Logistics Management

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 that 's 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 contracts. Many chemical producers are outsourcing supply chain management to logistics companies. Dow Chemical, for example, piloted its first third-party contract with Yellow Freight System located in Overland Park, KS and subsequently

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