Canadian National Railway supply chain.
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Introduction.
Canadian National Railway is the largest railway system in Canada with its headquarters in Montreal. It was created by the federal government of Canada in 1918 and later privatized by the same government in 1995, this year it marks the 25th anniversary. The creation of the CN helped in bringing together several other railways in Canada that had been bankrupt and were being financed by the federal government. It is the only transcontinental railway network in North America, and it serves Canada, the Midwest and Southern United States. CN has more than 24,000 employees and operates more than 20,000 route-miles, carrying more than 300 million tons of cargo for a wide range of business sectors including exporters, importers, retailers, farmers, and manufacturers. Services offered by CN include integrated transportation services in rail, intermodal, trucking freight forwarding, warehousing, and distribution (Boardman et al., 2013)
The supply chain.
The supply chain refers to steps or activities involved in bringing a product from its original state or from producers to the consumers who are the final users of the product. For CN Railway Company, it includes transportation of goods from their warehouses to exporters, importers, manufacturers, retailers, and directly to consumers. It includes:
Intermodal-refers to the use of two or more modes of transportation to transport containers such as trucks and rail to transport goods in containers from the shipper or supplier to the consignee. It involves moving goods or a container from the truck to the rail and from the rail to the truck. Intermodal increases the efficiency of the train and speeds up the arrival of containers to various destinations. For CN, shipping by rail is four times more efficient than using trucks. The intermodal service provided by CN helps shippers to offer door to door market services to different 23 strategically placed intermodal terminals.
Ports-CN delivers cargo from coast to coast to coast.CN uses modern infrastructure, a cohesive team, and a wide range of the network to link commodities from producers to consumers. Its network reaches ports from East to West through the Southern United States to the Gulf of Mexico. It works closely with its supply partners to look for fast and efficient routes to use in the transportation of cargo.
Trans loading– CN and its trusted partners work closely together to meet customer’s needs by providing them with safe, efficient, and cost-effective services. They carry out Trans loading services from truck to rail and from rail to truck in a wide range of locations.
Warehousing– CN provides storage services for goods and containers which are yet to be taken to the exporters, importers, manufacturers, retailers, and consumers. The packing of containers is also done in the warehouses as well as preparation of other goods before transportation.
Distribution– CN operates three coasts, Canada, Midwest, and the Southern United States. It has more than 31 strategically located distributors that help in the distribution of cargo, cargo transfer facilities in all the distributors, and also, Cargoflo Trans loads. This helps to provide services to both rail and non-rail users across North America and even beyond. They offer customized transport facilities to meet the user’s needs (Ortiz-Astorquiza, 2019).
Supply chain services offered by CN.
CN offers a wide range of services to its esteemed customers. Some of the services offered include:
Logistics parks-these parks built for customer services and are designed to provide quicker transport times, enhance efficiency, and other rail services. Logistic parks are designed in such a way that they provide all the logistic services in one place; these services include; rail, intermodal service, warehousing, and distribution. Customers can be served at one designated place, and their services are efficient. The staff at the logistics parks are very dedicated and have a high level of expertise to handle the cargo.
Customs brokerage services-CN’s services are globally accessible, and they are provided at affordable rates. Customers are given favourable duty rates and can pay electronically where they are given the releases for their imported even goods before goods are delivered so that they may be able to keep records for all goods delivered or for the shipments for easy tracking. They also provide extra services needed by their customers such as customs clearance, permits and licenses, insurance, advisory services, temporary importation, and post-audit services, among others.
Freight forwarding-it reduces the costs involved in the transportation of containers and also the budget for shipment by offering customer-friendly prices that are affordable. The time taken for transportation is reduced due to the use of intermodal modes of transport, ensuring that all the goods reach their destination on the stipulated time or even before. This is made possible through the partnership of CN with ocean carriers, port authorities, and other essential operators in the supply chain system. They work together to improve efficiency and find the best way possible of maximizing profit by minimizing the costs involved.
Marine– CN’s services are not just on land, but instead, they offer services to places beyond which trucks can access, for example in water. Customers in regions like the great lakes do not have to worry about their cargo because CN caters to their needs and offer marine shipping to their places. This is done by partnering with the ports across the network of its operations. At the great lakes, CN has nine fleets of carriers that are used to transport dry and bulky commodities like iron ore, coal, and limestone to any port on the great lakes.
Private car storage– rail yards can sometimes be busy and congested therefore customers will not be able to find places to park their private cars or fleets for carrying the cargo, at CN they ensure that their rail yards are fluid without congestion so that they are on time to connect with fleets where the goods are needed to be picked. They provide rooms for private materials and private cars which are provided to the customers when they need them. These help them a great deal in ensuring efficient operations at the rail station (Beatty, 2016).
Conclusion.
Ensuring customer satisfaction is the main aim of the Canadian National Railway Company. They provide efficient services to customers according to their needs, and it makes them happy to see customers with happy faces. The supply chain management is so dedicated, and they work as a team to ensure efficiency in the provision of services. Their partnership with port authorities and other rail operators creates a great deal in their success as a company. Providing customers with after-sales services and ensuring global access to their facilities keeps it at the top. It does not only deals with transportation but also warehousing where the products are safely stored before being transported to their destination. Goods taken to the customers are always safe and secure because of careful handling.
References.
Boardman, A. E., Laurin, C., Moore, M. A., & Vining, A. R. (2013). Efficiency, profitability, and welfare gains from the Canadian National Railway privatization. Research in Transportation Business & Management, 6, 19-30.
Ortiz-Astorquiza, C., Cordeau, J. F., & Frejinger, E. (2019). The Locomotive Assignment Problem with Distributed Power at the Canadian National Railway Company. CIRRELT.
Beatty, C. A. (2016). Hunter Harrison and the Transformation of Canadian National Railway.