(physical infrastructure). Other important impediments (broader aspects of infrastructure) include:
(1) outmoded trade legislation and customs procedures,
(2) uncoordinated management of infrastructure, and
(3) limited availability of information services.
This may result in long delays and high costs for imports and exports. However,
even if these services are physically available, their effective use may be hampered
by government policies comprising:
(1) cumbersome export license procedures that delay shipments
(2) transport regulations and fragmented and obsolete documentation that thwart
efficient multimodal transport
(3) insurance and liability requirements that do not include the costs of traded
commodities and thus, involuntarily, increase risks
(4) banking procedures that inhibit speedy transactions, such as the issuance of
letters of credit and
(5) classification codes, not complying, to international codes for local goods and
services.
Mani (2012) mentions that at one time 23 documents were needed to clear
imports in India 118 for exports while Singapore was processing 25% of its trade
and the related transport transactions without documentation.
9.4 Demand for Quality and Reliability
The history of agriculture shows clearly the rising need for service reliability.
Initially, when agriculture was practised just for subsistence purposes, nobody
expected a high reliability. However, when the farmer started to produce, on a
large scale, for commercial purposes, it was expected that supplies would be reliable.
For example, the hotel manager who has a contract with a farmer for so much crop
(vegetables, fruit, etc.) because he is expecting so many tourists for the holiday
season, would be in a difficult position, if he suddenly finds himself short of essential
supplies for the meals that he has to serve. Furthermore, given changing goals and
objectives, the effects and perceptions of reliability may vary according to time and
location.
Similarly, industrial activity can only occur effectively if power, water, transport,
or communications systems can be relied upon. Foreign trade, based on perishables
(flowers, food), modem technologies, ordering at a moment’s notice rely on high
reliability of suppliers or their related activities.
Infrastructure can come as an intermediate input or as a final or consumer good.
Unreliability as an input can entail lost production, idle capital or labour, or spoilage.
Imagine delicate perishable goods which are sensitive to temporal delays as well as
impairment during processing and handling. Unreliability as a final good can entail
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9 Quality and Reliability of Infrastructure
(1) outmoded trade legislation and customs procedures,
(2) uncoordinated management of infrastructure, and
(3) limited availability of information services.
This may result in long delays and high costs for imports and exports. However,
even if these services are physically available, their effective use may be hampered
by government policies comprising:
(1) cumbersome export license procedures that delay shipments
(2) transport regulations and fragmented and obsolete documentation that thwart
efficient multimodal transport
(3) insurance and liability requirements that do not include the costs of traded
commodities and thus, involuntarily, increase risks
(4) banking procedures that inhibit speedy transactions, such as the issuance of
letters of credit and
(5) classification codes, not complying, to international codes for local goods and
services.
Mani (2012) mentions that at one time 23 documents were needed to clear
imports in India 118 for exports while Singapore was processing 25% of its trade
and the related transport transactions without documentation.
9.4 Demand for Quality and Reliability
The history of agriculture shows clearly the rising need for service reliability.
Initially, when agriculture was practised just for subsistence purposes, nobody
expected a high reliability. However, when the farmer started to produce, on a
large scale, for commercial purposes, it was expected that supplies would be reliable.
For example, the hotel manager who has a contract with a farmer for so much crop
(vegetables, fruit, etc.) because he is expecting so many tourists for the holiday
season, would be in a difficult position, if he suddenly finds himself short of essential
supplies for the meals that he has to serve. Furthermore, given changing goals and
objectives, the effects and perceptions of reliability may vary according to time and
location.
Similarly, industrial activity can only occur effectively if power, water, transport,
or communications systems can be relied upon. Foreign trade, based on perishables
(flowers, food), modem technologies, ordering at a moment’s notice rely on high
reliability of suppliers or their related activities.
Infrastructure can come as an intermediate input or as a final or consumer good.
Unreliability as an input can entail lost production, idle capital or labour, or spoilage.
Imagine delicate perishable goods which are sensitive to temporal delays as well as
impairment during processing and handling. Unreliability as a final good can entail
264
9 Quality and Reliability of Infrastructure