Logistics Case Study

1.

Logistics is the process of effectively and efficiently managing the movement and storage of information, products, and services between supply chain players with the aim of meeting the needs and requirements of customers. Logistics is important in private companies because it allows companies to meet the requirements of customers and in turn gain profits, and stay competitive. Logistics is important to public companies because it allows them to successfully meet its social objectives and even during successfully conduct international trade.

3.

Logistics adds economic value through form utility, time utility, place utility, quantity utility and possession utility. Form utility is basically the value that is added to product through the process

Discounts that may be related with amount of quantities purchased. If this discount relates to transport then both the shipper and customer will benefit. Place generally refers to which distribution channel to adopt. The marketing department’s concern will be to decide which agent to deal with; whether to sell to wholesalers, retailers or even directly to customers. This decision will affect the decisions or actions that logistics decides to take. Wholesalers buy in bulk and usually places orders in a consistent manner. However, retailers usually buy in small quantities and usually places orders inconsistently and require short lead times. Logistics will then be tasked with the duty of finding fast and responsive means of transportation to meet these needs. In addition, a company might spend a lot of resources in promoting its product and attracting customers. The department responsible for promotion must collaborate with the logistics department to make sure that there is enough inventory to meet the demand that sometimes may not be too certain following intense advertising. Moreover, marketing department may be deciding on the physical attributes of a new product; its size, weight, shape and other dimensions. These decisions will affect the ability of logistics to move and store these goods and even the overall profitability of the firm. If the packaging is too cumbersome and bulky, this could mean

9.

There are four approaches that an organization can choose from to analyze logistics systems. These are namely: materials management versus physical distributions, cost centers, nodes and links, and logistics channels.

Materials and physical distributions looks at grouping logistics into either inbound or outbound. Moving and storing goods brought into the organization (inbound) will require different attention from moving and storing finished goods. Another approach to analyzing logistics systems is to view the various logistical areas as cost centers and then examining to find the lowest cost trade off you can get. The logistics channel considers the network of organizations involved in the flow of goods within the supply chain. Nodes are storage points, assembling facilities or manufacturing sites in an organization. Links shows the transportation networks that links these various nodes in the system. Organizations prefer to use the node and link approach of analysis because it simply illustrates the very complex logistical system. In addition, this system allows you to see where improvements can be made in the