- Logistics is a process in which inventory and
supplies are managed, whether they are at motion or at rest. It could
be inventory that is managed through transportation or inventory still
on the shelves. This term is usually used when dealing with supplies management. Transportation is a theory in which an object is moved from one point to another. Some modes of transportation are planes, trains, boats, and automobiles. Logistics is very important in a business because every business needs to have inventory management to make sure the right supplies are available to their customers at the right time, at the right place, paying the right price.
Example:Seagate
is a company that really takes advantage of their logistics process
because they have figured out how to build quality hard drives and get
them delivered it at the lowest cost. A logistics technique that
Seagate uses is they concentrate solely on the quality and production
of their products, and then lets DHL take care of the transportation for them. - When choosing the right carrier:
- Make sure their policies are clear (No hidden fees or rules)
- Reliable schedule
- Offers discounts
- Easy to do business with
- Lowest cost possible
- Wide range of routes (Worldwide?)
- Safe and secure transportation
Examples of Carriers are: UPS, DHL, FedEx, USPSNote:making
sure your business chooses the right mode of transportation and carrier
is important as it can lower the cost to the business; in return, can
contribute to more revenue (cost - profits). Since I have covered the logistics of products in motion, I will now cover the logistics of products at rest. - Some
actions to consider in supplies management is making sure your business
has enough products on its shelves to service a customer no matter what
the situation is; and at the same time, making sure you do NOT carry too much inventory to where storage space if filled with junk.
- An option to manage inventory is using a process called MRP,
which stands for Materials Requirement Planning. This process helps
supply managers to accurately manage their inventory by calculating how
many products the business plans to make, what is required in making
the product, and when they product needs to be finished.
- When supplies are no longer needed or useful, the items can either be considered salvage or disposal.
- Salvage - recovering a product after it has been said to be no longer usable.
- Disposal - removing a product after it has been said to be no longer usable.
Logistics is a key process when running a business as it'll help smooth out the movements of goods from one place to another. |
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