International logistics organising

Organising for international logistics proposes principles by which international logisitics networks should be organised, including offshoring considerations. 

Key issue How can supply chains be better organised to meet the challenges of international logistics ... 

There are at least three elements in organising for international logistics. These are ... 

Case study 4.4 explores issues and trade-offs found in developing competitive solutions when organising for international logistics. 

In general, complexity in the supply chain is made worse at an organisational level because of aggressive global and international sourcing of materials and products. This reduces the cost of goods sold. However, complexity adds substantial distance, time and dependence on the international logistics pipeline. These increase the risk of supply chain failures. 

International events Pharmaceutical companies should not organise or sponsor events for healthcare professionals (including sponsoring individuals to attend such events taking place outside their home country) unless it is appropriate and justified to do so from the logistical or security point of view. International scientific congresses and symposia that involve participants from many countries are therefore justified and permitted. 

Events organised directly or indirectly by pharmaceutical companies must be held in the towns and offices chosen for logistic, scientific and organisational reasons and be characterised by an appropriate participation of physicians and an expert scientific programme. Towns with an exclusively tourist vocation must not be used as venues. The participants invited to meetings must be chosen on an international, national or, at least, regional basis. 

Bak, 0. (2003). A framework for transformation of supply chain management A just in time investigation in organisations. In K.S. Pawar M. Muffatto (Eds), Proceedings of the 8 International Symposium on Logistics (pp. 59-63). Notthingham, UK Centre for Concurrent Enterprise, University of Notthingham. 

The objective should be to establish a chain of customers that links people at all levels in the organisation directly or indirectly to the marketplace. Xerox is a company that has worked hard to implement the idea of the internal customer. They have even extended the idea to the point of linking bonuses to an index of customer satisfaction. In organisations like Xerox, managing the customer service chain through the business and onwards is the central concern of logistics management. 

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