In a competitive marketplace, the companies that get their products to market fastest,
minimize their inventory costs and get the most mileage-literally and figuratively-out of
their field-service or delivery fleets are the ones that succeed. (Rettig, 1). And many
companies are automating their logistics processes by setting up supply chains that connect
them with their customers and suppliers.
Simply defined, logistics is a practice thats used to determine how to move people and
materials most efficiently between a source and a destination. The “chain” metaphor is
used to describe a group of companies connected loosely, all collaborating on the most
efficient and economical delivery of a product.
Logistics management requires that equipment, resources and labor are made available
only in the amount required and at the time required to do the job. It is based on bringing
product exactly in line with market demand. JIT means making what the market wants,
when it wants it.
Even more specifically, logistics management is crucial to companies endeavoring to
employ just-in-time manufacturing practices. Efficient logistics management ensures that
OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) will have the necessary parts delivered to a
given company in a synchronized and timely fashion that enables the company to meet the
supply demand for their product in less time than it would take them if they were
manufacturing all the parts of their product themselves.
Supply Chains
Outsourcing is one of several elements of supply chain management generally applied
toward increasing efficiency in operations. For the most part, many companies see
outsourcing as a cost-reduction mechanism and many firms have several third-party
