Logistics

Logistics is the management of the flow of resources between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet some requirements, for example, of customers or corporations. The resources managed in logistics can include physical items, such as food, materials, equipment, liquids, and staff, as well as abstract items, such as information, particles, and energy. The logistics of physical items usually involves the integration of information flow, production, material handling, packaging, inventory, transportation, warehousing, and often security. The complexity of logistics can be modelled, analyzed, visualized, and optimized by dedicated simulation software. The minimization of the use of resources and time are common motives. The term Logistics Management is the part of SCM that 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 customer's requirements. Components of logistic management

1. GENERIC COMPONENT-

CUSTOMER SERVICE: It brings about an interface of logistics with marketing that determines: -Customer service requirements for products and/or competitive advantage; -Corporate vision towards service goals;

-Service expectations of customers & their response;
-Development of customer service standard;
-Logistics cost-service trade-off;
-Infrastructural requirements; and 
-Development of evaluation and appraisal mechanism.

2. PRIMARY COMPONENTS

NETWORK DESIGN-
-Number, size and location of facility network required to perform logistics operations; -Relationships among locational facilities;
-Their cost and customer service capabilities; and
-Infrastructure of each facility centre.

TRANSPORTATION-
-Requirement, availability and regularity of the transport service; -Modes of transport and co-ordination between them;
-Transport cost, freight and tariff
-Fleet management;
-Transit insurance and claim processing;
-Time, speed and intact delivery; and 
-Point-to-point information pertaining to movement status

INVENTORY MANAGEMENT-
-Stocking policies for raw materials, work-in-process and finished goods; -Zero-inventory, just-in-time, push-or-pull inventory strategies; -Inventory cost;
-Product mix at stocking points;
-Number, location and size of stocking points; and
-Approach towards safety stock, reorder point and lot size

ORDER PROCESSING
-Order receiving and processing
-Speedy order processing and transmission;
-Order-inventory interface procedures;
-Order and back-order systems
-Warehouse picking and packing
-Despatch scheduling
-Point-to-point information pertaining to order status
-Accurate, legal and required documentation; and
-Order processing cost

3. SUPPORTIVE COMPONENTS
-Warehouse location and configuration
-Infrastructural facilities
-Operational mechanism
-Space determination
-Goods placement
-Up-to-date recording of goods stock position
-Protecting and preserving the physical attributes of goods
-Proper loading and unloading system
-Marshalling goods for despatches; and
-Warehousing cost

MATERIALS HANDLING
-Safe, smooth and speedy placing and positioning of goods to facilitate their movement and storage -Material handling equipment selection and replacement policies; -Storage and retrieval frequency of goods;

-Material handling equipment and operating costs;
-Usual life and resale or scrap value of equipment.

PROTECTIVE PACKAGING
-Protection from loss and storage;
-Design of package required for handling and storage;
-Market value of the package;
-Reuse of packages;
-Scrap value of the package; and
-Packaging cost.

PROCUREMENT
-Make –or-buy decision;
-Vendor selection and management;
-Quality specification;
-Supply schedule;
-Vendor service capability;
-Vendor-company relationship;
-Vendor training and development;
-Procurement cost....