Jason M Williams/3111448
23 March 13
TLMT441 Advanced Business Logistics
American Military University
Instructor: Roxanne Grosett
Introduction
Susan Weber, the new president and CEO of SAB Distributions has offered a new collaborated relationship to Jean Beierlein, president and CEO of Central Transport. Dramatic changes in the market have changed SAB, and it continues to get worse. SAB is losing the competitive advantage over other companies entering the distribution market, and it is causing SAB to use a different approach. According to Susan, SAB needs to change, and get away from the “status que”. SAB has decided to expand to take on some larger retailers in the Mid-Atlantic States and provide more services like a 3PL (third-party logistics). 3PL’s are used to outsource the majority of the companies’ logistic services (Rouse, 2010).
Background Information
SAB distribution is a small business that deals with the delivery of goods to consumers to Pennsylvania and nearby states. SAB’s product lines have extended from nonperishable food items, to include perishables and nonfood consumer products. (Coyle, Gibson, Novak, 2009). If SAB wants to take the competitive advantage in distribution, the company needs to move forward and get on more 3PL responsibilities or outsource warehousing, transportation delivery, and inventory management. Susan has the experience to develop SAB, but Central Transport has much more experience and influence in the 3PL.
Problems and Other Major Challenges
SAB has a few problems and challenges to address; the major issue for SAB is the competitive market. SAB needs to examine the role of complementary products or services in the completion, in other distribution companies. Investopedia defines the competitive advantage as an advantage that a firm has over its competitors, allowing it to generate greater sales or margins and/or retain more customers than
References: Burt, Petcavage, & Pinkerton, Richard (2010). Supply Management. 8th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw- Hill Coyle, J., Langley, C., Gibson, N., Novak, R., Bardi, E., (2009). Supply Chain Management; A Logistics Perspective. Ohio: South-Western Press. 9th Ed.. Investopedia. (2013, Mar). Competitive Advantage. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/competitive_advantage.asp Rouse, M. (2010, Feb). 3PL (Third-Party Logistics). Retrieved from http://searchmanufacturingerp.techtarget.com/definition/3PL