Modem business involves manufactures of goods on a large and making them available to consumers in distant places. Thus, goods must be moved from the place of production to the place of consumption to create place utility to them. Similarly, trading involves distribution ensuring the availability of goods to consumers as and when needed.
This involves holding of stocks by traders as near as possible to the markets and supplied to buyers. Thus, transportation and warehousing functions ensure consumers to get a ready supply of goods as the right place and right time. In this article you will see the ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD TRANSPORT SYSTEM.
Trade, as a business activity involves buying goods from producers and selling the same to consumers. In other words, those who are engaged in trade need to procure goods produced or manufactured at particular places and supply them to customers in different places. Goods which may have little use at the place of production thus become useful when these are made available to customers by traders. In the modem world, there are goods produced in a country may be exported and sold abroad.
However, production and manufacture as well as buying and selling include operations which need certain facilitating services to be provided. Markets of goods produced on a large scale are spread over the length and breadth of the country and even extent to countries across the borders to help traders bridge the distance between the places of
production and the markets i.e. to enable traders to create place utility for goods and earn their income, facilities must exist for carrying the goods i.e. transportation of goods (to overcome the distance barrier) for warehousing (to overcome the barrier of time lag between procurement and sale) banking facilities (to meet the credit and financial requirements), and insurance service (to cover the risks of loss or damage due to theft, burglary, fire, accident etc.,)
ESSENTIALS OF A GOOD TRANSPORT SYSTEM
A good transport system should be AIDLESS. A good transport system is one which should serve the purpose of transportation and satisfy at least the following seven requirements.
1. AVILABLE: The transport service should be available regularly as and when required. It must ensure the safety of the goods.
2. INSURED: It should provide for insuring the risks of loss or damage to goods in transit, and assure payment of due compensation in case of delay causing loss to the owner of good
3. DELIVERY: As far as possible, delivery of goods should be made at &cations convenient to the receiver of the goods.
4. LOADING & UNLOADING: There should be proper arrangements for loading and unloading of goods promptly and at minimum cost.
5. ECONOMICAL: It should be economical. The cost of transport service should be low enough to enable the users to carry their goods at the lowest possible charge so that the ultimate consumer get the products at a reasonable price.
6. SPEEDY: It should be capable of carrying goods as speedily as possible. There should not be any delay in reaching the destination except for natural calamities or unavoidable causes.
7. SKILLED: It should be operated by the properly skilled and efficient persons capable of handling problems in emergency.
