SECTION 2. QUALITATE IMPROVEMENT AND DIVERSIFICATION OF DISTRIBUTION
SERVICES
1 PARCEL SERVICES
Parcel services, services that promptly deliver less than a car-load (LCL)
freight from homes, etc. have grown rapidly since 1983 and in 1991, they had been
used ten-times more that ten years ago. This rise can be attributed to the increase
in the small items sent from homes, delivery services of merchandise provided
by department stores, etc., the delivery of products, etc. between companies,
as well as the increase in the delivery of products, etc., accompanying the rapid
growth of mail-orders sales. In recent years, not only are small goods of fixed
sizes delivered, delivery services of items in the leisure activity field such
as golfbags and ski boards are also provided. And in the food field, cool delivery
services have also started in which food is delivered with the temperature set
at different levels. Following the sharp rise in overseas travelers in the recent
years, also growing rapidly are services which send travellers' s luggage and
gifts from the airport to their homes. (Fig.
36). In the process of being introduced are delivery services which adjust
delivery time to the convenience of the receiver, services in which goods can
be received without the presence of the receiver leaving deliveries in the postbox,
and also services which deliver goods across long-distances such as between Hokkaido
and Kyushu the next day by air.
Other than these services, to meet the growing demand for express delivery
of documents and plans at short notice, the so called bike-delivery business which
delivers using motorbicycles mainly in traffic congested big cities, is rapidly
growing.
2 TRUNK ROOM
Trunk room services, services that keeps furniture, clothing, documents, and
valuables, etc for general consumers and companies. With heavy shortage of space
accompanying soaring land prices in the big metropolitan areas and the increase
of overseas postings, demands for this service are on the rise. (Fig.
37)
3 JUST-IN-TIME SERVICES
To deal with changes in production trends and sales trends like the adoption
of the "small production of many types of products" method and the rapid growth
of convenience stores, just-in-time services (transport small amounts of goods
more frequently) are developing. This service is characterized by (1) an increase
in the frequency of delivery, (2) a scale-down of delivery lots, and is contributing
greatly to the materialization of an affluent consumer lifestyle.
However, in recent times, factors restricting distribution such as labor shortage,
road congestion, environmental problems, etc. have emerged. For this reason, modal
shifts of trunk lines and the efficiency of distribution within regions utilizing
the "law for promoting the efficiency of distribution businesses of middle and
small scale companies" approved in May 1992 are being promoted and higher distribution
performance demanded. There is also the need to form appropriate price systems
reflecting costs by setting relatively high transport fares and charges for services
that require intensive labor. As a result, hopes can be placed on securing high
standard services applying the advantages of such services as just-in-time services
which at the moment has inefficient aspects to be re-examined.
