Topic Of Assignment Is In Assignment Criteria Because Here Is Not

Topic Of Assignment Is In Assignment Criteria Because Here Is Not Topic Of Assignment Is In Assignment Criteria Because Here Is Not Enough Place â€" Assignment Example > AbstractThis paper uses AP-Moller Maersk Group to show how through good strategic management planning can move a company from small size to a multinational company. AP-Moller Maersk Group is a company that started as family business using one ship and today has been able to place itself at the top of the world’s leading shipping company today carrying out various forms of intermodal transportation. The paper goes on to stress how important intermodal transportation can be beneficial not only to the company, but to the whole economy of the country and at an international level. IntroductionEven though considered as the world carrier of goods around the world, with an estimated 90% of goods being transported by sea, the shipping industry is still widely perceived as one of the most complex industries with ever changing conditions governing the industry. Its services are the most homogeneous making it a perfectly competitive market. The industry has also over the years witnessed so me technical changes all due to the ever increasing level of world trade since the 1960’s, with an estimated 12,056btm of cargo being transported by sea in the 1990’s as compared to 31btm of cargo transported by air and some 3,853btm by rail in same year (Martin, 2005, p. 8). The peak of the problem arose when it became abundantly clear to the industry observers that the traditional “break bulk” shipping will not be able to carry around the world the increasing cargo while performing their duties of safe delivery of the cargo. This therefore led to the palletization and containerization as a means to resolve the problems. At the same time, a revolution took place whereby, there was the increasing need for the use of bigger ships as it was realised that this could lead to a great reduction of shipping costs since industries increasingly preferred using ships than to the old rail and road methods. From 1945 to 1995, oil tankers increased by size of almost twenty times while dry bulk vessels became almost some fifteen times bigger. With this increase in ship sizes, the industry benefited from a great advantage due to reduction in cost to carry around their raw materials (e. g. this led to the cost of transporting coal by sea from Virginia to Jacksonville, Florida almost three times cheaper than by rail) (Chrzanowski, 1985). This paper will use AP-Moller Maersk as case study to show how the company applies the intermodal mode of transport. AP- Møller Maersk CompanyThe A. P. Møller - Maersk Group is a worldwide conglomerate operating in some 130 countries with a workforce of some 115,000 employees. The A. P. Moller - Maersk Group is one of the world’s largest shipping companies, and also involved in a wide range of activities in the energy, logistics, retail and manufacturing industries. The company started in April 1904 when A. P. Møller together with his father, Captain Peter Mærsk Møller, established A/S Dampskibsselskabet Svendborg (the Steam ship Company Svendborg) and bought a second-hand vessel, which was renamed SVENDBORG. The company had its first office in A. P. Møller’s childhood home “Villa Anna” in Svendborg.