At the moment Stockholm is draped in a gorgeous cover of pristine snow – it’s a glittering prize to quote The Simple Minds. Unfortunately, a snowy winter also has it’s downsides. The traffic situation is in a state of chaos, public commuting is crippled and many supply chains are struggling to keep up.
In a press release Green Cargo – Sweden’s leading rail logistics carrier – point the blame at the Swedish Rail Administration for poor handling of the situation.
“The rail logistics volume has been halved and companies are severely affected” says Mats Hollander of Green Cargo.
Stora Enso’s information officers echo’s the sentiments from the supply side in a Dagens Industri article:
“We have goods that are going nowhere”
Now it would be easy to just slap on a few ppt:s regarding risk mitigation and leave it at that, but the problem when it comes to logistics and the impact of infrastructure is that even though there is risk awareness there just might not be a simple answer to the question of who’s to blame.
Just to expose some of the complications of an issue such as this:
- The Swedish Rail Administration has the overall responsibility for the rail transport system in Sweden.
- Green Cargo – and other logistics providers – are dependent on a functioning rail transport system to be able to carry on business.
- Stora Enso – and other suppliers – are dependent on logistics providers to deliver the goods.
- The Swedish Rail Administration has sub-contractors (suppliers) that are responsible for rail maintenance.
These suppliers have been sourced just as any supplier should be – yet I doubt that much focus was placed upon the issue of snow and ice in the RFP/I (statistics buffs can gawk at the fact that statistically there was no winter in Sweden at all last year – counting days of sub-zero weather). And the suppliers are now in the business of investing 15+ MSEK into machinery that is vital today (and stands un-used the remaining part of the year).
So the trouble of getting supplies and goods through today, with ice and snow delaying services, is not an easy one to solve since it’s not only affecting the supply chains using the logistics services that have faulted. The supply chain for rail maintenance has been undercut by sourcing hard and low (clearing snow is not profitable). And with a market that demands low prices; there is no upside to keeping snow clearance equipment as back-up.
Everyone is seeking a scapegoat – the problem is that we all know you can blame the weather.
