Email and websites are among the fastest and cheapest methods of exchanging information. We can also see for ourselves how the Internet has increasingly penetrated our daily lives. Almost everyone wants to take advantage of the positive features of the World Wide Web. I would also like to show other applications of the Internet and the possibilities of integrating business processes in the logistics industry. An example would be a courier company operating and having its branches on the European market. I am aware that there are extensive systems for managing such services, but a serious drawback of these solutions is the high price, which can be a significant financial burden at the beginning of operations. The company would be involved in distributing shipments between branches located in Europe. Orders intended for longer routes would be accepted via local couriers, who deliver shipments to a central unit serving a larger area, e.g., a voivodeship. I assume that once a day, transport sets off on a designated route, passing through several branches in Europe. As soon as there is space, shipments are also collected along the way. For example: driving from Warsaw to Paris, we go through Berlin, Amsterdam, and Brussels, picking up shipments from individual points; of course, if the destination is located on our route. Let us imagine a situation where we have several or a dozen such routes serving other parts of Europe. The basic problem that arises is managing the fleet in such a way that it is utilized to the maximum. It would be necessary to notify other branches in some way so that they know whether they can accept orders for a transit transport or not. One must also take into account a customer’s sudden cancellation of a transport service and the related information that more orders can be accepted for the ongoing transport than originally planned.
The article comes from the magazine “Logistyka” 6/2004.