| Course | MT296 Supply Chain Management Applications |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 7 |
| Paper type | Transportation mode comparison |
| Length | About 860 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT296 Unit 7
Rail Wins at $1.94 a Case With a Two-Day Cushion: A Unit 7 Transportation Mode Comparison to Jacksonville
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT296: Supply Chain Management Applications
Unit 7 Transportation Mode Comparison
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The pierogi maker, the grocery chain, carriers, rates and transit data are composite and illustrative; expected fines were calculated from the transit-time distributions shown; the sources cited are real.
The Lane
A grocery chain's distribution center in Jacksonville, Florida, buys about 42,240 cases of frozen pierogi a year from the plant, shipped in 24 full refrigerated loads of 1,760 cases each, about two a month. The chain books a delivery appointment for each load and fines the shipper $450 for any load that misses its appointment.
Three Options
Refrigerated truckload: $4,180 a load; about 2 days in transit, with very little variation, a standard deviation of about 0.3 days
Intermodal rail: a refrigerated container trucked to a rail ramp, carried by train and trucked to the warehouse; $3,290 a load; about 5 days, standard deviation 1.1 days
Less-than-truckload consolidation: a consolidator combines the plant's half-loads with other shippers' freight; 48 shipments of 880 cases at $2,460 each; about 4 days, standard deviation 1.3 days
Rodrigue (2020) describes intermodal transport as cheaper per mile than trucking over long distances but slower and less predictable, because of transfers between modes, which is the trade-off this comparison measures.
Landed Cost
Freight alone favors rail and the consolidator. Total cost, including inventory and service, is the right basis for a mode decision, as Chopra (2019) argues, and two other costs depend on the mode.
Inventory in transit. While pierogi are on the road or rail, the company owns them and has capital tied up in them. At $18.40 a case and a 20 percent annual carrying rate, each day of transit for the year's 42,240 cases costs about $426.
Missed appointments. If a shipment arrives after its appointment window, the chain fines $450. The plant schedules appointments at the average transit time plus a cushion. The chance of missing depends on how often transit exceeds that time, which follows from each mode's standard deviation.
With a one-day cushion for every mode:
Truckload: freight $100,320; in-transit inventory $852; expected fines about $5; total $101,176
Intermodal: freight $78,960; in-transit inventory $2,129; expected fines $1,962, since about 18 percent of loads would arrive more than a day late; total $83,051
Consolidator: freight $118,080; in-transit inventory $1,703; expected fines $4,771, since about 22 percent of its 48 shipments would miss; total $124,554
Widening the Rail Cushion
Rail's weakness is its variability, so the comparison tests a two-day cushion: the plant ships each rail load one day earlier, and the appointment is set at average transit plus two days. Only about 3.5 percent of loads would then miss, cutting expected fines to about $373. Shipping a day earlier adds a day of inventory carrying, about $426. Rail's total falls to $81,888, or $1.94 a case, about $19,288 a year below trucking.
Rail is slower and less certain, but certainty can be bought with one day of planning.
Checking the Transit Data
The transit-time figures come from the last six months of shipments the plant made on each mode to other customers in the Southeast, 31 truckloads, 14 intermodal loads and 22 consolidated shipments. The rail sample is small, so its standard deviation of 1.1 days is the least certain number in the comparison. If rail's true standard deviation were 1.5 days, the two-day cushion would miss about 9 percent of appointments, raising expected fines to about $985 and rail's total to about $82,500, still well below trucking. The recommendation therefore survives a reasonable error in the rail data. After the first six months on rail, the plant should recompute the cushion from actual Jacksonville transit times.
Why the Consolidator Loses
The consolidator charges less per shipment, but because it moves half-loads, the plant ships twice as often, and freight for 48 shipments exceeds that for 24 truckloads. Its variability also produces the most fines. It would make sense only if the chain wanted smaller, more frequent deliveries.
Risks and Carbon
Two risks apply to rail. Refrigerated containers must keep product at 0F or below for five days, so the plant needs temperature records from the carrier for every load. And a rail delay of several days, beyond what the standard deviation suggests, could cause a stockout at the chain. The plant should keep truckload as a backup for the December peak, when a late load costs most.
Rail also produces less carbon dioxide per ton-mile than trucking. Using the EPA's SmartWay program figures, the switch would cut freight emissions for this lane substantially (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], 2023). That is an additional reason to prefer rail, though the cost case stands on its own.
Recommendation
The plant should move the Jacksonville lane to intermodal rail with a two-day appointment cushion, keeping truckload for December loads. The chain should be told that loads will ship a day earlier than now, so that its receiving schedule is unchanged. A quarterly review of misses and transit times will show whether the cushion is right.
References
Chopra, S. (2019). Supply chain management: Strategy, planning, and operation (7th ed.). Pearson.
Rodrigue, J.-P. (2020). The geography of transport systems (5th ed.). Routledge.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2023). SmartWay program overview. https://www.epa.gov/smartway
Reading the MT 296 Unit 7 instructions
Unit 7 asks students to compare transportation modes for one lane on total landed cost, not freight alone. Describe the lane and its volume, then set out each mode's rate, average transit time and variability. Add the costs that depend on the mode: inventory carried while goods are in transit and the expected cost of late deliveries, computed from the probability of exceeding the delivery window. Test whether changing a planning parameter, such as an appointment cushion, alters the result. Check the reliability data and how sensitive the answer is to it. Mention risks and environmental effects. Five pages built around one landed cost table, citing logistics sources in APA 7, is a typical format.
How the MT 296 Unit 7 example is put together
The comparison describes the Jacksonville lane, its 24 loads and the chain's $450 appointment fine. Three options are set out with rates and transit statistics, citing Rodrigue on intermodal trade-offs. A landed cost section, with Chopra on total cost, adds in-transit inventory and expected fines, under a margin note on turning reliability into cost. Totals for a one-day cushion follow. Widening the rail cushion to two days cuts misses to about 3.5 percent, with the highlighted line about buying certainty with a day of planning. A section checks the rail data, finding the result holds even at a 1.5-day standard deviation. The consolidator's loss, risks, EPA SmartWay on emissions and a recommendation keeping truck for December close it.
MT296 Unit 7 rubric: what earns full points
Mode comparisons earn credit for complete landed cost, correct treatment of reliability, sensible testing and practical recommendations. Instructors reward comparisons that price in-transit inventory and late-delivery penalties, not just freight. Converting transit variability into an expected penalty through a probability shows analytical skill. Testing a planning lever, such as the cushion, and the reliability data's uncertainty demonstrates judgment. Noting risks such as temperature control and peak-season backups shows awareness of operations. Environmental effects, where cited accurately, add value without replacing the cost case. One landed cost table, arithmetic that reconciles and accurate citations finish the marks. Graders also like to see the formula for expected fines written out once, so the probabilities can be checked.
MT296 Unit 7 help from the desk
The most common mistake is choosing the cheapest freight rate without counting slower transit and missed appointments. Another is using average transit time only, so reliability never enters the comparison. Some papers count shipments wrong when a mode moves smaller loads. Others claim emissions savings without a source. Check the probability of a miss against each mode's standard deviation and cushion, and keep the number of shipments right when a mode moves smaller loads. A backup mode for the peak season is worth naming. Share the lane's volume, rates and transit records, and a writer can build the landed cost table and test the appointment cushion.
Get an MT296 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
Send the lane, volumes and any rate quotes from your Unit 7 prompt, together with the rubric. Reliability figures the case omits are estimated openly, and promotional loads are split out where the case mentions them. The first custom example is free, arrives in 24-48h, and costs every mode on identical terms. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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MT296 Unit 7 questions, answered
How does reliability enter a mode comparison?
Turn it into cost. If transit times vary, estimate the chance a shipment misses its window and multiply by what a miss costs, whether a customer fine, extra safety stock or lost sales. A normal distribution with the mode's average and standard deviation is a common simplifying assumption; state it if you use it.
What is intermodal, and when does it make sense?
Intermodal moves a trailer or container by rail for the long middle of a trip, with trucks at each end. It usually costs less than truckload on long routes, often several hundred miles or more, but takes longer and varies more. It suits steady, planned volume better than urgent or promotional loads.
Should the comparison include carbon emissions?
If the prompt mentions sustainability, yes, and even if not, a sentence can add depth. Rail typically emits less per ton-mile than trucking. Keep emissions as a separate criterion unless the case assigns them a price; converting them to dollars without a stated basis can look arbitrary to a reader checking the work.
Where can I find a free MT296 Unit 7 sample paper?
This page carries the complete MT296 Unit 7 transportation mode comparison. It prices truck, intermodal rail and consolidation to Jacksonville on landed cost, including in-transit inventory and expected appointment fines.
How does reliability enter the MT296 Unit 7 sample?
Each mode's transit-time standard deviation gives the chance a load misses its appointment, and that chance times the $450 fine times the number of shipments becomes an expected annual cost beside freight.