The Impact of Policy Drivers on the Logistics Supply Chain.

Abstract

This report is designed to highlight the impact of policy drivers on the freight logistics supply chain. This section will define the term policy drivers and outline the different types of impacts the can have upon the logistics supply chain. In Section Two a list of policy drivers is presented, along with associated policy levers. An attempt to assess what impact each policy lever has on the logistics supply chain is made in Section Three and in Section Four a number of policies levers are selected to take forward as possible scenarios to be evaluated in the University of Leeds cost modelling work. Policy drivers are defined as broad aims, targets or statements that are considered to be desirable by the various bodies of government or non-government organisations in satisfying their overall goals such as “maximising social welfare”, “staying in power” etc... The types of policy drivers vary by organisation and may be complimentary or contradictory. They may also change over time as new doctrine is implemented or new research findings put into practise. In the Government’s, ‘Transport 2010 - The 10 Year Plan’ (DFT, 2000) the policy drivers are outlined under the heading ‘Vision’ and are presented below, · Fully integrated public transport information, booking and ticketing systems; · Safer and more secure transport accessible to all; and, · A transport system that makes less impact on the environment. Policy levers are the policy instruments used to attain policy drivers and can be used to achieve more than one Both policy drivers and policy levers can be categorised under two headings as outlined below, a) Fiscal Drivers; and, b) Physical & Regulatory Drivers The implementation of these policies leads to both direct and indirect outcomes that will make some contribution to achieving the policy drivers set out by the government. The policy levers will impact upon the freight industry in a positive, negative or neutral manner and for the purposes of the next section three definitions have been formulated which have been related to the impact of policy levers on costs and externalities. In Section Four a broader range of impacts are discussed for the policy levers that have been selected as possible scenarios. A Positive Impact - Any outcome that, 1) Lowers operating cost without increasing externalities, and/or; 2) Lowers externalities without increasing costs. A Neutral lmpact – Any outcome that, 1) Maintains defacto operating costs without changing externalities, and/or; 2) Maintains defacto externalities with out changing operating costs. A Negative Impact – Any outcome that, 5 1) Increases operating costs, and/or; 2) Increases externalities. Making a judgement as to whether any one policy is beneficial or not is difficult in the absence of any data and will differ depending upon who you are. The judgements that will be made in this paper will apply to the freight logistics industry only and the externalities they produce. It is stressed that they are not exact. The next section will outline in more detail some of the possible policy drivers that either currently apply to or could be applied to the freight logistics industry. The likely policy levers that could arise from the policy drivers are then discussed along with the possible transport outcomes and their impact