Student details

Name Roopeshwari Shanmuagam Sitheswaran

Course Master of Commerce Supply Chain Management

Unit details

Unit code MGMT5013

Unit name Global Distribution and Transportation

Unit lecturer or tutor

Assignment details
Topic
Air Transportation in Singapore

Due date 30 April 2019 Word count 2000

Extension? Resubmission?
Declaration
I certify that the attached material is my original work. No other person’s work or ideas have been
used without acknowledgement. Except where I have clearly stated that I have used some of this
material elsewhere, I have not presented this for assessment in another course or unit at this or any
other institution. I have retained a copy of this assignment. I have read and understand the Curtin
University of Technology document Academic Integrity at Curtin: Student guidelines for avoiding
plagiarism.

Name/signature: Date: 30.04.2019

Roopeshwari Shanmugam Sitheswaran

I have named my assignment correctly in the following style:


Surname_Firstname_Student ID_TITLE
I have put in my Surname and Student Number into the footer of this document

I have used Times New Roman 12pt font, double line spacing and not changed the
margins of this assignment 
Running head: 1

Student: Roopeshwari Shanmugam Sitheswaran

Student Number: 19697938

Email Address: rupa14101996@gmail.com

School/Department: Faculty of Business and Law- School of Management

Unit: MGMT5013 Global Distribution and Transportation

Lecturer/Tutor: Elizabeth Jackson

Date Due: 30.04.2019

I declare that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for

another unit, degree or diploma at any university or other institute of tertiary education.

Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been

acknowledged in the text and a list of references is given. I warrant that any discs and/or

computer files submitted as part of this assignment have been checked for viruses and

reported to be clean.

Student signature: Roopeshwari Shanmuagm Sitheswaran

Date: 30.04.2019
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PART A

GROUP EXPERIENCE:

It is an inevitable fact that group assignments are not a cup of tea. It’s a tiresome
work to even choose a topic. The obstacles are high, and it should not lead to
conflicts which are most likely to happen. Apart from the obvious facts our group did
not face such a problem (one in a million chances). In-fact we did not gather at one
place, we chose a suitable time for everybody and browsed the internet and
discussed through mails (once again technology brought us closer).

MY CONTRIBUTION:

While sourcing out the information for our topic I came across the three key factors
that made Singapore a successful hub(Yin 2017); Building connectivity as in
developing high connections to destinations across the globe. Innovative
Infrastructure and processes- an eye for the future to benefit the logistic chains and
encouraging private sector participation- collective participation of government and
private sectors to bring better services to the people and organizations. Apart from
this I presented the current statistics of transport and storage services industry of air
cargo(Department of Statistics Singapore 2017), which brought us further insights
towards the topic. The most effective one was discussing the pros and cons of air-
cargo of Singapore.

LEARNING OUTCOME:

As our wavelengths matched, we were able to complete some of our work

collectively and individually without any problems. With the diverse group of 4 from 4
different countries we were able to finish the work smoothly. It was easier because
we were in our comfort place at our flexible timing and most importantly our motive
was to help each other to bring a better solution and not be competitive. But in the
end, due to unavoidable circumstances we weren’t able to discuss further but
 3

somehow worked individually to complete the assignment. The group member gave
insights on the market analysis of air-cargo and certain interviews to get the clear
picture of past, present and the future of the air transportation. As Most important of
all, each of the group member was given certain task and we stuck to the schedule
and organized the ideas to provide each member perspective on air cargo in
Singapore.

NEXT STEP:

In the forthcoming part B of this assignment, our collective focus is on the

background of air transportation in Singapore; what strategies they followed to
increase their network and how it became successful hub. The roles of each
stakeholders and their performances and what benefits do they receive for their hard
work. Also highlighting their growth in accordance with the environment, local and
international consumers and their advantages and disadvantages. Though air
transportation Singapore has created one of the best platforms for the transportation
of the goods, there is always development to become better from the best and what
my perspective in this area would be my insight.

Word count: 470

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PART B
1. INTRODUCTION:

A Government owned air transportation in Singapore has been uprooting for more
than 20 years now. Developing to Asia’s successful hub by mere usage of limited
resources has resulted in increasing Singapore’s economy to a larger number with
employment of 110,000 people and the current gross value is $20.1 billon (Oxford
Economics 2016). Currently, air transportation increased by 1.6% of the total
establishments by chartering freights aircraft 3200 weekly flights to almost 149 cities
worldwide. In the year 2016, an event; Skytax World Airport Awards in Cologne,
Germany on 16th March, Changi Airport was awarded the “World’s best Airport” for
the fourth time due to excellent services and employment opportunities (directly and
indirectly) and maintaining the quality of the infrastructure and facilitating the inflow
and outflow of the goods(Skytrax World Airport Awards 2016). Indirect contributors
account nearly S$3.1 billion in supply chain sector and employing nearly 119,000
jobs and the number rising up to another 11,000 jobs in the year 2009(IATA 2006).
The industries primary hubs are located in Singapore Changi Airport, Sharjah
International Airport and Brussels Airport. For instance, the size of the fleet
management in Singapore Airlines Cargo is seven and its total revenue is S$2,220.1
million with 841 employees contributing to the profit of nearly S$139.0 million in the
year 2017/18(IATA 2006). The overall capacity of cargo handled in the year 2018
was 2,154,880 tonnes( Dept. of Statistics Singapore 2017) and is expected to rise.
The costs associated to handling of the cargo and freight chargers and the fuel
utilized for the transportation accounted to about 60% in the year 2017(Dept. of
Statistics Singapore 2017).

1.1 SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ISSUES:

The advent of technology commencements such as electronic airwaybill (e-AWB),

sales analysis tools paved way to a smooth transportation of of cargo and smart
business decision making process. The government is also keen and dedicated
towards protecting the environment in accordance with their air services. Their focus
of concern is towards the issues of carbon emissions, waste noise and the
consumption of energy and resources and initiatives to improve fuel productivity. Of
 5

the global carbon emission, the aviation sector bestows 2% of it. International Air
Transportation Association’s (IATA) formed three global climate targets that is
needed to be achieved to eliminate carbon emissions from air transports and ratified
four-pillar strategy to reduce carbon foot prints and neutralize it( IATA 2006).
Towards the end of the year 2017, Singapore Airlines inaugurated “From Farm to
Plane” offering support to local agriculture sustainably. Building networks is one of
the Singapore key factor for a successful hub. They organize various charities by the
hubs. For example, Singapore Airlines Cargo supports Women’s Welfare
Association and sponsors to empower the beneficiaries in Singapore and beyond
Singapore by actively organising various activities through local communities over 60
destinations such as Australia, India, China, NZ, UK( Singapore Airlines 2017/18).

2. MAIN STAKEHOLDERS:

There are several stakeholders in Singapore governing to betterment of the

providing services within Singapore and beyond too. Employees, customers,
shareholders are part of it. Singapore Airline Cargo as one of the shareholders of
Airlines, has employed 841 people; out of which, 48% are male and 52% are
female(Singapore Airlines Cargo 2018). It is the responsibility of the employers to
perform certain tasks such as, flight and fleet routing, revenue management, terminal
operations(inspections), aircraft loading and unloading which involves both man and
machine power. In-order to maintain a healthy relationship between the employers
and the managers, directors; there are certain employment benefits such as holiday
accommodation subsidies, health and medical insurances, which motivates the
employers to perform better in-order to replenish the amenities provided by the
companies. It is the responsibility of the company to satisfy the demands of the end
customers by delivering the goods on time possibly without any damages and
tracking their goods right from the start till it reaches them are the major goals that
has to fulfilled by the company.

Other stakeholders that facilitate the flow of the goods operation to its final
destination is, dnata for port operators, Pan Asia Logistics as third-party logistics for
storage of the goods, Singapore Express as the truckers for the delivery freight
forwarders namely DHL, DIMERCO. The chain wouldn’t be complete without capital
 6

input from the bankers such as Citibank Nominees Singapore Pte Ltd, United
Overseas Bank Nominees and so on. The corporate governance provides the land,
norms and regulations to facilitate the flow of operations in supply chain for global
transportation. The advantage of inputting various stakeholder can improve the
reputation of the services globally with high level of technological insights. As the
demand of the customers is increasing day by day the diversified subsidiary
companies such as the shareholders and the employees pave way to keep in track
to meet those demands. Thus, stakeholders effectively manage the key operations
of the company’s process flow. These are among the many strengths of the
stakeholders, as for the weaknesses a shift in power in the political front, natural
calamities, to name a few, are among the quality shape-changers in the process of
the operations. To elaborate, if the company’s effective and smooth functioning was
facilitated by the governing, political body, a sudden shift can take a considerable toll
in its advancements and otherwise smooth functioning. Similarly, natural calamities
such as, floods, earthquakes, etc. can not only hinder the process flow but also have
a profound impact on the product (viz. product damage), it’s delivery and economy.
The change in strategies followed can create an edge in the risks of the services
provided.

3. INTERNATIONAL GOVERNING BODIES:

3.1 ICAO:

There are different products that is transported worldwide such as pharmaceuticals,

Perishable food products such as fruits, vegetables, meat products, engines for
manufacturing various cars (Rolls Royce), other machineries and so on. Hence,
there is a need for the regulating the transportation of these products. There are two
important international governing bodies of air transportation in Singapore. The
foremost is the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It is UN based
organization that closely works with SARPs (Standards and Recommended
Practices of air transportation and the policies, regulations that are to be followed for
a smooth, secure and sustainable transportation of the goods globally. Its major
responsibilities are focused on the uncertain challenges, security and jurisdictional
regulations and maintaining smooth relationships between the stakeholders abroad
and airlines and other operators that is involved.
 7

3.2 IATA:

The other governing body is International Air Transport Association (IATA). It is a

trade association based in Canada. Their moto is to serve the aviation industry as
there is higher number of goods transported worldwide. Their services include air
navigation, air traffic management, improving safety of the products and maintaining
the capacity of load transported, settling funds due to uncertain circumstances and
also holding future goals to improve and develop “tomorrow’s air transport industry”.
In the year 2017, Singapore Airline Cargo the first airline that was awarded as IATA
CEIV Pharma Certification which is a pharmaceutical product handling accreditation
worldwide.

4. CONCLUSION:

Through the various examples cited and business strategies analysed, it is safe to
conclude that customer satisfaction is key to a successful hub. In order to achieve
this model, it is important to design and develop new strategies and refurbish
existing ones to suite to the specific needs of the customers. Designing and
developing such strategies that will cater the needs and requirements of the clients
can be achieved by availing inputs and feedbacks of the services provided, thereby,
paying more attention to satisfying the customers by addressing their needs and
requirements. Besides understanding client need and catering to their specifications
via effective feedback modules, enhancing network and connectivity is also crucial
for the advancement of the company. The brand image increases with its net value,
based on the companies tie-ups and connectivity with other countries. These
connections aid in efficient transportation and ease the process of movement and
delivery in the supply chain front as well. Moreover, being technologically updated
and possessing key technological skills to provide better decision making tools can
also be advantageous to the company.
 8

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5. IATA, 2006. IATA economics briefing. “air freight 2006 brighter skies ahead”.
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