Advertisement

Poor warehousing, mechanisation and computer use cited

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0

Inadequate warehousing is hindering logistics development in the mainland, which is lagging far behind global trends, according to logistics provider Bonko Chan.

Most warehouses in use were in poor condition having been set up by mainland enterprises, based on the principle of self-sufficiency, under the planned economy, said Mr Chan, executive vice-president of Jin Hai-Jet Air International Forwarding.

'The problems with these warehouses are that they lack fire alarms and sprinkler systems, proper ventilation, temperature control, surveillance systems and, in certain cases, do not even have racking,' he said.

Although there was a certain degree of computerisation among mainland transport companies, they lacked integration and software that differentiated logistics from transportation or storage, Mr Chan said.

Single-point solutions covering individual functions rather than the overall network failed to satisfy the requirements of co-ordination.

In terms of supply-chain management, automatic identification equipment such as handheld bar-code scanners, fixed scanners and radio frequency identification was seldom used.

Lack of understanding of the intrinsic logistics needs of an integrated IT network had led to the sorry state of the industry in relation to development internationally, Mr Chan said.

Advertisement