Our Alumni Everywhere: Logistics in Qatar

Kelvin Miller is an Air Force veteran, an AMU logistics, materials and supply chain management alumnus, and currently working on a master's in logistics with APU. Inbound Logistics caught up with him in Dohar, Qatar for a recent profile.

Read the article at inbound Logistics.

Transit and Cargo Oriented Developments

Guest post by Jeffrey Wendt, faculty member Transportation and Logistics Management, American Public University

After World War II people migrated from the urban inner cities to the surrounding suburban communities to follow the American dream. This led to a major reliance on single passenger automobiles to move people from home to work and personal activities.

Today, with development of new communities and redevelopment of older urban areas, there is increasing interest in increasing public transportation. Reducing congestion and addressing environmental concerns are now the focus.

During the past few decades there have been initiatives to decrease travel times and increase access to services to reduce environmental and congestion problems. One such initiative is transit-oriented development (TOD) in older municipalities to take advantage of light rail and bus service to get people around. The emphasis is on developing housing to be within one-half mile of public transportation and retail business. Walking and bicycle pathways also give citizens of these communities more healthful travel options.

The TOD concept led to a similar industry objective: cargo oriented development (COD) or logistics cluster. The purpose of these strategies is to increase close local employment opportunities by bringing distribution and industrial operations together to serve industry needs. By improving abandoned lands and developing vacant properties with COD in mind, employment and living quality is improved within these clusters.

There is a positive connection between TOD and COD communities; one’s needs are met by the other’s available resources. This creates opportunities for enhanced rail and truck operations to address the needs of both the residential and commercial aspects of the community.

There have been many successful TOD communities throughout the world as well as in the United States, including Arlington County, Virginia; San Francisco Bay area; and Salt Lake City Metro. These community developers realized the positive impact on inner city revitalization when TOD practices were implemented. 

Although TOD communities are popping up all over the U.S. there has not been as many COD developments to match. Dallas/Fort Worth has a COD development near Alliance airport and in the southeast of Dallas. But neither of these applications incorporates TOD as a complimentary strategy.

The Center for Neighborhood Technology is a nonprofit research and advocacy organization that has worked with community developers to tie these two applications together. One such endeavor involved communities in Cook County Illinois.  Working with folks in Harvey and Blue Island Illinois to apply TOD/COD strategies proved to be integral in successfully reinventing these older once vibrant communities.

Sustainable living communities tied with accessible local employment opportunities in a vibrant socially and economically driven environment will define success in future revitalization of American cities.

About the Author

Jeffrey Wendt is an adjunct faculty member at American Public University System Transportation and Logistics Program, and is on the faculty at North Lake College, where he teaches logistics and supply chain management courses. He has worked in the logistics industry for over 30 years in different logistics and supply chain capacities. Jeff received his MBA in Supply Chain Management from the University of Dallas and is currently pursuing his doctorate degree in Transportation and Logistics from North Dakota State University.

 

More Industries Looking for Reverse Logistics Skills

A quick look at the major job search websites such as Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and CareerBuilder shows thousands of available jobs in reverse logistics and reverse logistics management. In the past, the primary driver of reverse logistics roles has been the retail sector; however, more and more industries are finding value in reverse logistics. Major increases are occurring in business, professional services, and health care as well as retail jobs – which all points to growth in customer service industries.

As more organizations advertise their success with reverse logistics, this trend is expected to continue.  All organizations will want to capitalize on the positive impacts on operations and customer satisfaction that come with a solid reverse logistics program. 

Organizations understand that it is far cheaper to retain customers than to find new ones. Reverse logistics supports this business goal because improving the returns and repairs process helps to retain customers. Since not all items sold are perfect, or people change their mind, there needs to be a process that allows customers to be satisfied with after-sales support as well. In many cases, customers will purchase from a company for life as long as they are satisfied. 

The good news is that more organizations are becoming perceptive to the entire shopping experience and better understand how buying decisions are connected. Just as a supply chain manager that has difficulty with a supplier will likely not use that company for the remainder of their career, the family shopping manager makes the decision on where to shop. After all, what organization or family is going to risk future problems with returns, warrantees, or mistakes when there are other options available?  

Organizations have realized that many of their after-purchase processes are less than efficient. The hidden value here is that it is always cheaper to retain customers than to find new ones. If an organization can save 1 percent on the cost of returns and customer retention, that can result in millions of dollars saved. 

More organizations are turning to reverse logistics to create a more positive shopping experience to improve the bottom line. As this trend continues, so with the growth in new jobs in the field of logistics, especially within reverse logistics. Is it any wonder that US News & World report ranks logistician as the #6 Best Business Job and #26 of the Top 100 Best jobs?