Operational Mgt

Respond to either Topic I or II, below.

Topic I: Delivering Groceries

Please refer to the hypothetical grocery delivery business described in Case 1. You are now confronted with a decision concerning transportation modes.

Obviously, neither trains, ships, pipelines, large trucks nor airplanes are options for deliveries in residential neighborhoods (although drones may be an option in the near future). The options for your business are cars, motorcycles or bicycles.

Cars can either be owned by the business, leased by the business, provided by employees (e.g. the usual pizza delivery scheme), or rented on a per-trip basis from a taxi company or private owners (à la Uber). A mixture of these options is also a possibility.

Motorcycles can be owned by either the riders or by the business. Ditto bicycles. Although the weather in Silicon Valley is generally temperate, a delivery system that relied exclusively upon wind-in-the-face vehicles would have to have some sort of foul weather backup.

In addition to flexibility and cost-effectiveness, whatever system you devise will have to consider the availability of operators and insurance costs, both for your employees and for the people they may run over.

The readings in this Module are mostly concerned with "heavy" systems, up to and including multimodal (ships to trains to trucks), but the basic considerations involved in choosing a system - speed, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, safety, etc. - are applicable to any type of technology.

So what sort of transportation mix would you choose for your business? We're looking for close, logical argumentation, backed up by citations and references.

Topic II: The Keystone Pipeline

The case of the Keystone pipeline clearly illustrates the centrality of logistics in daily life. Pipelines, trains and trucks are everywhere, but are usually ignored until there's some sort of stoppage (e.g., a drivers' strike) or a major disaster, such as a derailment resulting in a dangerous spill.

The Keystone pipeline, championed by business and opposed by environmentalists, would move millions of tons of thick, sludgy oil from the tar sands of northern Canada to the American Gulf Coast. At the time of this writing, the Congress has approved it, but the President has promised to veto it. Strong partisan feelings dominate the discussion.

For this assignment, you should read the additional sources, plus anything else you can find on both sides of the issue, and state your case either for or against the pipeline. The most important logistical factors are cost and safety. The most important environmental factors are oil production from tar sands, which is a polluting activity, and the global-warming implications of having another major source of inexpensive petroleum.

By the time you read this topic, the issue may be resolved, and the pipeline either cancelled or under construction. If that's the case, then please discuss the resolution, detailing the factors that entered into the decision. You should also explain why you think the decision was either right or wrong, and whether you believe it ought to be reversed. (Government decisions are sometimes wrong, and can be reversed.)

As always, we're looking for close, logical argumentation, backed up with citations and references. Strong opinions are permitted, even encouraged - but they must be supported.

There are no guidelines concerning length. Write what you need to write - neither more, nor less.

AOPL (2013). Pipelines 101 (Index page). Retrieved on 13 Jan 2016* fromhttp://www.pipeline101.com/

DeWitt, W. & Clinger, J. (2013). Intermodal freight transportation. Retrieved on 13 Jan 2015* fromhttp://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/millennium/00061.pdf

Murray, M. (2015b). Containerization. Retrieved on 13 Jan 2015* fromhttp://logistics.about.com/od/tacticalsupplychain/a/Containerization.htm

Pearson (2015). Product Distribution (PPT deck). Retrieved on 13 Jan 2015* fromhttp://www.pearsoncustom.com/mct-comprehensive/asset.php?isbn=1269879944&id=12248

Smarta (2013). Choosing a transportation mode. Retrieved on 13 Jan 2015*http://www.smarta.com/advice/suppliers-and-trade/logistics-management/product-distribution-the-basics/