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PEER-GRADED ASSIGNMENT: TRANSPORTATION

ASSIGNMENT (SUPPLY CHAIN LOGISTICS-WEEK 1)

ANSWERS:

1) Calculate the distances and time between the locations mentioned in the
tracking statement.
question 1
From To Distance (Miles) Time Taken (by FedEx)
1. Rogers, MN Hagerstown, MD 1061 miles 3 Days, 14 hrs and 10 min
2. Hagerstown, MD North Wales, PA 180.6 miles 7 hrs and 17 Min.
3. North Wales, PA Valley Forge, PA 16.6 miles 6 hrs and 26 min.
4. Rogers, MN North Wales, PA 1185 miles

2) Identify the role that each leg of the journey plays (e.g. pick-up, line haul,
delivery, etc.).
Question two
Pick up: Pick Up is the first step of transportation. When people or companies want to send
their goods from one place to another place. Delivery Company Pick that goods/product
from owner or manufacturer.

Line Haul: Noting or pertaining to the transport, usually by truck, of heavy loads of
freight for long distances or between cities. Movement of cargo between two major cities
or port, especially those more than about 1500 kilometers or 1000 miles apart.
Delivery: Delivery is the process of transporting goods from a source location to a
predefined destination. … The general process of delivering goods is known as
distribution, while the study of effective processes for delivery and disposition of goods
and personnel is called logistics.

3) Identify the mode of transportation that is likely used. Modes of

transportation are likely used:

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Supply chain logistics course
coursera 2021
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Question three
Wednesday 10:04 am to Wednesday 4:00 pm: pick up the shipment from the shipper
in Rogers, MN.

Wednesday 4:00 pm to Wednesday 5:54 pm: bring the shipment to FedEx

facility in Rogers, MN.
Mode: Motor Freight (delivery vans)
Reason: short distances, inside Rogers MN Thursday 1:37 am to
Sunday 3:47 pm: line haul Mode: Intermodal (rail)
Reason: long-haul, far distance, about 1061 miles (for distance over 750 miles, rails will
have speed advantages over trucking). Hagerstown was the center of the Western Maryland
Railway; Rail transportation must be easily incorporated.
Sunday 9:34 pm to Monday 4:52 am: bring the shipment from FedEx facility in
Hagerstown, MD to another facility in North Wales, PA.
Mode: Air Freight (airplane) Reason: Shipment moved through the night, air transport of
FedEx usually operates all around the clock, while by trucking, drivers have to sleep by
night. FedEx usually uses an airplane to transport between its terminals.
However, when considering the distance (180 miles), trucking is more economical. If
FedEx has drivers driving through the night, it’ll be most likely that they use the truck.
Monday 7:30 am to Monday 1:56 pm: delivery to the consignee in Valley Forge, PA.
Mode: Motor Freight (delivery vans)
Reason: short distance (16, 6 miles)

4) Explain the routing between origin and destination (e.g. how much of a
straight line between origin and destination)
Question four
The route between origin and destination the shipment moved from Rogers, MN–
Hagerstown, MD–North Wales, PA–Valley Forge, PA.
The Total distance is 1258, 2 miles. (2024.55) This route is not exactly a straight line. It
moved south to Hagerstown in Maryland and moved up North little bit to North Wales;
PA. As explained above, the shipment was picked up from shipper in Rogers, MN It was
brought to FedEx facility in Rogers, MN for consolidation. After the shipments has been
consolidated in FedEx facility in Rogers, MN. It was moved through a long line-haul to

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Supply chain logistics course
coursera 2021
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facility in Hagerstown, Maryland. In FedEx facility in Hagerstown, MD, the shipment was
sorted, together with other parcels before to be moved to another facility in North Wales,
PA. (North Wales, PA may play a role for distribution center for the shipment) When
arrived at FedEx facility in North Wales, PA, the shipment was deconsolidated, and
finally, it was delivered to consignee in Valley Forge, PA.

5) Analyze the efficiency of the routing (e.g. why the company likely
chose this routing).
Question five
Analyze the efficiency of the routing the distance from Rogers, MN to North Wales, PA if
going through Hagerstown, MD is 1258, 2 miles. The distance from Rogers, MN to North
Wales, PA if not going through Hagerstown, MD is 1201, 6 miles. If FedEx chooses to going
through the facility in Hagerstown, MD, it must have its own reasons. First,

FedEx Hagerstown, MD is chosen to be Sortation Center of FedEx, the shipments must

be gone through this sortation centers before being efficiently moved to distribution
hubs to dispatch to destination. Second, I myself think that the discrepancy of 58 miles is
nothing if the economical reasons strongly overwseighs. When going through the facility
in Hagerstown, MD, (sortation center), FedEx could pick up more parcels here to
consolidate into a bigger shipment, like Full Truck Load, this will bring about economies of
scale when they move the whole shipment to the hub in North Wales, PA.

6) Express any areas of difficulty.

Question six
 Transportation Cost Control: One of the highest costs contributing to
the ‘cutting transportation cost’ concern is fuel prices. Higher fuel prices are
likely to increase transportation costs for U.S. shippers this year by pushing
up fuel surcharges. Additionally, rising U.S. diesel fuel prices are escalating
surcharges added to freight rates, which is reversing a two-year trend that cut
into the revenue and earnings of truckers as fuel prices plummeted. ·
 Supplier/Partner Relationships: It is important to create, understand and
follow mutually agreed upon standards to better understand not only current
performance but also opportunities for improvement.
Thus, having two different methods for measuring
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Supply chain logistics course
coursera 2021
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and communicating performance and results in time and effort wasted. ·

 Customer Service: Logistics management is all about providing the right product
in the right quantity to the right place at the right time. Customers want full
transparency into where their delivery is at all times. In this day and age, the location
of a customer’s shipment is as interconnected as your social network. In fact, as
customer expectations have increased their willingness to pay for fast shipping has
decreased, with just about 64 percent of consumers unwilling to pay anything extra
for less than two-day shipping.

7) Reflect on what you learned in this assignment.

I learned from this assignment is to calculate the distance between the original place to the
destination place. Then we have to calculate distance as well as time. When the Delivery
Company gets shipment information, they have to pick up that product as soon as possible.
Every leg is important in logistics. Like, pick up, Line Haul, and delivery. Delivery
Company identifies the mode of transportation which will be useful and profitable. I learned
how to choose the best route for transformation. Analyzing the route and identify difficulties
before any transportation. I understand that calculation of every mile important. I understand
the importance of pick up, line hauls, delivery.

ABDILADIF MOHAMED ISMAIL

Supply chain logistics course
coursera 2021