THE PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES OF MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT OPERATION IN ETHIOPIAN SHIPPING AND LOGISTICS SERVICES ENTERPRISE

Abstract

For the last 50 years ESLSE served the country by rendering sea transport service but since three years back it has started to provide a multimodal transport service committing itself to give some additional transport services. The GoE introduced multimodal transport system with the intension of providing seamless logistics services with reduced transaction cost. This research work intended to assess the practices and challenges of multimodal transportation system exhibited during those three years. The research questions used to assess the practices and challenges of the multimodal transport system were what the practices of multimodal transport are, what challenges and their features are, and what policies and procedural measures were taken or to be taken by the government to safeguard system’s operation. These questions were relevant to identify the practices, challenges and their features particularly. Primary data were collected from 205 customers and three managements through interview. Out of the 205 questionnaires distributed only 153 were successfully returned back. Descriptive analysis method was used to calculate the outputs (i.e. median and mode) using the most prominent statistical software called SPSS. The operational activities of the multimodal transport system were classified into seven distinct sections only for the purpose of the study. Based on the findings of the research most of the respondents were dissatisfied with the information dissemination performance, dry port and terminal services, inland transport services and customer service performances of the enterprise. Further the findings showed that most of the respondents were found neutral when examining the shipping services and the multimodal transport regulatory aspects performances level. Hence, based on the findings of the research it is possible to conclude that shortages of dry port spaces, port handling equipments and facilities, freight transport vehicles and multimodal experts are the major challenges of the system. These challenges were found to be sources of transit time extension, transport cost increment and dissatisfaction of customers ultimately. The main benefits planned to be secured were shortening of goods transit time, reduction of transport cost and foreign exchange outflow. But securing these benefits needs an extra effort from the enterprise, the public and other stakeholders in the future. However, the enterprise has been taking stage by stage measures to upgrade the multimodal transport service quality. Therefore, the enterprise has to equipped all the ports and terminals with latest machineries and facilities in the future. The inland transport service should also be enhanced by acquiring latest fuel efficient and high volume vehicles. Employees and customers should get trainings on how the system works and benefit our countries development move.