Logistics

Logistics is an important part of how things get from one place to another. It helps manage the movement of goods, services, and information from where they start to where they are needed. A person who works in this field is called a logistician.

In the military, logistics makes sure armies have what they need, like food and supplies, during operations. For everyday life, logistics helps move things like raw materials, products, and even garbage from one place to another. It is different from the work that happens inside factories where things are made.

Logistics can cost a lot of money for businesses and countries, so many use special computer programs to help plan and improve how they move things. The goal is often to use fewer resources and make the process better for everyone.

Nomenclature

The word logistics has been used in English since 1846. It comes from a French word. A Swiss military officer named Antoine-Henri Jomini helped make the word popular. He said the word comes from another French word meaning 'lodgings'.

Some people thought the word might come from an old math term from Ancient Greek. But the word stayed and is now used to describe organizing and moving resources.

Definition

Logistics is about organizing how things move from one place to another. It helps make sure goods, like food or toys, get to where people need them. This includes planning how to transport items and storing them properly until they are ready to be used or sold.

People who work in logistics help coordinate details, like when and where things should be delivered. They make sure everything happens smoothly, just the way customers want it. This work helps connect factories, stores, and homes, making sure we all get the things we need.

Logistics activities

Logistics has three main parts: order processing, inventory management, and freight transportation. Modern freight transportation uses fleet management to work better. Order processing is faster now with computers and bar code scanning. Having inventory helps save money and serve customers better, but it needs space and money. Freight transportation is important because it lets people and businesses get products from far away.

E-commerce has created "e-logistics." This handles small packages worth less than a hundred US dollars and delivers them all over the world. Unlike regular logistics, e-logistics can have busy times when lots of people want things at once.

There are several types of logistics:

• Procurement logistics helps get the things a business needs.
• Advance logistics gets supplies ready before they are needed.
• Global logistics moves goods between different countries.
• Distribution logistics delivers products to customers.
• Disposal logistics deals with getting rid of waste.
• Reverse logistics handles returning and reusing products.
• Green logistics tries to make logistics better for the environment.
• RAM logistics looks after very important machines and systems.
• Asset control logistics tracks items used to show or sell products.
• Humanitarian logistics moves goods quickly during emergencies.

Production logistics makes sure factories have the right materials at the right time. Construction logistics helps move big tools and materials for building projects.

Seven R's

The Seven R's is a useful idea in logistics to help everything go smoothly. It makes sure you have:

• The right product (and the right information about it)
• The right amount
• The right time
• The right condition
• The right place
• The right customer
• The right money and resources

Military logistics

Main article: Military logistics

In military operations, it is very important to keep supplies moving to soldiers and stop the enemy from getting theirs. Great leaders like Hannibal, Alexander the Great, and the Duke of Wellington were very good at planning how to give their troops what they needed.

Armies need strong logistics to work well. Special officers called Logistics Officers decide when and where to send supplies. They figure out how much of different items will be needed, like food, fuel, or repair parts. Good planning helps armies stay strong and ready.

Business logistics

Business logistics means having the right item, at the right time, in the right place, for the right price, and in good condition. It includes all industry sectors and helps manage project life cycles, supply chains, and improve efficiency.

The term business logistics grew since the 1960s because moving materials and products has become more complex in our global world. This created a need for professionals called supply chain logisticians.

Logistics can focus on materials coming into a business or products leaving it. It covers moving and storing materials from where they are made to where they are sold. This is a key part of supply-chain management. Main tasks for a logistician include inventory management, purchasing, transportation, warehousing, and planning. Logisticians organize resources in a business.

There are two main types of logistics: one keeps materials moving smoothly, while the other coordinates resources for special projects, like setting up a new warehouse.

A journey planner or route optimization software helps find the best paths for vehicles to deliver goods. These tools are part of an intelligent transportation system and help save fuel and ensure timely deliveries.

Nodes of a distribution network

A distribution network needs places to move goods from makers to users. These places can add to the cost but help by lowering transportation expenses. The number of these places depends on the type of goods. For example, cosmetics might be sold directly, while big equipment might need more places.

The key points in a distribution network include:

• Factories where products are made
• A depot or warehouse for storing goods
• Distribution centers for processing orders
• Transit points for rearranging goods
• Traditional small stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, discount stores, consumers' co-operatives, and groups with collective buying power. Subsidiaries and franchisers also sell goods.

Logistic families and metrics

A logistic family groups products that share similar features like weight and storage needs. Companies use different measures to organize products, such as how much space they take up and how often they are ordered. One common measure is inventory turnover.

Handling and order processing

Unit loads are groups of items moved together, often on pallets. Handling systems include special machines like pallet handlers. Storage systems include racks and shelves.

Order processing involves several steps: making a list of what to pick, picking items, sorting them, packing them, and getting everything ready for shipping. Picking and sorting can be done by people or machines.

Transportation

Main article: Cargo

Combining small shipments into larger ones can save money. There are three ways to do this: bringing shipments closer together, stopping to collect goods, and adjusting shipping times. Cargo can be put on pallets or in containers. The five main ways to move cargo are by ship, rail, truck, air, or pipeline, and these can be mixed in different ways. Shippers pick the best method based on cost and time. Air is the most expensive, followed by truck, rail, pipeline, and ship.

Cargo can be organized in different ways and moved in standard units like ISO containers, swap bodies, or semi-trailers. For long distances, different transport methods might be used. When moving cargo, the weight and volume matter.

People and companies involved in transportation include train and truck companies, boats, airplanes, couriers, freight forwarders, and multi-modal transport operators.

International shipments usually follow Incoterms rules set by the International Chamber of Commerce.

Configuration and management

In logistics, a system is set up to keep costs low while meeting customer needs. Logistics systems need good planning, similar to production systems. Methods from operations management, like economic order quantity models, help manage inventory.

Distribution resource planning (DRP) is like MRP but focuses on planning how goods move through the network.

Setting up a logistics system can happen at a warehouse or for the whole network. For a single warehouse, decisions include how to arrange space and how to store goods. For the whole network, decisions include where to place warehouses. Sometimes, companies work with other businesses to share resources.

When a logistics system is set up, managing it involves making decisions about how to store and move goods, considering limits like space and time.

At a warehouse, decisions include how to arrange goods and how workers pick them. For the whole network, decisions include managing inventory and choosing the best paths for delivery. Logisticians also handle returns.

Warehouse management system and control

Warehouse management systems (WMS) and warehouse control systems (WCS) help manage warehouses but work differently. A WMS plans activities based on past data, while a WCS makes real-time decisions. Together, they help warehouses work efficiently.

Logistics outsourcing

Logistics outsourcing is when a company works with another that provides logistics services. This partner offers more specialized services and works together for the long term. Outsourcing can be full or partial, such as using one service for a specific need.

Third-party logistics (3PL) means using outside companies to handle logistics tasks. These providers have grown to managing whole supply chains, giving companies a competitive edge.

The idea of a fourth-party logistics (4PL) provider was first described by Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). A 4PL manages the entire supply chain process, bringing together resources from different groups. Unlike a 3PL, which focuses on one task, a 4PL handles the whole process.

Horizontal alliances between logistics service providers

Horizontal business alliances happen when logistics companies work together even though they might compete. These partnerships help companies share resources like transportation networks and warehouses, and also share knowledge and ideas for new services.

Logistics automation

Logistics automation uses computers or machines to help with work in places like warehouses. Bigger jobs are helped by supply chain engineering and enterprise resource planning systems.

Machines can find products using barcodes or RFID tags. Barcodes are lines that machines read to learn about products. RFID tags are small cards with chips that send signals to machines. These tags can be on many things like products, animals, or cars.

Professions and organizations

A logistician is a person who helps move goods and services from where they are made to where they are needed. Logisticians can work for companies that move things, like shipping lines or airports, or they can work inside bigger companies that need help with their supplies.

Some universities teach people to become logisticians. One special university is Kühne Logistics University in Hamburg, Germany, which focuses just on logistics.

There are groups that help logisticians learn and grow in their jobs. For example, the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the United Kingdom offers training and qualifications for people working in logistics. There are also groups like the Global Institute of Logistics in New York, which thinks about big questions in moving goods around the world, especially by ship.

There are also museums that show how logistics works.