iPedia Free Information Center

Information about Logistics

For the drum and bass producer, see .
Enlarge picture
Inside Nexus Distribution, a United States-based logistics provider. Image shows goods stacked on pallets with forklift.
Logistics is the art and science of managing and controlling the flow of goods, energy, information and other resources like products, services and people from the source of production to the marketplace. It is difficult or nearly impossible to accomplish any international trading, global export/import processes, international repositioning of raw materials/products and manufacturing without a professional logistical support. It involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging. The operating responsibility of logistics is the geographical repositioning of raw materials, work in process and finished inventories where required at the lowest cost possible.

Logistics and Supply Chain services are provided by a wide range of 3rd party suppliers.

Origins and definition

The word of logistics originates from the ancient Greek logos (λόγος), which means “ratio, word, calculation, reason, speech, oration”.

Logistics is an idea considered to have transformed from the military's need to supply themselves as they moved from their base to a forward position. In ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine empires, there were military officers with the title ‘Logistikas’ who were responsible for financial and supply distribution matters.

The Oxford English dictionary defines logistics as: “The branch of military science having to do with procuring, maintaining and transporting material, personnel and facilities.”Another dictionary definition is: "The time related positioning of resources." As such, logistics is commonly seen as a branch of engineering which creates "people systems" rather than "machine systems"....

Logistician

Logistician is the profession in the logistics & transport sectors, including sea, air, land and rail modes. Professional qualifications for the logisticians can carry post-nominal letters. Common examples include FCILT/CMILT (by The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport) (CILT), EJLog/ESLog/EMLog (by European Logistics Association) (ELA), CML/CPL (by International Society of Logistics) (SOLE), JrLog/Log/SrLog (by China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing) (CFLP), FHKLA/MHKLA (by Hong Kong Logistics Association) (HKLA), PLS/CTL/DLP (by American Society of Transportation & Logistics) (AST&L). However, some universities and academic institutions do help in producing logisticians, by offering academic degree programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, too.

Military logistics

In military logistics, experts manage how and when to move resources to the places they are needed. In military science, maintaining one's supply lines while disrupting those of the enemy is a crucial—some would say the most crucial—element of military strategy, since an armed force without food, fuel and ammunition is defenseless.

The defeat of the British in the American War of Independence, and the defeat of Erwin Rommel in World War II, have been largely attributed to logistical failure. The historical leaders Hannibal Barca, Alexander the Great and the Duke of Wellington are considered to have been logistical geniuses.

Logistics management

Main article: Logistics Management
Logistics management is that part of the supply chain which plans, implements and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customers' requirements. A professional working in the field of logistics management is called a logistician.

The Chartered Institute of Logistics & Transport (CILT) was established in the United Kingdom in 1919 and was granted the Royal Charter in 1926. The Chartered Institute is one of professional bodies or institutions for the logistics & transport sectors, that offers such professional qualification or degree in logistics management.

Business logistics

Logistics as a business concept evolved only in the 1950s. This was mainly due to the increasing complexity of supplying one's business with materials and shipping out products in an increasingly globalized supply chain, calling for experts in the field who are called Supply Chain Logisticians. This can be defined as having the right item in the right quantity at the right time at the right place for the right price and is the science of process and incorporates all industry sectors. The goal of logistics work is to manage the fruition of project life cycles, supply chains and resultant efficiencies.

In business, logistics may have either internal focus (inbound logistics), or external focus (outbound logistics) covering the flow and storage of materials from point of origin to point of consumption (see supply chain management). The main functions of a qualified logistician include inventory management, purchasing, transportation, warehousing, consultation and the organizing and planning of these activities. Logisticians combine a professional knowledge of each of these functions so that there is a coordination of resources in an organization. There are two fundamentally different forms of logistics. One optimizes a steady flow of material through a network of transport links and storage nodes. The other coordinates a sequence of resources to carry out some project.

Production logistics

The term is used for describing logistic processes within an industry. The purpose of production logistics is to ensure that each machine and workstation is being fed with the right product in the right quantity and quality at the right point in time.

The issue is not the transportation itself, but to streamline and control the flow through the value adding processes and eliminate non-value adding ones. Production logistics can be applied in existing as well as new plants. Manufacturing in an existing plant is a constantly changing process. Machines are exchanged and new ones added, which gives the opportunity to improve the production logistics system accordingly. Production logistics provides the means to achieve customer response and capital efficiency. Production logistics is getting more and more important with the decreasing batch sizes. In many industries (e.g. mobile phone) batch size one is the short term aim. This way even a single customer demand can be fulfilled in an efficient way. Track and tracing, which is an essential part of production logistics - due to product safety and product reliability issues - is also gaining importance especially in the automotive and the medical industry. One of the major providers of production logistics solutions is FlexLink.

See also

References

A good or commodity in economics is any object or service that increases utility, directly or indirectly, not to be confused with good in a moral or ethical sense (see Utilitarianism and consequentialist ethical theory).
..... Click the link for more information.
energy (from the Greek ενεργός, energos, "active, working")[1] is a scalar physical quantity that is a property of objects and systems of objects which is conserved by nature.
..... Click the link for more information.
Information is the result of processing, gathering, manipulating and organizing data in a way that adds to the knowledge of the receiver. In other words, it is the context in which data is taken.
..... Click the link for more information.
International or internationally most often describes interaction between nations, or encompassing two or more nations, constituting a group or association having members in two or more nations, or generally reaching beyond national boundaries.
..... Click the link for more information.
Trading can refer to:
  • Trade, the voluntary exchange of goods, services, or both
  • International trade, importing and exporting
  • Trader (finance), a buyer and seller of financial instruments

See also


..... Click the link for more information.
Raw describes a material that is in its natural unprocessed form, or has not had the final stages of processing. For example, raw food refers to food that has not been cooked, and raw silk is the term for unprocessed silk. Raw also has symbolic meaning.
..... Click the link for more information.
Manufacturing (from Latin manu factura, "making by hand") is the use of tools and labor to make things for use or sale. The term may refer to a vast range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw
..... Click the link for more information.
professional can be either a person in a profession (certain types of skilled work requiring formal training/education) or in sports (a sportsman/sportwoman doing sports for payment).
..... Click the link for more information.
Integration is a process of combining or accumulating. It may also refer to:
  • The bringing together of two or more economies, cultures, religions (usually called syncretism), etc.

..... Click the link for more information.
Transport or transportation is the movement of people and goods from one place to another. The term is derived from the Latin trans ("across") and portare ("to carry").
..... Click the link for more information.
For , see .


Inventory is a list for goods and materials, or those goods and materials themselves, held available in stock by a business. Inventory are held in order to manage and hide from the customer the fact that manufacture/supply delay is
..... Click the link for more information.
warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns.
..... Click the link for more information.
Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of packages.
..... Click the link for more information.
Raw describes a material that is in its natural unprocessed form, or has not had the final stages of processing. For example, raw food refers to food that has not been cooked, and raw silk is the term for unprocessed silk. Raw also has symbolic meaning.
..... Click the link for more information.
Ancient Greek refers to the second stage in the history of the Greek language[1] as it existed during the Archaic (9th–6th centuries BC) and Classical (5th–4th centuries BC) periods in Greece.
..... Click the link for more information.
Logos (Greek λόγος
..... Click the link for more information.
Military science is the study of the , psychology, practice and other phenomena which constitute war and armed conflict. It strives to be a scientific system that if properly employed, will greatly enhance the practitioner's ability to prevail in an armed conflict with any
..... Click the link for more information.
Engineering is the applied science of acquiring and applying knowledge to design, analysis, and/or construction of works for practical purposes. The American Engineers' Council for Professional Development, also known as ECPD,[1] (later ABET [2]
..... Click the link for more information.
profession is an occupation, vocation or career where specialized knowledge of a subject, field, or science is applied.[1] It is usually applied to occupations that involve prolonged academic training and a formal qualification.
..... Click the link for more information.
professional can be either a person in a profession (certain types of skilled work requiring formal training/education) or in sports (a sportsman/sportwoman doing sports for payment).
..... Click the link for more information.
university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees at all levels (bachelor, master, and doctorate) in a variety of subjects. A university provides both tertiary and quaternary education.
..... Click the link for more information.
Institutions are structures and mechanisms of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of two or more individuals. Institutions are identified with a social purpose and permanence, transcending individual human lives and intentions, and with the making and enforcing of
..... Click the link for more information.
A degree is any of a wide range of status levels conferred by institutions of higher education, such as universities, normally as the result of successfully completing a program of study.
..... Click the link for more information.
In some educational systems, undergraduate education is post-secondary education up to the level of a bachelor's degree. In the United States, students of higher degrees are known as graduates.
..... Click the link for more information.
Postgraduate education (often known in North America as graduate education, and sometimes described as quaternary education) involves studying for degrees or other qualifications for which a first or Bachelor's degree is required, and is normally considered to be part
..... Click the link for more information.
Military logistics is the art and science of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with:

..... Click the link for more information.
Management comprises directing and controlling a group of one or more people or entities for the purpose of coordinating and harmonizing that group towards accomplishing a goal.
..... Click the link for more information.
Military strategy is a collective name for planning the conduct of warfare. Derived from the Greek strategos, strategy was seen as the "art of the general". Military strategy deals with the planning and conduct of campaigns, the movement and disposition of forces, and the
..... Click the link for more information.
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel ( listen   (help info ) ) (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was one of the most famous German field marshals of World War II.
..... Click the link for more information.
Allied powers:
 Soviet Union
 United States
 United Kingdom
 China
 France
...et al. Axis powers:
 Germany
 Japan
 Italy
...et al.
..... Click the link for more information.


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus


page counter