1. What is ICD? Its Advantages?

DEFINITION OF ICD/CFS
An Inland Container Depot / Container Freight Station may be defined as:
A common user facility with public authority status equipped with fixed
installations and offering services for handling and temporary storage of
import/export laden and empty containers carried under customs control and
with Customs and other agencies competent to clear goods for home use,
warehousing, temporary admissions, re-export, temporary storage for onward
transit and outright export. Transhipment of cargo can also take place from
such stations.
BENEFITS OF ICDs/CFSs
The benefits as envisaged from an ICD/CFS are as follows:
Concentration points for long distance cargoes and its unitisation.
Service as a transit facility.
Customs clearance facility available near the centres of production and
consumption.
Reduced level of demurrage and pilferage.
No Customs required at gateway ports.
Issuance of through bill of lading by shipping lines, hereby resuming full
liability of shipments.
Reduced overall level of empty container movement.
Competitive transport cost.
Reduced inventory cost.
Increased trade flows.

2. Push-Pull view if SCM.

The business terms push and pull originated in logistics and supply chain
management, but are also widely used in marketing. Wal-Mart is an example
of a company that uses the push vs. pull strategy. A pushpull system in
business describes the movement of a product or information between two
subjects. On markets the consumers usually "pull" the goods or information
they demand for their needs, while the offerers or suppliers "push" them
toward the consumers. In logistics chains or supply chains the stages are
operating normally both in push- and pull-manner. Push production is based
on forecast demand and pull production is based on actual or consumed
demand. The interface between these stages is called the pushpull boundary
or decoupling point.
3. Factors influencing demand for a product.
They are many factors on which the demand for a commodity depends. They
are called determinants of demand. They are discussed as under:
1. Income of the consumer:
A consumers demand is influenced by the size of his income. With
increase in the level of income, there is increase in the demand for goods
and services. A rise in income causes a rise in consumption. As a result, a
consumer buys more. For most of the goods, the income effect is positive.
But for the inferior goods, the income effect is negative. That means with
a rise in income, demand for inferior goods may fall.
2. Price of the commodity:

Price is a very important factor, which influences demand for the

commodity. Generally, demand for the commodity expands when its price
falls, in the same way if the price increases, demand for the commodity
contracts. It should be noted that it might not happen, if other things do
not remain constant.
3. Changes in the prices of related goods:
Sometimes, the demand for a good might be influenced by prices changes
of other goods. There are two types of related goods. They are substitutes
and complements. Tea and Coffee are good substitutes. A rise in the price
of coffee will increase the demand for tea and vice versa. Bread and butter
are complements. A fall in the price of bread will increase the demand for
butter and vice versa.
4. Tastes and preferences of the consumers:
Demand depends on peoples tastes, preferences, habits and social
customs. A change in any of these must bring about a change in demand.
For example, if people develop a taste for tea in place of coffee, the
demand for tea will increase and that for coffee will decrease.
5. Change in the distribution of income:
If the distribution of income is unequal, there will be many poor people
and few rich people in society. The level of demand in such a society will
be low. On the other hand, if there is equitable distribution of income, the
demand for necessaries commonly consumed by the poor will increase
and the demand for luxuries consumed by the rich will decrease. However,
the net effect of an equitable distribution of income is an increase in the
level of demand.
6. Price expectations:
Expectations of people regarding the future prices of goods also influence
their demand. If people anticipate a rise in the prices of goods in future
due to some reasons, the demand for goods will rise to avoid more prices
in future. Contrarily, if the people expect a fall in price, the demand for the
commodity will fall.
7. State of economic activity:
The state of economic activity is major determinant influencing the
demand for a commodity. During the period of boom, prosperity prevails in
the economy. Investment, employment and income increase. The demand
for both capital goods and consumer goods increase. But in period of
depression demand declines due to low investment and low income.
The level of demand for a commodity is also influenced by other factors
like population, composition of population, taxation policy of the
government, advertisement, natural calamities, pattern of saving,
inventions and discoveries and outbreak of war, emergencies, weather,
technical progress etc.
4. Dry port and its advantages?
A dry port (sometimes inland port) is an inland intermodal terminal directly
connected by road or rail to a seaport and operating as a centre for the
transhipment of sea cargo to inland destinations.
Reducing total transport expenses.
Shift from road to rail transport, which is more environmental friendly.
Connecting cargo handling from the port with other types of cargo at
one common transport centre.

Strengthening the ports in transport chains.

Strengthening multi-modal solutions.
Reducing the use of expensive, centrally located areas in the port.
Possibly avoiding traffic bottlenecks, which give less congestion on the
roads near the harbour area, due to the fact that a modal change has
happened.
Reducing local environmental problems in the cities.
Integrating port areas with the cities.
The possibility of speeding up the customs clearance process for goods
transferred overseas can be gained by establishing dry ports with the
right to conduct customs clearance.

5. Essential Infrastructure requirements in a port.

Landside Access
Efficient transportation depends on connections between the road,
rail and water. In order to move waterborne cargo quickly to or from
the hinterlands, trucks and railroads need to have clear access to
ports. For some ports, the weakest link in their logistics chain is at
their back doors, where congested roadways or inadequate rail
connections to marine terminals cause delays and raise
transportation costs.
Waterside Access
Bottlenecks to efficient transfer of cargo also occur when navigation
channels are not deep enough for ships to dock at berths. Unless
ports and waterways are dredged, goods cannot move in the
quickest, most cost-effective way through the intermodal
transportation chain. Without unobstructed navigation channels,
deep draft ships cannot travel safely into ports.
Dredging keeps ports open, safe and competitive. Most ports are
not naturally deep harbours. Many are located at the mouths of
rivers where upstream runoff collects soil from the land which is
carried downstream and deposited on harbour bottoms. Many ports
are man-made through a process of dredging and land filling.
Financing Improvements
In order to keep up with changing vessel sizes and trends in world
trade, public ports must continually update their marine terminal
and administrative facilities, as well as their commercial and
industrial properties. U.S. public ports have made sizeable advances
in modernizing and expanding their terminal facilities. These
investments cover expenditures for the construction of new facilities
and the modernization and rehabilitation of existing ones.
Public/Private Partnerships
In the past, ports traditionally funded their equipment and facility
improvements primarily with existing reserves and loans. Funding
for this model may include cash from operations and retained
earnings, from the proceeds of bond sales and from government
grants. A modification of this traditional funding mechanism is to
use a combination of port cash and cash from a port user, such as a
warehouse operator that will agree to lease or buy a facility if the
port builds it.