawcett, Taylor, & Smith,
1995;Weaver, 2001). Principally, the onset of the maquiladora system
(production of foreign component parts for re-export) in Mexico
has made the border area a hub of industrial activity (Economic
Research
Service/USDA,
2000). In addition, the nature of the maquiladora structure requires
significant transportation on a daily basis back and forth across
the border. Unfortunately, the border area suffers from significant
delays in traffic when crossing in and out of the U.S. and Mexico
(GAO Report, 2001). These delays are particularly harmful to the
sensitive JIT transportation time-tables employed by many of
the maquilas.
Moreover, these delays and associated problems in implementing JIT
have only been exacerbated recently with increased security constraints
at ports of entry
since 9/11 (Aichlmayr, 2001; Bradley, 2001; Sinha & Condon,
2002).
Accordingly,
the purpose of this paper is to conceptualize how transportation
problems and delays across the U.S.-Mexico border
impact JIT. Thus,
the objectives of this paper are to: 1) provide a literature
review of JIT in regards to transportation issues,
2) identify the relationship between border delays and JIT
performance, 3) develop a conceptual model to explain these relationships
and resulting impacts, based on propositions derived from
our research
and, 4)
finally, propose research methodology to empirical test the model.
Read the Entire Paper...
TIP
OF THE WEEK
Transportation
The choice of transportation carriers affects the pricing of products,
delivery performance, and condition of the goods when they arrive--all
of which will affect customer satisfaction. In shipping goods to
its warehouses, dealers, and customers, the company can choose
among five main transportation modes: truck, rail, water, pipeline,
and air, along with an alternative mode for digital products: the
Internet.
Trucks have increased their share of transportation steadily and
now account for 39 percent of total cargo ton-miles (more than
69 percent of actual tonnage). They account for the largest portion
of transportation within cities as opposed to between cities. Each
year in the United States, trucks travel more than 600 billion
miles--equal to nearly 1.3 million round trips to the moon--carrying
7.7 billion tons of freight. Trucks are highly flexible in their
routing and time schedules, and they can usually offer faster service
than railroads. They are efficient for short hauls of high-value
merchandise. Trucking firms have added many services in recent
years. For example, Roadway Express and most other major carriers
now offers satellite tracking of shipments and sleeper tractors
that move freight around the clock.
Railroads account for 38 percent of total cargo ton-miles moved.
They are one of the most cost-effective modes for shipping large
amounts of bulk products--coal, sand, minerals, and farm and forest
products--over long distances. In recent years, railroads have
increased their customer services by designing new equipment to
handle special categories of goods, providing, flatcars for carrying
truck trailers by rail (piggyback), and providing in-transit services
such as the diversion of shipped goods to other destinations en
route and the processing of goods en route.
Water carriers, which account for about 10 percent of cargo ton-miles,
transport large amounts of goods by ships and barges on U.S. coastal
and inland waterways. Although the cost of water transportation
is very low for shipping bulky, low-value, nonperishable products
such as sand, coal, grain, oil, and metallic ores, water is the
slowest mode and may be affected by the weather.
Pipelines are a specialized means of shipping petroleum, natural
gas, and chemicals from sources to markets. Most pipelines are
used by their owners to ship their own products.
Although air carriers transport less than 1 percent of the nation's
goods, they are an important transportation mode. Airfreight rates
are much higher than rail or truck, but airfreight is ideal when
speed is needed or distant markets have to be reached. Among the
most frequently airfreighted products are perishes (fresh fish,
cut flowers) and high value, low bulk items (technical instruments,
jewelry). Companies find that airfreight also reduces inventory
levels, packaging costs, and number of warehouses needed.
The Internet carries digital products from producer to customer
via satellite, cable modem, or telephone wire. Software firms,
the media, music companies, and education all make use of the Internet
to transport digital products. While these firms primarily use
traditional transportation for lower product distribution cost.
Whereas planes, trucks, and trains move freight and packages, digital
technology moves information bits.
Shippers also use intermodal transportation-combining two or more
modes of transportation. Piggyback describes the use of rail and
trucks: fishyback, water and trucks; trainship, water and rail;
and airtruck, air and trucks. Combining modes provides advantages
that no single mode can deliver. Each combination offers advantages
to the shipper. For example, not only is piggyback cheaper that
trucking alone but it also provides flexibility and convenience.
In choosing a transportation mode for a product, shippers, must
balance many considerations: speed, dependability, availability,
cost, and others. Thus, if a shipper needs speed, air and truck
are the prime choices. If the goal is low cost, then water or pipeline
might be best.
Armstrong,
Gary, and Philip Kotler. Marketing: An Introduction. 7th
ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2003.
356-357.
CONFERENCES
American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE)
The American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE) will hold
its Southwest Regional Conference in The Peabody Hotel in Little
Rock, Arkansas on July 22-23, 2005. The theme for this conference
will be "Managing Our Future... In an Energy Competitive Market."
For more information, visit: http://www.aabe.org/conferences/index.html
Computing,
Communication and Control Technologies (CCCT '05)
The
Third International Conference on Computing, Communication and Control
Technologies will be held at the Omni Austin Hotel in Austin, Texas
on July 24-27, 2005. The conference will address computing and informations
systems and technologies, communication systems, technologies and
applications, control systems, technologies and applications on computing,
and communication and control technologies.
For more information, visit: http://www.iiisconfer.org/ccct05/
7th Annual NIH SBIR/STTR Conference
The National Institutes of Health and the Small Business Innovation
Research (SBIR) will hold
its 7th Annual NIH SBIR/STTR Conference in Bethesda, Maryland on
July 28-29, 2005.
For more information, visit: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/SBIRConf2005/index.htm
Entrepreneurial
Leadership and Business Advantage (ELBA)
The
Entrepreneurial Leadership and Business Advantage (ELBA) World
Entrepreneurship Conference will be held on the beautiful
California State University, Chico campus from August 4-10, 2005.
This is truly an international entrepreneurship conference. The ELBA
conference
will include presentations by U.S. policymakers,
venture
capitalists and successful entrepreneurs.
For more information, visit: http://www.elba-conference.org
IPSI-2005
Stockholm
Internet, Processing, Systems, and Interdisciplinary (Research),
better know as IPSI, is holding the 2005 Stockholm DataMining
and Semantic Web for E-Business
on the Internet Conference at the Grand Hotel in Stockholm,
Sweden on September 2-4, 2005.
For more information, visit: http://www.internetconferences.net/industrie/stockholm2005.html
CALL
FOR PAPERS
IPSI-2005 New
York
The IPSI BgD conference will be held at the
Hotel Beacon in New York, New York. One
of the main topics of this conference is "E-education
and E-business with Special Emphasis on Semantic Web and Web Datamining."
The conference is being held on January 5-8, 2006.
Submission Deadline: August 1, 2005.
For more information, visit: http://www.internetconferences.net/newyork2006/index.html
Small Business Institute (SBI)
The
Small Business Institute (SBI) will hold the 2005 Small Business
Institute Annual Eastern Conference at The Omni William Penn Hotel
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 16-17, 2005. This conference
is open to all those with an interest in small business and entrepreneurship,
and it is not limited to members of the SBI
Eastern region.
Submission Deadline: August 1, 2005
For more information, visit: http://www.duq.edu/sbdc
College
Teaching Methods & Styles (CTMS)
The College Teaching Methods & Styles (CTMS) will hold the
International College Teaching Methods & Styles Conference at
Silver Legacy Hotel Casino in Reno, Nevada on September 19-21, 2005.
Submission Deadline: August 7, 2005
For more information, visit: http://www.ctmsconference.com/call_for_papers.htm
Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ASBE)
The
Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ASBE) will hold
its Fall Conference at the La Posada de Albuquerque in Albuquerque,
New Mexico on October 5-7, 2005. As in years past, there will
be best paper awards; these papers will also be published in the
Journal
of Business & Entrepreneurship.
Irwin/McGraw Hill will fund a doctoral paper competition ($1,000
prize).
Submission Deadline: August 15, 2005
For more information, visit: http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/research/asbe/ASBE_Website/callforpapers.htm
Applied Business and Entrepreneurship Association International
The
Applied Business and Entrepreneurship Association International will
hold its Second Annual Meeting at the Kauai Marriott Resort and Beach
Club, Kauai, Hawaii on November 16-20, 2005. Topics include Accounting
I, Accounting II, Business Law, E-Business, Logistics & Transportation,
Econimics, Marketing, etc.
Submission Deadline: August 15, 2005
For more information, visit: http://lewis.up.edu/bus/adrangi/abeai/index.htm
ANNOUNCEMENTS
All
SBI members are encouraged to participate in this year's Case
of the Year Competition. Please make an effort to submit some
of your students' work for competition this year. "By submitting
competitive reports and having our students recognized for their
excellence at the national level, administrative support will
increase for our programs and a broader range of faculty will
seek to be involved." -- Leo Simpson, Vice-President of COY
For more information, visit: http://www.smallbusinessinstitute.net
