   #copyright

Logistics

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Business

   Inside Nexus Distribution, a United States-based logistics provider.
   Image shows goods stacked on pallets with forklift.
   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 to accomplish any marketing or manufacturing without
   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.

Origins and definition

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

   Logistics is a concept considered to have evolved 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".

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 Iraq war was a dramatic example of the importance of logistics. It
   had become very necessary for the US and its allies to move huge
   amounts of men, materials and equipment over great distances. Led by
   Lieutenant General William Pagonis, Logistics was successfully used for
   this movement. The defeat of the British in the American War of
   Independence, and the defeat of 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

   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.

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 logistic 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 logistics
   manager include Inventory Management, purchasing, transport,
   warehousing, and the organizing and planning of these activities.
   Logistics managers combine a general 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.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logistics"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
