An Exploratory Study of the Customer Operational Status and Supply Relationship of a Commercial Heavy Vehicle Supplier

• Main Authors: Chang Wan Ting, 張琬婷
• Other Authors: none
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/72205499025153191181

碩士 === 東吳大學 === 企業管理學系 === 100 === Under the effect of business cycle, the overall business environment of transport industry has undertaken huge impacts these years. For instance, the domestic economic issues such as consumption constraints and output reduction are derived from the high price level of international crude oil price fluctuation. Based on this scenario, the transport industry is facing a rough circumstance due to the truth of highly depending on oil demands. However, transport industry plays an important role in connecting producers and consumers. Facing the buffering impact from the economy, transport industry not only affords the huge fixed assets, which are transportation maintenance fee and installment payments, but also the input factors, the high level of oil price. Encountering the costs-rising and the market-shrinking operation environment, if the concept of collaboration throughout the supply chain was introduced, the transporters, including suppliers and customers, would be well-understanding and cooperating. In one hand, the suppliers and customers may face a difficult operating environment and cooperate in solving operational problems; in the other hand, the client operating conditions could be improved and seek for sustainability between each other to achieve a win-win situation. In this article, first we review the relevant literatures regarding supplier, customer relationship management and transportation performance evaluation for further understanding in supply chain and transport industries. Furthermore, we launch a case study from the view of S company, selecting the two major kinds of customers, which are truck freight transportation industry and passenger transport to be the study subjects. The main questions are： 1. Does any negative impact affect the usage of its own motorcades and costs structure when S company facing the current business client’s type and the market characteristics. 2. If the collaborative model of maintenance relationship between the suppliers and the customers is better to ensure long term win-win effectiveness in both supply and demand side? What are the key successful factors of introducing the supply chain collaboration model? According to the research questions, this article assembles the thought of the case company to discuss the understanding of industry characteristics, and go through literature survey, collecting information of expert interviews, such as industry classification costs, vehicle purchase method, vehicle maintenance conditions and the number of days of bus usage to trace back the empty rate. Moreover, the questionnaire is divided into three major categories, including operational information, operational efficiency, and suppliers found, based on the relevant information. Questionnaires are delivered by mailing, containing the total of 180 questionnaires issued, including 150 from truck freight transportation and 30 from tour bus transport industries. All the mailing addresses are provided by the supplier S company. However, in general, the return rate of the questionnaires is almost less than one percent. In this study, five questionnaires were collected, including three freight car companies and two tour bus transport companies. Considering of the data completeness, we only focus on two trucking companies, C and G, and the two bus transport companies, Z and A, for further analysis and discussion. The content is divided into two parts, which are freight train and tour buses, passenger transport, freight transport industry, based on the analysis result and shown as follows. 1. Trucking industry is currently in a market environment of oversupplying and price competition, leading an income-losing situation ever than before. The large idle transports usage, burden of installment payments and the regular vehicle maintenance costs are all causing the rising expense. However, the expected efficiency cannot be achieved by these expenditures. In order to minimize the expenses, the transporters intend to select the franchised partner for maintenance operations, yet the vehicle driving safety becomes a major problem due to the relationship is not so close. The way of not using the original components is often seen in this relationship. 2. The type of Tour bus passenger transport industry is much diverse in the client business. In addition to general tours business, the type also concludes cruise traffic and the traffic-loosing services. In general, passengers are the main customers in tour bus transportation. Therefore, in operational consideration in purchasing of the supplier will be the passengers, so the comfort will be the factor that except for the low failure rate, well-handling of the vehicles. Besides, tour bus passenger transport industry is currently facing an oversupply and vicious competition market, which leads the operators lower their costs in order to sustain the business. Some transporters even sell the used vehicle with low-prices for private use, which indirectly causing the vehicles association effect. This effect not only damages the image and the safety of the business, but also leads a shrinking market and a vicious price-cutting competition. According to result of the questionnaire, we provide some suggestion to ensure a win-win situation for both supply and demand and to seek for a better collaborative model in maintaining the relationship of suppliers and their customers, which shown as following： 1. In order to reduce the cost burden of the customers the industry, suppliers may made a "contract-based maintenance work." In addition to provide customers the complete warranty services, maintenance advice, driver training, and also emergency vehicle maintenance training. For one hand, customers may reduce the burden; in the other hand, the original factory warranty will be kept for enforcing the vehicle quality and driving safety. 2. So far, a fierce competitive is seen within this industry - the price competition, the cost-down strategy due to the rising material costs. As a result, the companies lower their capital expense, decreasing the number of vehicle purchasing, seeking for the support from the alliances and the substandard vehicles, yet result hard-controlling of the operation quality. In solving this problem, suppliers can provide customers with the mileage-charging car rental service and one year rental contract services to facilitate vehicle scheduling and efficiency. The key of the collaboration model for both two sides is dedicating the concept of supply chain, which means all the members throughout the chain are playing important roles. All the profits are shared due to the support and cooperating by each member. Both sides of the chain should be convergent, cooperation in identifying problems, and trust. Under this assumption, creating profits and maximizing efficiency would then be achieved. This study suggests that future researchers to make a further debate of the financial supply chain field, supplementing with examples of foreign transportation lease business to explore the implementation of the leasing restrictions in domestic transportation industry. Therefore, maybe it is possible to find a feasible way for the transport industry to develop the supply chain of financial model by cooperating with the practice, such as internship and maintaining contact with the industry.