Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management - Volume 3, Issue 1, November 2009

The Department of Transport and Supply Chain Management at the University of Johannesburg is proud to bring you this third edition of the Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management.

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The Journal serves as an independent publication for scientific contributions in the field of transportation and supply chain management, i.e. logistics, operations management, purchasing management, distribution management, warehousing management, transportation (all modes), production planning and related fields.

This research describes how the systems approach can be applied to implement a holistic transportation decision-support system, which will measure transportation performance at the highest level and enable decision-making with respect to possible improvements. The research starts with the creation of a framework of the process to be followed. A framework of the envisioned system with existing and new elements is then created. Furthermore, a framework for management reports is proposed. Against this background, the deliverables for a project to implement the proposed data-acquisitioning system are defined. First order indications are that such a project is feasible and affordable, and can be completed to such an extent that most of the advantages are obtainable within two years.

The South African government has committed itself to creating "a better life for all". Furthermore, government performance became important for the South African government with the introduction of the Public Finance Management Act. Backeberg (2005) uses systems thinking to propose a holistic transportation performance quantification framework to achieve the above. The purpose of this research is to validate the above framework by demonstrating its practicality and usefulness. This is done by populating the framework with representative transportation statistics from various sources. The study demonstrates how improvements could be prioritised if adequate information were to be available.

In pursuance of the need to curb corruption in the learner driver testing process as well as enhancing road safety by improving driving skills, the Minister of Transport and Communications in Zimbabwe announced, on 7 July 2007, a new and unique driver testing procedure which was implemented with effect from 1 September 2007. The new system involved the introduction of a pretesting agent acting between driving schools and the driver competence-testing department. A wholly Government-owned company was given the responsibility to pretest all learner drivers before they proceeded to the final competence test. The objective of this paper is to assess the impacts of driver pretesting on pass rates as well as ascertaining stakeholder and public views and perceptions on corruption, the necessity for driver pretesting and the lessons learnt.

The purpose of the paper is to explore the supplier relationship practices of travel agencies in Gauteng. Gerber (2008) indicated that the current level of relationships that exists between travel agencies and their suppliers in Gauteng are fragmented and impact negatively on the ability of travel agents to deliver a quality service to their customers. It is against this background that the research was undertaken. The target population for this study was 228 travel agencies of which 134 managers and / or owners participated through personal interviews in the completion of questionnaires. The results indicate that the owners and managers of travel agencies are of the opinion that the level of trust between themselves and their suppliers needs to be strengthened. The stimulation of open channel communication between themselves and their suppliers could enhance the strengthening of a long-term relationship between the parties.

Vendor selection methodology is a highly researched area in supply chain management literature and a very significant decision taken by supply chain managers due to technological advances in the manufacturing process. Such research has two basic dimensions: one is related to the identification of variables affecting the performance of the vendors and the other deals with the methodology to be applied. Most of the research conducted in this area deal with the upfront selection of vendors. However, it is very common to have a list of dedicated vendors due to the development of sophisticated production technologies like just in time (JIT), a lean or agile manufacturing process where continuous flow of materials is a requirement. This paper addresses the issue of selecting the optimal vendor from the internal database of a company. Factor analysis, analytical hierarchy process and regression analysis is used in an integrated way to supplement the vendor selection process. The methodology presented here is simply a proposal where every possible room for adjustment is available.

Supply chain management is under pressure as many organisations use it as a means of producing cash through cost-efficiency programmes (Walters and Rainbird: 2007). This paper discusses the increasing application of a value chain network approach, one that uses network management and the assumption that ''customer centricity'' replaces efficiency decisions with effectiveness decisions and in doing so results in improved marketing and financial performance. This paper uses examples from a wide range of organisations and industries to illustrate the increasing application of the concept.