Business Logistics
TOPIC 1: INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS LOGISTICS
The geographical separation between buyers and sellers makes necessary moving goods
and services from their place of production to consumers.
Nowadays, customers demand more than ever, and they demand characteristics like high
quality, personalized products or fast delivery. Then, to obtain the right product or service
implies to be in the right place, at the right moment and at the desired conditions.
Therefore, current markets require new business strategies.
1. D IFFERENCE B ETWEEN LO GIS TI C AND S UPPLY CHAIN MANAGE ME NT
- Logistics: Getting the right product or service in the right place, at the right time and at
the desired conditions. A functional area of a business like marketing or administration.
- Supply Chain Management: Integrates key process in business (including Marketing,
Operations, Production…). Manage a business by processes.
2. S UPPLY C HA IN – L OG ISTICS NE TWORK
It’s a set of firms that are linked through relationships with other companies in different
processes and activities that produce value in the form of products and services to the final
consumer. All companies below to one or more logistics networks.
• Elements: Suppliers, manufacturers, distributors…
• Flows in the logistics network: Materials, information, financial, knowledge, services.
• Constraints and requirements: Capacity, capital, human resources, reduced delivery
time, customer service, distance, costs. In the past, the firms are formed by different
areas with low or inexistent communication between them. Nowadays this has
changed, we integrate all in a global system. Example: If we want to create a new
product, we have to share all with all the departments since it’s not a task for one person,
it’s a task for more than one person or department.
