MINI CASE Global Logistics and the Maritime Tran

extbook: IT strategy $($Issues and Practice$),4$th edition. Writers: James D$.$Mckeen and Heather ACarlos Fernandez, COO of Global Logistics $($GL$),$ punched a button on his phone to summon his secretary$,$ Alice. "Get me that new guy we just hired, what's his name?"

"Murray Johnson," she supplied. "Yes, get him here asap!"

Five minutes later Murray Johnson rushed in$,$ hastily tightening his tie and running his fingers through his rumpled hair. "Have a seat," Carlos invited him. "How are you

getting on at GL$?$ What do you think of our little operation?" The "little operation" was in fact a global freight forwarding company responsible for handling the supply chain

logistics of hundreds of major companies who shipped everything from the smallest widgets to large, heavy construction machines and materials everywhere in the world.

After a few minutes of chat, he got down to business. "Murray, I understand you're a smart guy $$ with a PhD in informatics no less." Murray inclined his head modestly. $"$I

have an important job for you." Murray looked up with interest. "Here's the problem we have...." Carlos quickly sketched out how difficult it was to get information about their

customers' overseas cargo shipments $-$ whether coming from China or going to Europe or North America.

"Our job is to integrate the whole process of shipping for our customers," he explained in his soft Spanish accent. $"$We need to track every detail from pick$-$up to delivery. We

need cargo information, land transport information, port and terminal information, and ship information, and then port and terminal information, land transport information and

cargo information on the other end of the shipment. We need to crunch this information for every shipment and then add in business information to calculate our bill. It's

challenging because there are so many steps, types of information, and systems involved, particularly in the maritime transport portion.

$"$We want to provide our customers with end$-$to$-$end service but, with overseas shipping, it's currently impossible to track their shipments and they're getting increasing

frustrated. I've had four irate customer calls this month asking why they can't simply track their overseas shipments like they do with FedEx. This could be a real business

opportunity for us$.$ We need a fresh perspective so see what you can come up with. I'll introduce you to Reggie who can give you an overview of how thing work."

Reggie Finch, one of GL$\text{'}$s shipping agents, grinned when he heard what Carlos wanted Murray to do$.$ "The first thing I have to do when someone has a cargo to ship is to

understand the cargo and how it is to be transported. We usually start about six months in advance to determine the nature and dimensions of the cargo, where it's going, and

what our options are for transportation. Although we can often choose between rail and truck for land transportation, shipping is usually the only choice for intercontinental

travel for larger cargos. I call around to see what's available and then, depending on the nature of the cargo, where it's going, and how fast it has to get there, we will charter a

ship or a place on a container ship. This means negotiating a contract with the ship owner or charterer that will cover all aspects of the voyage from where, when, and how the

cargo will be picked up to where, when, and how it will be delivered and everything in between."

"Then we negotiate with the shipper, the receiver, and the transporters to set the terms of the shipment and get agreement on the costs involved...." Murray's eyes and mind

wandered to the panoramic view out the windows of the office to the port spread out almost as far as he could see. To his far right were the tall multi$-$storied Ro$-$Ro ships with

their rows and rows of cars. Just beneath him was the container terminal with fields of full and empty containers, train tracks leading into it$,$ and lines of trucks entering and

departing $-$ some with containers and some without. Giant automated cranes busily moved up and down the rows, selecting and loading containers according to a predetermined

loading plan. To his left, a few general cargo ships were at berth and to his far left was the oil terminal where giant tankers glided into pumping stations.

"It's my job to keep track of every piece of data related to a shipment so we can calculate the costs involved," continued Reggic. "That also includes any customs charges,

penalties levied, and fairway dues for going through narrow straits. And that's just the business information that relates to the cost of transporting the cargo that we pick up$,$

carry, and deliver. There's a lot more!"

Reggie went to the white board and quickly sketched some slightly intersecting ovals. "The stuff I've just told you about is the information we need for business and financial

purposes. That's how we figure out what to charge our customers and what to pay to the variou