You are tasked with transporting a cargo of fresh apples (1000 kg) from Adelaide. How can this best be done? What challenges would you anticipate and how would you overcome these?

       Considering the fact that this task is concerned with transporting apples from Adelaide, it falls in the domain of food transportation. In addition to it, it is important to note that the products to be transported are fruits which means that they should be maintained until they are sold to the end user in the predetermined destination. If these freshness is not maintained, the importer might lose interest in importing more fruits to the destination. At the destination, temperature is moderate to high, it implies that the risk to fruits is even more because if apples are exposed to this temperature, they will lose their quality. Therefore, reefer container will have to be utilised because these containers meet the necessary hygienic requirements for keeping and maintaining the freshness of apples until the cargo reaches the destination.

Reefer Container of the Transportation of Fresh Apples

            In general, a reefer or refrigerated container is utilised in intermodal freight transportation. It provides the capability of refrigeration to the user, which means that temperature sensitive products and goods can be transported in this container. This container will be important to be used for ensuring that the fruits remain fresh throughout the travel to destination, or else they will lose their freshness.

Challenges of the Transportation of Fresh Apples

            Following are the key challenges that will be faced in the transportation of fresh apples from Adelaide to the destination:

1.      Packaging of the Transportation of Fresh Apples

In Adelaide, the very first challenge is concerned with packing apples properly in the refrigerated container and ensure that they are completely prepared for being transported to the destination. When it comes to the transportation of fruits, packaging is one of the most important aspects or steps in ensuring their quality. It is because if fruits are not packaged carefully, it is highly possible that while being transported, they will experience damage to their quality. There are different types of goods that require different kinds of packaging. For instance, fragile items are packaged in such a manner that they do not fall on the ground and there is no space for them to move.

When it comes to fruits, packaging has to be done in such a manner that their quality is not impaired in any possible way. In order to ensure that throughout the process of transportation, apples are separated from each other and they are placed in such a manner that they do not move. In this manner, they will not fall on each other and it will help in maintaining the quality of apples as there will be no bumps (Wakeland, Cholette, & Venkat, 2012).

2.      Method of Transportation of the Transportation of Fresh Apples

The second challenge that would be experienced is concerned with selecting the right method of transportation. There are a number of transportation methods including air cargo, road cargo, and sea cargo. These are the three methods that are commonly available it is important to choose the right method. All of them have their own benefits and drawback. For instance, air cargo method is quite expensive but it ensures that then necessary products reach the destination as soon as possible. Similarly, road cargo and ship cargo have their own positive and negative points. It is important to choose the right and suitable method of transportation or else it might result in some serious issues. For instance, in every transportation case, there is a specific budget and the exporter wants to make sure that the costs are as minimised as possible. If the right option is not chosen, it would only result in increased costs.

In this case, the method of sea cargo is selected because it is quite cost-effective and with proper precautions, quality of products or goods is also preserved. The route to the destination by sea is quite simple and it requires only a little money to be invested in it in comparison with air freight and road cargo. When it comes to road cargo, costs are higher and taxes have to be paid. Meanwhile, in case of sea cargo, there is nothing like that it will result in reduced costs. Therefore, sea cargo method will be selected for transporting fresh apples to the destination (Couper, 2015).

3.      Obtaining License of the Transportation of Fresh Apples

One of the most important challenges is to obtain licence from the Department of Australian Agriculture. It is critical to important this license as without it, it would not be possible to transport apples from Adelaide. The department will give the permission of exporting fresh apples in the domain of prescribed good. Actually, the Department of Agriculture works and operates under the restrictions and conditions of the Export Control Act 1982. It means that some specific goods are subjected to provisions and conditions under the Act along with associated Orders and Regulations when they are processed or prepared for export. According to the general rule, the department only helps in the exportation of prescribed goods or products. In accordance with what should be exported, the requirements will change and goods will be specified as either non-prescribed or prescribed. There are a number of prescribed goods including:

Dried fruit, fresh vegetables and fruits, pharmaceuticals, organic food, animal food, grain, meat products, egg products and eggs, plant products and plants, fish products and fish, live animals, and dairy.

            Once the part of registration and licensing part is done, contract terms will have to be chosen that is yet another challenge. In order to obtain this license, time will have to be specified and the department will have to be notified about the export (Murphy & Knemeyer, 2018).

4.      Contract Terms of the Transportation of Fresh Apples

Yet another challenge is to set the right contract terms which complement the export of fresh apples to the destination. Export contract is necessary for the sale of goods whether they are manufactured goods, raw materials, or industrial supplies. Even though it is a common practice to transport products from a location to the other for sale on the basis of a quotation, it is a reliable and safe practice to make the use of legal and written export contracts. CIF is the contract term that will be utilised in this case. It would not be wrong to say that it is a trade term and it requires the seller to arrange for good carriage by seal to the destination and ensure to provide the buyer with every necessary document to obtain goods from the container.

In addition to it, a contract will be made in which specifications of products will be provided. The total contract value will be mentioned in both figures and words and in Australian currency. Terms of payment and delivery will also be described in the contract. It will include arbitration clause for facilitating quick and amicable settlement of differences and disputes that might emerge between parties. All of these details will be provided and included in the contract for ensuring that while transporting to the destination, no issues are experienced and all requirements and conditions are documented properly. Once every legal requirement has been met in Australia, transport can be arranged for delivering goods at the port of Adelaide for shipping the cargo to the destination while paying all the insurance and transportation costs.

The risk of handling the good seems to pass from the supplier when goods are loaded by him to the carrier according to the terms of CIF. Once the fresh apples are delivered to the destination, the customer will hold the risk. Meanwhile, the supplier must be connected or come in connection to the agent who represents the shipping agency and provide the goods to him for arranging the transport to the buyer. However, the risk seems to pass when the fresh fruits are loaded to the shift the port of Adelaide (Gudehus & Kotzab., 2012).

5.      Risk of Transportation Vessel of the Transportation of Fresh Apples

Ship transport is simplified as a water vessel carrying goods from one specific place to another. Throughout the history, sea transport has been the most utilised and largest carrier of products. Even though the significance of seal travel for people has decreased significantly because of aviation, it is quite important and efficient for pleasure cruises and short trips. Sea cargo vessels are capable of holding much more cargo and they present a more sensible method of shipment. Another challenge that is faced during the transportation of fresh apples is which container to choose. Although reefer container has been determined to be necessary for maintaining the quality of fresh apples, the size of container is yet to be determined. In accordance with the weight of apples, 20ft container has been identified to be eligible and adequate for transporting apples.

            Other than challenges that are experienced during the process of transportation, it still continues until the ship arrives to the desired port where goods are unloaded and a message is sent to the receiver or agent for providing all the important documentation and clearing the products from the port. Actually, even though the challenges from the side of Adelaide are overcome, it is important to note that there are still risks to products and there are some certain issues which need to be resolved for ensuring the proper acquisition of fresh apples by the receiver. There is a possibility that the receiver or agent might not be available at the port for clearing the cargo and taking fresh apples away (Ackerley, Sertkaya, & Lange, 2010).

Identification of Unexpected Threats of the Transportation of Fresh Apples

            There is a significant possibility that some unknown or unexpected issues might occur and they must be resolved for ensuring that the project or transportation is completed in an effective manner. As explained above, there is a chance that the receiver might not come on time at the port and it might cause problems for the supplier. In order to resolve such issues, risk identification will be performed and all possible risks will be determined. Once all the risks are identified, proper measures or precautions will be considered for ensuring that these risks are countered in an effective manner.

Once the cargo reaches the destination, standard institution of the place will check the standards of the foods or fresh apples that are transported to the location. It explains the significance of product quality which is expected by the authority and sent to the location. It is possible that buyer might experience the challenge of registering as a receiver or importer to the location from other nations. Once the necessary documentations are cleared and taxes are paid, the receiver will be able to take fresh apples to the warehouse.

Conclusion of the Transportation of Fresh Apples

Overall, it can be said that it was important in this project to note that the products to be transported were fruits which means that they had to be maintained until they were sold to the end user at the predetermined destination. If this freshness was not maintained, the importer might lose interest in importing more fruits to the destination. At the destination, temperature was identified to be moderate to high, it implied that the risk to fruits was even more because if apples were exposed to this temperature, they would lose their quality. Therefore, reefer container had to be utilised because these containers met the necessary hygienic requirements for keeping and maintaining the freshness of apples until the cargo reaches the destination.

There were a number of challenges that were determined to be experienced in this project. It has been explained how these challenges would be overcome and fresh apples would be transported to the predetermined location. In order to transport the goods in the best way, it has been determined that refrigerated container will be used for maintaining the freshness of apples. In addition to it, they will be packaged in such a manner that they do not fall on each other and adversely affect the quality. Transport through sea has been chosen as it is a cost-effective method and ensures that costs are mitigated. Furthermore, CIF contract term has been obtained and licenses are acquired for efficient and successful transportation.

References of the Transportation of Fresh Apples

Ackerley, N., Sertkaya, A., & Lange, R. (2010). Food transportation safety: characterizing risks and controls by use of expert. Food protection trends, 30(4), 212-222.

Couper, A. (2015). The geography of sea transport. Routledge.

Gudehus, T., & Kotzab., H. (2012). Comprehensive logistics. Springer Science & Business Media.

Murphy, P. R., & Knemeyer, A. M. (2018). Contemporary logistics.

Wakeland, W., Cholette, S., & Venkat, K. (2012). Food transportation issues and reducing carbon footprint. Green technologies in food production and processing, 211-236.