Operational Challenges at a Large Retail Chain

Posted: January 4th, 2023

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Operational Challenges at a Large Retail Chain

Solutions by Other Companies

These firm operations strategy, short-term scheduling, and lean operations challenges has been addresses by other forms in various ways. For instance, some firms are using tricycles, hybrid vans, and electric vehicles to keep the fuel costs low, while saving the environment from greenhouse gas emissions as well. Notably, Gnewt Cargo is a last-mile delivery firm based in London that uses tricycles and small electric vans (Tipagornwong and Figliozzi 78). Similarly, La Petite Reine is a French delivery firm that uses motorized tricycles to deliver drugs to in cities line Bordeaux, Lyon, and Paris in France. The tricycles can carry up to 180 kilograms of cargo, with some having refrigeration capabilities to transport frozen products. The company has a fleet of over 50 tricycles (Tipagornwong and Figliozzi 78). This strategy is particularly workable in densely-populated urban areas that experience traffic congestion regularly and have strict street-packing that restrict the packing of trucks. Melo, Baptista, and Costa (1265) noted that small-sized electric vehicles, such as motorized electric cycles reduced carbon dioxide emissions by between 3 % and 4 %, which would contribute to the greening of the operational processes of delivery firms.

Similarly, Amazon, DHL, Google, and UPS have experimented drones for last-mile deliveries. These companies have tested several prototypes of drones along with different payload weights and delivery distances (Aurambout, Gkoumas, and Ciuffo 3). Amazon is ready to roll out its drone program, dubbed Amazon Prime Air, to deliver up to 2.3 kilogram packages within a 15 mile radius firm its stores. Already, after successful tests, Amazon has secured a special airworthiness certificate for its MK27 drone from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (Lee para. 5). The drones are fitted with ultrasonic, heat, and visual sensors that will enable them to navigate highly-built environment and avoid unexpected obstacles to enhance safety. They also have an optimized design that minimizes the high-frequency noises that may be intrusive in neighborhoods. With these developments, Amazon had already developed a multilevel fulfilment center design for its drone service, to allow the deployment of the technology in a highly-built environment, and was pursuing its patenting (Aurambout, Gkoumas, and Ciuffo 3). Although the initial cost of implementing a drone last mile delivery is enormous, a study by Aurambout, Gkoumas, and Ciuffo (14) indicated that such a program could deliver an estimated return of £40 million in the United Kingdom. In this regard, a drone last-mile delivery services has the advantage of no emissions because it uses battery power rather than that from oil fuel and can be optimized for lean operations in logistics because it can be deployed from a fulfilment center or a truck.  

Other companies use big data analytics to conduct predictive analysis using the online consumers’ data. Online outlets provide massive customer behavior data based on their online conduct when shopping. Google Analytics provides appropriate data analysis tools to facilitate the prediction of customer behavior that can be used to forecast sales and demand. Such surety enables the implementation of lean operations.  

Works Cited

Aurambout, Jean-Philippe, Konstantinos Gkoumas, and Biagio Ciuffo. “Last mile delivery by drones: An estimation of viable market potential and access to citizens across European cities.” European Transport Research Review, vol. 11, no. 1, 2019, pp. 1-21.

Melo, Sandra, Patricia Baptista, and Álvaro Costa. “Comparing the use of small sized electric vehicles with diesel vans on city logistics.” Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 111, 2014, pp. 1265-1274.

Tipagornwong, Chawalit, and Miguel Figliozzi. “Analysis of competitiveness of freight tricycle delivery services in urban areas.” Transportation Research Record, vol. 2410, vol. 1, 2014, pp. 76-84.