As any company that operates in the sphere of transportation and logistics, TNT Express has to pay special attention to the development of supply chain management; in particular, its management has to concentrate on such aspects as planning and control, work processes, and organizational structure. It should also be taken into consideration that rapid growth of information technologies significantly impacts the functioning of this organization, because it immensely accelerates the process of communication, and offers new opportunities to the enterprises specializing in delivery and logistics. On the whole, TNT Express exemplifies the best practices which can be adopted in transportation service.
TNT management attaches primary importance to scheduling and timely delivery because the success of any transportation company frequently depends on its ability to meet most stringent deadlines set by the customers (Zairi, 140). This is the reason why they constantly try to reduce the speed of parcel collection, and improve professionalism of their drivers. Apart from that, TNT Express has a very elaborate parcel tracking and quality assurance systems. Such polices are aimed at raising the level of customers satisfaction and their retention (Zari, 141). Besides, careful performance assessments are conducted in order to identify possible drawbacks in the functioning of this enterprise. While evaluating performance, the management focuses on such parameters as promptness of delivery, ability to satisfy the demands of clients and rectify problems which may hypothetically arise in the course of delivery.
The second component of supply chain management is work structure. On the whole, it consists of the following parts: booking, collection and delivery (Zari, 141). TNT management strives to simplify these processes or make them more convenient to their clients (Jones, 13). As it has been mentioned earlier, information technologies open new prospects for global business. In particular, booking an order is no longer as cumbersome as it was several decades ago. Additionally, customers are able to keep track of their orders and get updates about their status. Most importantly, TNT tries to minimize the time required for distribution of parcels and mails (Jones, p 15). This is by far the most important part of their work structure. The thing is that the number of parcels is almost incalculable and it is essentially that there are quickly sorted according to their destination, size, or deadline. Currently, the company is believed to be one of the world leaders because they can optimize this process.
The third component of supply chain management is organizational structure. First of all, TNT Express continuously widens the range of its coverage. For this purpose, the company has established numerous networks around the world (Saran 10). It has branches in different regions of the globe. Apart from that, TNT closely collaborates with other logistics firms. Again speaking about the structure of the organization, we need to stress the importance of distribution system. Its effective work is the most crucial perquisite for success.
On the whole, TNT Express maintains leading position in this field because the management of this company elaborates every component of supply chain: booking, sorting and delivery. Every activity is monitored and assessed. Most importantly, every problem (if there is any) is immediately settled. These strategies help TNT Express to integrate itself into the global market and gain competitive advantage of other logistics firms. This firm represents the best practices in transportation industry.
Works Cited
Jones, Alan. “TNT – Providing customers with solutions to their problems. ” Managing Service Quality 5.6 (1995): 13-17. ABI/INFORM Global, ProQuest. Web.
Saran Cliff. “TNT rolls out RFID along supply chain”. Computer Weekly. 2006, issue 7, pp 10-12.
Zairi, Mohamed. “Benchmarking at TNT Express”. Benchmarking for Quality Management & Technology, 1999, vol. 5, issue 2, pp 138-149.