The Management of Transshipment Terminals

In the not-too-distant past, the manufacturing-to-consumer model involved manufactured products being shipped to warehouses which in turned maintained sizable inventories in preparation to meet anticipated consumer demand. However, this model has changed in today's globalized world. The combination of technology along with the research & practice of just-in-time inventory, supply chain management, transportation, logistics have brought globalized manufacturing into reality. This continuously developing combination of technology and operations management research & practice allows manufacturers to use the supply chain as "inventory time" and reduces the need to maintain large warehouse inventories. An important part of this new system is the development of the Transshipment Terminal. Transshipment enables manufacturers, distributors, logistics/transportation specialists and retailers to work together in a somewhat seamless process of creating and delivering products to meet global consumer demand.

THE MANAGEMENT OF TRANSSHIPMENT TERMINALS: Decision Support for Terminal Operations in Finished Vehicle Supply Chains is a unique treatment of the transshipment operation and processes on the shipment of automobiles from the Bremerhaven harbor, Germany. It is an analytical, theoretical, and practical work that incorporates Network Optimization, Logistics, Distribution, Transportation, and Supply Chain Management into a framework of Information Systems for a comprehensive understanding of the development of transshipment terminals in the global economy. More specifically, the book examines the function of transshipment terminals and how they can be made more effective and efficient. In sum, the book is a novel treatment of a developing area in the global supply chain economy; and as such, it is an illustrated example of the manifestation of elements within the field of Operations Management on the increasing integration of the transportation logistic system.