Posted: March 5th, 2024

Studying the impacts of just-in-time logistics and optimized vessel scheduling on supply chain resilience for Red Sea ports

Studying the impacts of just-in-time logistics and optimized vessel scheduling on supply chain resilience for Red Sea ports

Supply chain resilience is the ability of a supply chain to cope with disruptions and uncertainties, such as natural disasters, geopolitical conflicts, pandemics, cyberattacks, or port congestion. Resilient supply chains can maintain or restore their normal operations quickly and effectively in the face of such challenges. Supply chain resilience is especially important for ports, which are critical nodes in global trade and transportation networks.

One of the strategies that can enhance supply chain resilience is just-in-time (JIT) logistics, which is a system of managing inventory and production that aims to reduce waste, costs, and lead times by synchronizing the arrival of raw materials and components with the demand of customers. JIT logistics requires close coordination and communication among supply chain partners, as well as flexibility and responsiveness to changing market conditions. JIT logistics can improve supply chain resilience by reducing inventory levels, increasing cash flow, enhancing customer satisfaction, and enabling faster recovery from disruptions.

Another strategy that can improve supply chain resilience is optimized vessel scheduling, which is a process of planning and allocating the routes, speeds, and berthing times of vessels in a liner shipping network. Optimized vessel scheduling can reduce fuel consumption, emissions, operating costs, and transit times by taking into account various factors, such as weather conditions, port capacities, customer preferences, and contractual obligations. Optimized vessel scheduling can also enhance supply chain resilience by increasing service reliability, reducing delays, improving resource utilization, and facilitating contingency planning.

However, implementing JIT logistics and optimized vessel scheduling in ports is not without challenges. Some of the barriers include lack of data sharing and trust among supply chain partners, lack of standardization and interoperability of information systems, lack of incentives and regulations to support JIT and optimization practices, and lack of infrastructure and human resources to accommodate JIT and optimization requirements. Therefore, it is essential to identify the enablers and best practices that can facilitate the adoption and implementation of JIT logistics and optimized vessel scheduling in ports.

The aim of this research essay is to study the impacts of JIT logistics and optimized vessel scheduling on supply chain resilience for Red Sea ports. The Red Sea region is an important trade corridor that connects Asia, Africa, and Europe. The region faces various challenges that threaten the resilience of its supply chains, such as political instability, piracy, environmental degradation, and competition from alternative routes. Therefore, it is vital to explore how JIT logistics and optimized vessel scheduling can help the Red Sea ports to overcome these challenges and improve their performance and competitiveness.

The research essay is organized as follows. The next section provides a literature review on the concepts of JIT logistics, optimized vessel scheduling, and supply chain resilience, as well as their applications and implications for ports. The third section presents the research methodology, which consists of a case study approach based on secondary data analysis. The fourth section discusses the findings and implications of the case study for Red Sea ports. The fifth section concludes the research essay with some recommendations and limitations.

Literature Review

JIT Logistics

JIT logistics is a concept that originated from the Toyota Production System (TPS), which is a set of principles and practices that aim to eliminate waste (muda) in manufacturing processes by implementing continuous improvement (kaizen), pull production (kanban), quality control (jidoka), standardized work (seiketsu), and employee involvement (nemawashi) (Ohno 1988). JIT logistics extends the TPS philosophy to the entire supply chain by coordinating the flow of materials and information among suppliers, manufacturers,

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