Analysis of door-to-door logistics in the steel industry. The partnership's analysis of «Coutinho & Ferrostaal» and «Astra Shipping Agency»

It is hard to imagine life without automobiles, planes, trains, buildings etc. However, all of the mentioned things can not be created without steel as a matter. Steel products are everywhere and can be met almost in every industry. But the steel products should be transported because they are mainly produced in the minefields, which are very often far away from customers. And that is why the logistics is extremely important component of the steel industry. The present thesis helps to analyze the logistics of all variety of steel products and determine how the current logistics model in real-life partnership can be improved. The importance of logistics optimization is stipulated by the global market, which damaged significantly due to the world financial crisis. Firms have started to think in terms of cost minimization instead of profit maximization and it is the place, where logistics as an irreplaceable part in many types of businesses is able to play the most important role. The Russian market, which has been chosen as the final customer of the steel products, delivered by studied company, can be considered as fairly complicated because of high concentration of the local rivals as well as Russian specificity and set of mind. Under the latter, the author means the insufficient level of transparency. The studied partnership is a good example of effective partnership between two complementary markets – steel industry and third-party logistics. In such a manner, the analysis of good practice can be beneficial to both parties. First of all, it is possible that vertically integrated companies will start to outsource logistics function because it might be more advantageous and competitive in conditions of modern trade market. Secondly, the logistics companies can catch the idea of how to survive in severe conditions, which are nowadays dictated by the world economy. Conclusions, presented in the end of the paper, are quite unhacked and have been received by the analysis of studied partnership. This is stipulated by the fact the author together with supervisors have specified the research as qualitative with many in-depth interviews. The latter made the thesis more realistic and fill it with the voice of business.