School of Economics and Management---INTERNSHIP REPORT ITopic: Analysis of Logistics Management in Yen Vien Container Station, a branch of Indo Trans Logistics CorporationName: Tran Nhat
GENERAL INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE ENTERPRISE
Overview and development of enterprise
About Indo Trans Logistics Corporation
Name: Indo Trans Logistics Corporation
Address: 52-54-56 Truong Son Street Tan Binh District Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Name: Indo Trans Logistics Corporation’s Yen Vien Branch
Address: Yen Vien South Container Station, Yen Vien Town, Gia Lam district, Hanoi, Vietnam.
In 2015, Vietnam was in the process of re-structuring the body of the whole economy,and the Transportation industry was a part of it At that time, many government-owned logistics facilities did not function well, thus slow-downed the process of delivering goods in and outside Vietnam, which affected domestic economic activities and export/import Specifically, in the case of Yen Vien Station, quoted from Former PrimeMinister of Transportation Dinh La Thang: “Through the fact of checking Yen Vien station, we see that this is not the station of the 21st-century Railway but obviously of the early 19th century Yen Vien station is backward, poor, incomplete Therefore, it is important to determine that the objective of this project is to improve production and business efficiency, improve the transport efficiency of railways to create the overall efficiency of the transport industry, connect sea and road to create a logistics center,reduce costs, transportation time.” Therefore, Ministry of Transportation launched the project to socialize government-owned transporting and logistics facilities Yen VienStation (Hanoi), Song Than station (Binh Duong), and Dong Dang station (Lang Son) were chosen as sample to run the test of container station socializing project; if the applied business model, business process, and station functioning management are proved to be successful, impactful, and scalable, Government would approve to launch other socializing programs in the future for the sake of the Transportation industry in specific and of the Vietnam’s economy in general
Considered as a breakthrough of Railway department, Yen Vien Station socializing program attracted investors such as: Vingroup corporation, Bach Dang hotel complex trading – service joint stock company, Indo Trans Logistics corporation, Express Trains ATH company limited They were invited to examine the capacity of the facility, propose the right to exploit, thereby synthesize and propose mechanisms for implementation On April 21st, 2015, Former Minister Dinh La Thang had a meeting with interested investors for the container station socializing project, reviewed their proposal as well as the legal documents, made needed amendments and supplements with the proposals to suit the reality
At last, Indo Trans Logistics Corporation win the bidding to hire land of Yen Vien station in 23 years (from 2015), to build and operate Logistics Container Center of Yen Vien Station That is how, Yen Vien Station became a branch of the Corporation.
ITL is positioned to be the premier regional solutions provider for Integrated Logistics, Aviation Services, Warehousing, Freight Management and Distribution By playing an essential role in clients’ businesses and delivering best-in-class value added services throughout the supply chain, ITL always strives for complete customer satisfaction ITL is committed to delivering the highest quality service coupled with the highest level of integrity in everrything we can do
In addition, ITL is transforming to go a step ahead the future by developing expertise in e-Commerce and shared economies
ITL endeavors to stay ahead through enabling creative solutions and the development of new services and products to provide customers with unparalleled and innovative yet cost-effective solutions
ITL’s success is attributed to employees and measured by the enrichment of the quality of life of the people ITL also continues to aim to fulfill our social and civil responsibilities to the communities they serve.
Vision: To establish ITL as an admired leader in the regional transportation industry.
Mission: To provide the most integrated and innovative transportation, aviation and e-
Commerce logistics services with mutual respect and extreme goodwill to those we serve.
At ITL, maintaining the highest ethical, social, and environmental standards are essential to maintaining the trust of employees, customers, partners, and suppliers Underpin the decisions made every day.
Whether it is the environment community or employees, ITL knows that they have the responsibility to demonstrate their commitment to these three areas and bring positive change for current and future generations.
ITL Corporation has over 1,800 team members inside and outside of Vietnam joining hands for the business functioning and development of the corporation The Corporation also owns more than ninety offices, branches, and distribution centers in Vietnam and other countries in the Indochina region, which makes the logistics network of the Corporation wide-spread and easily accessible
ITL Corp is in top 10 of the most reputable and reliable logistics companies in 2021 byVietnam Report (Report, 2021).
Service of the enterprise
ITL has been the leader in Aviation services in Vietnam since 2000, benefiting from a wealth of market experience and proven success-driven methodology in the region ITL Aviation and our affiliates operate as both General Sales & Services Agent (GSSA) and General Sales Agent (GSA) offering a full range of services on behalf of the world's most reputable airlines in Vietnam and Indochina.
ITL provides Airfreight, Sea freight, LCL Consolidation Service, LCL Consolidation Service – Internal Promotion, LCL Consolidation Service – External Promotion, Road Transport, Multi Modal Transport, and Cross Border Transport.
ITL provides Total Logistics Solutions, Warehousing and Distribution Services, Project Cargo, ITL VSIP Bac Ninh Warehouse, ITL Duong Xa Warehouse, and ITL Contract Logistics
ITL is a leading service provider of rail operations in Vietnam ITL Railway Logistics operates a stable schedule of 5 days a week with offices in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Danang specializing in domestic rail-based logistics solutions in Vietnam
In addition, ITL has invested in and operates the Yen Vien rail terminal in Hanoi This competitive advantage enables ITL to offer a one of a kind, best in class rail logistics offering Beyond traditional domestic rail and sea freight services, ITL also offers customized and value-add solutions, specializing in solution design for the specific needs of each customer such as high-value goods, heavy goods, emergency goods and raw material flows for manufacturing or project-based requirements
Last mile delivery and express:
Speed link is an owned subsidiary of ITL, offering market leading last mile delivery and express services in Vietnam Speed link offers a full range of pickup and delivery services plus related value-added logistics offerings to complement its last mile and express product including warehousing, e-Commerce delivery, pick & pack, mail services, returns management and cash on delivery (COD) amongst other customer specific and individualized solutions
Speed link was established to provide the local market with innovative, extraordinary, and dynamic E-Commerce solutions while providing consumers with a state-of-the-art shopping experience in Vietnam Speed link offers a full suite of E-Commerce solutions from Order Management and Fulfilment Solutions, Performance Marketing and Last Mile delivery including B2C and C2C delivery, Cash-on-Delivery (COD) services and Returns management
Main services of Yen Vien station are:
(2) Warehouse/Container Yard for lease,
Yen Vien railway station serves the market of railway transportation companies (Business-to-business) Railway transportation companies lift and lower containers from Yen Vien’s container yard to their trains to transport goods domestically and internationally International destination and sources of goods usually comes from Pingxiang Xi, Guangxi and Kunming, Yunnan (China) Yen Vien station operates with custom in Dong Dang (Lang Son) and Lao Cai city (Lao Cai) to control the inflow and outflow of containers between China and Vietnam Moreover, goods or containers not also are transported from/to China but also through joint railway with China’s railway network to be transported from/to European countries Domestically, goods or containers from other railway stations in Northern of Vietnam (Hai Phong, Ha Long) or from trucking transportation assemble at Yen Vien station before spreading out to other parts of Vietnam
Besides operating as a railway station for trains to stop to refuel, lift and lower containers, Yen Vien station operates as a container yard in which customers can hire a place for their containers to lie at before doing anything by plan Yen Vien’s container yard can store around 1000 40-ft containers at a time Two cranes with four-crane-driver fleet can conduct a single action with one container (lift or lower from/to trains, trucks, or container yard) within 5~10 minutes Yen Vien branch has its own trucking fleet which can transport customer’s goods or containers directly to their warehouses or from their warehouses to the yard to assemble
Yen Vien branch also conduct the custom clearance service for goods come from/toChina Therefore, customers no longer must come to custom at border gate in Dong Dang town or Lao Cai city, which reduces cost and time for customers.
Yen Vien Station is a 23-year investment project with total invested capital worth 122.5 billion VND and demanded exploiting capacity of 1.2 to 1.8 million tons The purposes of this project are:
Reduce the time of transporting and unloading goods at Yen Vien station with the method of combining railways and roads by concentrating goods and containers at Yen Vien logistics center and applying professional loading and unloading vehicles
Increase container production through Yen Vien station three times (phase 1) and five times (phase 2)
Increase rail output, reduce freight pressure by road by reducing the number of vehicles on National Highways 5 and 18 Thereby reducing road damage due to overloading, traffic jams and traffic accidents It is estimated that up to 150-170 cars will be reduced per day.
It is expected that the price of transporting railways from Hai Phong Port and Quang Ninh port to customer warehouses in Hanoi by rail will be reduced by more than 5% and 10% respectively
The application of Yen Vien logistics center will help proactively reduce the cost of package transportation by rail and road combined through the exploitation of goods at Yen Vien Logistics Center
Attract customers to use railway services as a general service center: railway + road transportation + warehousing + customs + seaway to improve the competitiveness of the railway industry compared to other vehicles
Application of transportation, loading and unloading solutions, specialized software to improve the quality of railway services.
Organizational hierarchy
Currently, in 2021, Yen Vien Station requires eleven distinguished persons to operate. Each of them has specific tasks to maintain the continuous in and out flow of trains, trucks, and containers…
Responsible for overseeing the plan to lower, save and unload ships at container yards (CY)
Planning and handling of containers for crane drivers performed at container yards (CY)
Enter loading/unloading data in the software system
Work with other parts to arrange container loading and unloading in good conditions
Communicate with train lines, stations by phone, email, EDI … to plan the delivery of containers
Get DO from customers and other documents that need to be delivered/delivered at the warehouse
Make all documents for customers according to SOP in the system
Coordinate with the accounting department to cross-check the amount for customers correctly
Monitor all vehicles in/out of CY
Supporting and technical inspection of maintenance, repair, and periodic cleaning of cranes
Follow the assignment and arrangement of the manager.
Responsible for the maintenance inspection of the container crane fleet
Perform small repair work for cranes at Yen Vien station
Responsible for the allocation and monitoring of the inflow and outflow of supplies for drivers in maintenance
Coordinate with drivers to check the maintenance of cranes
Management and supervision of crane driving operating in accordance with procedures
Provide procedures for operation, maintenance, and periodic maintenance of cranes fleet
Follow the assignment and arrangement of management.
Responsible for the safe operation of container cranes
Together with the technical department to conduct small repair work for cranes at Yen Vien station
Responsible for the management and monitoring of cranes during operation Coordinate with techniques for inspection of maintenance, repair, and periodic cleaning of cranes
Manage and operate cranes in accordance with the process
Follow the assignment and arrangement of management.
Declaration of e-Customs via Vnaccs system
Direct customs clearance of goods at Yen Vien sub-department
Manage all declarations and clearance of goods at other HQCK sub-departments Declaration and completion of certificate of origin (CO) registration
Handle services registered on the country of importing country one-stop system, quality of licensed goods
Custom procedure advice and quotes for sales and agencies
Follow the assignment and arrangement of management.
Preparing dossiers of import and export documents and conducting customs declaration procedures for import and export shipments, transit for exports/imports, processing, investment, export production
Customs declarations at ports, airports, and customs sub-departments of industrial zones
Apply for C/O, quarantine, sub-licenses, get D/O for the declaration of custom Directly conduct customs procedures at Yen Vien border gate
Monitor and perform deliveries from/to customer warehouses
Other jobs assigned by team leader.
Be responsible for accounting and related activities of the department including corporate and statutory reporting, regional reporting and statutory compliance and taxation, company policies & Vietnam Accounting Standard.
Ensures monthly, quarterly, and yearly reporting package to group and financial statement for external audit.
Closing bookkeeping on time following company requirement.
Ensures adequate controls and review of all accounting activities and schedules including cash/bank, inventory, debtors, creditors, credit limits, fixed assets, inter- company balances, sales, and expenses, etc.…
Be ensured Policies of Company and Fin Dept
Other tasks assigned by FM & AM.
Regulated by Tax laws: Timeline, conditions
Policies of Company and Fin Dept.
Timeline & Requirement: Ensures bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly reporting package to group under policies of Fin Dept.
Responsible for legal matter, contract review/draft to support operational activities.
Provide management account, costing and analysis reporting to the business Ensures budgets are followed & under control
Ensures front line documentation & reporting flows followed Company policies.Participates in the annual operation plan and budgeting process.
Others: Follow management's assignment and arrangement
ANALYSIS OF LOGISTICS AND SUPPLY CHAIN
Analyze operation
The flowchart below will illustrate the core business operation at ICD (Inland ContainerDepot) Yen Vien This is how containers get on trains in Yen Vien’s container yard before being transported domestically or export to China or Europe, or how containers from domestic locations or from international locations stop at Yen Vien’s staion and be transferred into Yen Vien’s container yard
Provide information on demand for services
Notify the plan to export/import to the ITL yard for ITL dispatch
Make a plan, report the plan to the security team to monitor, to deliver/receive containers with the station when the train enters/exiting the ITL yard
Check the planning information with the Station to monitor and execute the delivery/receipt plan at the Station.
Register information to enter the ITL yard and get PKS for vehicles and goods entering and leaving the customs office at the security room at the entrance. Register information to enter the ITL yard at the station so that the station can transfer goods to the ITL yard
Enter information into the RVC book into the PKS Guide customers to bring PKS to the ITL office for check-in
Update information to forwarders at Yen Vien Terminal to understand the goods moving plan to the ITL yard When the train enters the ITL yard, check and enter information in the ship's import and export book Sign the handover Transfer of import and export information for ITL dispatchers to input into QLBC software and monitor the process of goods being stored at the yard.
Present information about the shipment, import and export declarations, documents related to the shipment for ITL dispatchers
The carrier provides ITL dispatchers with the bill of lading, documents related to the shipment
If the information is correct: Enter the data into the QLBC software, if it is wrong, ask the customer to provide the information again
Transfer relevant documents to OPS department to track, monitor and plan to get in/out of goods at DTHQ
Present the control slip to the ITL guard to let vehicles and goods enter the ITL yard.
Let vehicles and goods enter the ITL yard.
Put vehicles and goods in the ITL yard if they are eligible If there is no confirmation mark on the PKS, ask the customer to return to the ITL office to meet the ITL dispatcher for procedures
Check the document information to get printed into the HQ monitoring software
If it is incorrect or incomplete, request the dispatcher to update the information with the customer
After checking, being eligible to get in the GSHQ system
Notify the customs team directly at the ITL yard about the shipment
Customs Branch of Yen Vien:
The customs team at the ITL yard receives information and conducts monitoring Waiting for customers/carriers to do customs clearance
Customs Branch of Yen Vien:
Conduct custom procedures for customers
Receive documents proving that the goods have been cleared enough to be exported/imported into the customs office
Customs Branch of Yen Vien:
Complete the procedure and deliver the documents to the customer
Submit relevant documents to prove that goods are eligible to enter and exit the customs clearance area to ITL
Check the documents related to the shipment that is eligible for import and export from the customs office If the customer has not yet asked customer to continue working with the customs office
Deliver the confirmation that the goods are enough to be exported from the customs office at the ITL yard to the customer Let customers check-in out of the yard with ITL security team
Report the plan and transfer copy of confirmation that the goods are eligible for export/import at DTHQ for ITL dispatchers
Presenting confirmation that goods are eligible for export/import at DTHQ for ITL dispatch to complete delivery/receipt procedures
Pay all fees related to the shipment to the accountant
Get invoices and receipts from ITL accountant
Submit invoice, receipt proving full payment of charges related to shipment for ITL dispatchers
Check the voucher to confirm that the goods are eligible to be exported from the customs office If that is enough, the ITL dispatcher will transfer the information to an accountant
Accountants based on PGN to determine service types, collect payments and write service receipts
Deliver bill of lading to customers Save the 1st copy, deliver the 2nd copy to the customer Into software QLBC recognizes revenue.
Check the receipt invoice proving that the shipment has paid in full the related fees If the conditions are sufficient, the ITL dispatcher and the customer sign the receipt to the PGN.
Receive PGN certified by ITL Dispatcher (Copy 3) and go to the yard to present to the crane driver to lift and lower the container at DTHQ (If it is a full container) Keep copy 2 to exist
Following the instructions of the ITL dispatcher for the vehicle, the goods are exported/imported
Print the command at the QLBC software to report the plan to the crane driver to carry out lifting/lowering operations for goods entering/exiting DTHQ.
Notify the crane driver The driver picks up the container based on the PGN container (Copy 2) to lift/lower the container at the station (If it is a full container) Instructions for the vehicle to import / export goods to the ĐĐTTHQ to deliver / receive goods (If it is LTL)
The ITL crane driver checks whether the PGN has the ITL dispatcher's confirmation Based on the container PGN (Copy 3) and the order from the ITL dispatcher (Copy 2) to lift/lower the container at the DTHQ (For full containers) ITL Dispatchers:
Based on PGN (Copy 3) to deliver/receive goods at DTHQ (For LTL goods)
Conduct delivery/receipt of goods with ITL.
Deliver/receive goods to customers based on the confirmation that goods are eligible for export/import at DTHQHQ.
Report back to OPS the goods have been delivered to the customer so that OPS can get out the customs monitoring software
Make procedures to get out at customs monitoring software
Presented at the exit gate include (1)PKS, (2)PGN, Certificate of eligibility for goods to get out to the station.
Check the actual goods and contact OPS ITL to see if the goods are eligible to leave the yard If the goods are eligible to leave the yard, then carry out the procedures to let the vehicle and goods out of the yard
Check-in for vehicles/goods out of the ITL yard
Collect back PKS (Copy 2) Sign the PGN cont and hand it over to the driver PGN 3
Record information about vehicle number, trailer number, vehicle status when leaving the station (with goods - not in stock) into the exit tracking number
Take vehicles and goods out of the ITL yard
Based on PGN copy 1 to close the system and collect back copy 3, record in the software that the container has been in / out of the station
Figure 2 1 Flowchart operation of Indotrans
Analyze inbound logistics
Yen Vien Station or Inland Container Depot (ICD) Yen Vien has a strategic position as a connection hub for multi-modal transportation, warehouse for consolidation, and distribution logistics center for two reasons First, its location is in Yen Vien ward, LongBien district, and more than 15km away from the center of Hanoi, but it connects to big main roads and highways, which ensures the continuous inflow and outflow of trains,trucks, and containers without being affected by traffic congestion and affecting negatively to the residences (noise, air pollution) Yen Vien station is 12km away from the center of Ha Noi via No 1A highway, 26km away from Noi Bai International Airport via Noi Bai highway It is geographically located near the central industrial zone of HaNoi, Ha Tay, Bac Ninh, Bac Guang, Dong Anh, Gia Lam, and Vinh Phuc (around 30 industrial zones with 6000 ha of land within an area of 40 km radius) Secondly, Yen
Vien Station can connect to other important stations and ports It is 140km and 160km away from Hai Phong and Cai Lan ports, respectively Available lines are:
Yen Vien – Da Nang – Song Than line,
Yen Vien – Hai Phong line,
Yen Vien – Cai Lan line,
Yen Vien – Lao Cai, Bang Tuong – Kunming, Yunnan, China line (joint railway with China),
And Yen Vien – Dong Dang line
Yen Vien Station is an important node in the transportation network involving sea, land, and railway shipments in exporting/importing goods between China and Vietnam It is 160km away from the border between Vietnam and China via Dong Dang town, and 290km via Lao Cao city Below is the sketch map which shows the railway spread from Yen Vien Station
Figure 2 2: Geographic location of Yen Vien Station
Especially, Yen Vien Station operates as a border gate for railways only Containers (or goods) transported between Vietnam and China can conduct custom clearance process at Yen Vien Station to save time and cost
Yen Vien Station’s area is 20,000m2 including 10,000m2 of custom supervision area, 1300m2 of warehouse area, 7000m2 of inland area, and the remaining of supporting area
Inbound Logistics service of Indotrans
(2) Warehouse/Container Yard for lease,
Here is an example of inbound logistics in the import and export process
Figure 2 3: Example for flowchart inbound logistics
The following figures will illustrate Yen Vien container depot
Figure 2 4: the perspective of ICD Yen Vien
Figure 2 5: Inland area for traffic in container yard
Figure 2 6 Railway for trains to stop for lifting on/off
Analyze outbound logistics
Railway transportation companies: Hanoi Railway Transport joint stock company
(HARACO), Railway Transport and Trade joint stock company (RATRACO), Sai Gon Railway Transport joint stock company – Northern Railway Transport branch
Export/Import companies: Celtic Pacific Viet Nam Import-Export company limited,
Hoang Phuong Import-Export company limited, P&Q Media and Trading company limited.
Transportation and Logistics companies: Hoa Lam Transportation – Service – Trading company limited, SpeedLink company limited, Tan Cong Song Than ICD joint-stock company, Viet Trung International Logistics – Trade company limited, VSICO shipping joint-stock company…
Others: Vietnam Technological and Commercial joint stock bank (TECHCOMBANK),
Tan Thanh Mechanical Trading Corporation, Tan An Phat Investment and Development of Construction company limited…
Among customers, HARCO and RATRACO contribute around 90% of container lifting on-lifting off volume through Yen Vien station, in which HARACO is the main customer for domestic transportation and RATRACO is the main customer for international railway route and joint railway with China to distribute/assemble good to/from Europe and China
With a professional service style and a staff of trained drivers 100% have an FC license, are in good health, are excited about their jobs, and are always ready to accept and accomplish specified responsibilities.
We are not only capable of delivering the greatest door-to-door freight service, which is fast and accurate, guaranteeing that the trains arrive and exit the dock on time, but we also have more than 100 container tractors dispersed over three areas of the country schedule.
Today's most contemporary scientific management approaches are always used by the expert tractor truck management team To assure the accuracy of the transit time and trip schedule, all of the tractors are equipped with a GPS satellite navigation system.
Transport of retail goods by rail.
Rather than shipping products by wagon or automobile, the company collects retail items using a system of 1.25 mini-trucks; 1.4 tons; 5 tons; at a professional retail warehouse, classifies, packs, labels, and then transports the goods by rail container to ensure that the goods are not lost or damaged
With a weekly shipping schedule, the company always offers various freight prices based on weight and delivery time to assist customers in being proactive in their job and saving money When compared to normal road transport, we always ensure that the freight rate via rail is lowered by more than 30%.
Transporting full containers by rail.
ITL Railway Logistics transports products by specialized railway north-south route, delivering items from warehouse to warehouse (Door to door service), and assuring delivery on time as promised to consumers ITL Railway Logistics provides full-container rail transportation solutions, freight collection, retail, project cargo transportation, and warehousing business to best serve the trading needs of businesses across the country, with a stable train schedule with a frequency of 5 trips per week at freight service stations such as Song Than Station and Yen Vien Station, Giap Bat Station ITL Railway Logistics has been collaborating with the railway to deliver the most dependable domestic freight services for customers, with 100 container trucks and vehicles of all kinds.
We also offer simple services like GPS technology to assist consumers in monitoring products packaged in containers Customers can feel safer transferring goods with the support of a transport performance measurement (KPI) system, SMS freight forwarding warning system, and a flawless booking process.
ITL Group is pleased to be designated as a geographical total goods (GSA) of Jetstar Pacific and is the first-class agent of domestic airlines such as Viet Nam Airlines and Vietjet Air, with a total of more than 50 domestic flights each day.
We can easily provide customized air and domestic transportation services thanks to our network of offices and freight forwarding brokers.
Container shipping by inland sea.
We are committed to providing you with trustworthy and high-quality domestic sea freight services as an agent for numerous shipping lines We are committed to offering a professional service at a competitive price and the quickest delivery time with our door-to-door service We have always attached importance to the carrier's liability, as evidenced by our contract with AIG insurance group (ChartisVietnam Insurance) to purchase carrier liability insurance with a maximum compensation value of up to 5 billion 250 million VND/orders, in order to give customers more confidence in our ability to serve.
Distribution channel
Figure 2 8 The organization structure of ITL corporation
Customer Service
Due to the sad fact that confidential details such as revenues/profit/costs are not allowed to be prevailed, those charts below only illustrate how much the throughputs of containers in ICD Yen Vien’s Branch
As we see the change in container volume by customers or by years, we can have some look or perspectives about how business of ICD Yen Vien’ Branch evolve through years.
Domestic customers use service of ICD Yen Vien’s Branch for domestic transportation, from cities to cities within Vietnam International customers use service of ICD Yen Vien’s Branch for international transportation, from Yen Vien’s station to any countries (China, Europe, Russia…) by international joint railway with China, or in reversal, from foreign countries to Vietnam by stopping by at Yen Vien’s station and dropping containers at ICD Yen Vien’s container yard Except for “Vinalines” and “Ratraco”, the remaining are domestic customers.
From the case of ICD Yen Vien’s Branch to some extent, we can see the development of Vietnam’s economy by trading domestically and exporting/import internationally by railway specifically in the period of years from 2017 to 2021 Especially, we can answer the question whether Covid-19 epidemic affect Vietnam’s export/import through railway as a whole or whether Covid-19 epidemic affected the business operation of an InlandContainer Depot like Yen Vien’s Branch
Figure 2 9 Total Container Volume by years (from branch’s data base)
Overall business of ICD Yen Vien Branch in perspectives of container volumes is in the pace of well-development From 2017-2020, its business gradually rose, however, it is important when its significant increase appears in period of 2020-2021
Figure 2 10 Container volume by customers (from branch’s data base)
Figure 2 11 Container volume by domestic and international shipments (from branch’s data base).
From Figure 2.10, we can see the increase in container volume process by specific customers from 2017 until now HARACO, a domestics railway shipper, suddenly became core customer since period of year from 2018-2019; the reason for that is the increasing demand of inland transportation from VNPost and ViettelPost (they are main customers of Haraco)
RATRACO, an international railway shipper, became core customer since around 2020.For explanation, this is my opinion, when Covid19 epidemic outbroke in 2020, the operation of Marine, Air and even Inland transportation turned to stagnation due to social distancing and infected staff Thus, Railway transportation, which had been an ignored type of international shipments in the past, now is the lifesaving solution for commercial, trading and logistics companies to hedge the risk of cargo congestion and late delivery. From Figure 2.11., while domestic container volumes processed in container yard gradually increase, international number just rockets up from 2020 to 2021
Figure 2 12 Growth of International shipment (from branch’s database).
From Figure 2.12, it is surprised that container volumes by international shipment in
2021 is six-time higher than 2020.
Figure 2 13 International over Total Volume (from branch’s data base).
From Figure 2.13, international container volumes used to be small part of ICD Yen VienBranch, but in 2021, it consists of one third of container volume throughputs Due toCovid19, transformation of global transportation really made a change in the business structure of a railway ICD like Yen Vien Branch
Figure 2 14 Pattern of container volume by seasons (from branch’s data base).
One last Figure, as we can see in Figure 2.14, volume of container throughputs is higher in October, November, December, and January This is the usual time for Vietnamese to stack their items, foods and goods for Christmas, Solar New Year, and Lunar New Year.
It is worth something to note down to prepare for annual planning.
SWOT analyze
Covid19 epidemic caused the stagnation or the suspension of AirPort, SeaPort and inter- provinces and inter-national Land Transportation ICD Yen Vien Branch is a multi-model depot which has a container yard, railway network connected with other ports, and custom service, so it can be an alternative among other traditional but not available choices
Government aims to complete International Joint Railway in 2030 ICD Yen Vien is one of important node in this network
Vessels are becoming bigger and heavier, so the pressure on Vietnam’s SeaPorts will be greater in the future Connection between ports by roads or by rails is required to reduce the pressure for ports and logistics cost for firms ICD Yen Vien is built to connect important ports (Hai Phong and Quang Ninh in the Northern, Song Than in the Southern) and reduce the pressure on road transportation.
The uneven distribution of containers around the world and containers congestion in China’s seaports as well as in the East America have cause the freight cost to rise in 2020 and 2021 As a result, Railway become a rational alternative for low freight cost and avoiding congestion.
Advanced technology such as Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Warehouse automation, Bigdata are not yet installed widely among firms in Vietnam The sooner Yen Vien Branch can apply those technology, the better the operation in Inland Container Depot is
Covid19 still can affect the operation of an Inland Container Deport as usual The infection or related infection of a staff can suspend the operation for hours to test Covid on all staff If under the hard restriction like 16 instruction established and run by th Government, the number of staff at office must be cut down, so following by the slow- down of work
Zero-Covid policy established by Chinese Government, power shortage in China, and uneven distribution of container around the world are making it longer and harder for logistics network to recover It brings opportunity for less common transportations like Railway but also the instant pressure for it
The significant increase in container volume throughputs can go beyond expectation, in which currently ICD Yen Vien has no plan or infrastructures to deal with big volume. Thus, it can cause the operation to be inefficient and ineffective.
ICD Yen Vien branch has sufficient infrastructure and workforce to manage moderate container throughputs everyday (150~200 40-ft containers per day is the acceptable range, more than that leads to stressful workload)
ICD Yen Vien is under the management of ITL corporation, which can provide support directly or indirectly to ICD Yen Vien when necessary.
ICD Yen Vien is an intermodal depot which has a strategic location connecting important highways and ports
ICD Yen Vien operates as a custom border, where firms can conduct custom clearance in a place just 13km away from the center of Hanoi city Thus, it is convenient for import/export by Joint Railway to China and other countries along the international railway.
As the container volume throughputs increase suddenly, ICD Yen Vien branch’s operators have no detailed reacting plan, which leads to inefficiency
Two crane lifters with a four-person crane fleet with two shifts used to be able to manage all the work, but the suddenly increased workload leads to high cost of maintenance and over-function of machines If one crane lifter goes down, the process of lifting the on/off container will be stagnant
Data loaded into software systems by hands caused data in the system not real-time Data today will only be loaded into the system in the next two days This makes Yen Vien’s operators not able to manage the activities of the Container Depot by computer software, which means applied computer software is just useful for storing data but not managing the Yard All the management work still mainly is done manually
Due to lack of staff, there is no one in the field to record the exact location of containers to fill in the software, and this is such a waste of software’s function Therefore,Coordinators just put containers in where there is space left in the container yard with no plan, and it leaves consequences First, when customers or custom officers need a specific container, it must be found manually, which is time-consuming Second, more importantly, without knowing the exact location of the container in the Yard,Coordinators cannot calculate the most efficient way to organize the containers to minimize the lifting on/off actions Remember that one lifting on/off action of a container lifter costs fuel, which is money Eventually, if there is no modification, managing costs will be incurred unexpectedly.
Recommendations
As the increasing demand for Railway transportation, ICD Yen Vien needs to operate efficiently to catch the incoming opportunities Work with Information and Technology department from ITL corporation to increase the degree of technology application to reduce manual workload, reduce the working time, increase the preciseness of input and output data, and increase the ability to manage the overall operation of the ICD Yen Vien
Firstly, it needs to precisely forecast the incoming demand to adjust the flow of container so that the container yard is over-loaded and congested.
Secondly, the current inputting data process is total by hand and must go through lots of phases, so an improvement or modification in software and inputting data process is necessary to free the workload.
Thirdly, it is crucial that the ITL’s coordinator at ICD Yen Vien needs to have the data of exact location of container yard so that the coordinator can optimize the process of lifting up/off the containers
Lastly, having contingency strategy is necessary in chaos time like todays for ICD YenVien to against unpredictable surge in containers volume throughputs
Covid19 epidemic indirectly and directly affect the operation of ICD Yen Vien, a branch of ITL corporation Directly, it threats the continuous operation of the ICD Yen Vien due to lockdown policy and the inspection of Covid19 infection of working staff Indirectly,Covid19 epidemic, which led to logistics stagnation, high freight cost, and uneven container distribution, re-directed the flow of containers, so the volume of goods going through ICD Yen Vien suddenly increases significantly in the late of 2021, and in first months of 2022 It created both opportunities and threats, as I described, for ICD YenVien to grow in the future This study not only illustrates the operation of an InlandContainer Depot is normal circumstances, but also provide a glace of how its operation under a hard and chaos time like Covid19 epidemic worldwide.