What is the role of Seaport Terminals in Maritime Transportation Assignment

What is the role of Seaport Terminals in Maritime Transportation - Assignment Example Port terminals are where goods are brought, loaded and unloaded and distributed to wherever they have to be sent. Seaport terminals provide service to container vessels and other sea vessels like barges and feeder vessels used in commercial fishing. Seaports serve international and global firms and have a role to play in international trade as a big bulk of world trade is transported by ship (Frankel, 1987 cited in Stevens, 1999, p. 43). Globalization has affected many world developments such as regional integration of countries like the European Union, the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the establishment of the World Trade Organization, and the homogenization of the world economy, to name a few. All these provide expansion for global firms. They expand business, and they need seaport terminals because they demand movements of goods. Global firms have the whole world as its market field that they can offer a wide array of products and services. Firms keep growing and continue to build products that have to be transported and marketed anywhere and anytime. Seaborne transportation is the cheapest means of transportation for goods that have to be transported to many parts of the world. This keeps seaports busy all throughout the year. With these facts, it can be understood that seaports have a very important role in the supply chain of businesses worldwide. This can be to fulfil business-to-business or business-to-consumer transactions. With globalization at the helm of businesses today, seaports are connecting a worldwide traffic of goods of different kinds. Supply chain management excellence is crucial for customer satisfaction, at the same time customer satisfaction is critical to customer loyalty, with loyalty being critical for profitability (Reichheld 1996 cited in Flint et al., 2008, p. 258). Supply chain has to