Lead logistics managers

The Council of Logistics Management is the leading-edge professional logistics organization, with a current membership of over 15,000. 

Emergence of the lead logistics provider, or 4PL a 3PL provider that manages other providers... 

Many problems at the operational level in logistics management arise because all the impacts of specific decisions, both direct and indirect, are not taken into account throughout the corporate system. Too often decisions taken in one area can lead to unforeseen results in other areas. Changes in policy on minimum order value, for example, may influence customer ordering patterns and lead to additional costs. Similarly, changes in production schedules that aim to improve production efficiency may lead to fluctuations in finished stock availability and thus affect customer service. 

It is not only the sheer scale of this new channel that brings challenges to logistics management, it is also the fact that the Internet is likely to speed up the shift from a sellers market to a buyer s market. In away, the Internet democratises the supply chain by placing the customer or consumer at the centre of the network. The customer can rapidly access information on alternative suppliers, they can make price comparisons (as shown in the example from Japan in the box below), they can assess delivery lead times and they can demand to have their own specific requirements catered for. 

Part Two uses the basic understanding of logistics management and strategy developed in Part One to focus in on critical roles for logistics operations. This covers the centre panel of logistics model the flow of materials, lead times and the network in a global context. 

If the distributor does not play an important role in terms of value-added and customer access, a direct disintermediation approach may be advisable. Such a strategy is unlikely to lead to complete elimination of the distributor, since chemical producers will not want to build capabilities speciBcaUy for the complex supply chain management of small customers. However, the distributor s role will change more to that of a logistics service provider. The approach of some of the consortia remains to be seen here. 

Femie, J., and Sparks, L. (1999). Logistics and Retail Management Insights into Current Practice and Trends from Leading Experts, CRC Press, Boca Raton. 

It can be suggested that a consequence of this focus on Brand Zero has produced a depersonalisation of health and safety management. Within a project or organisational context, one individual alone is not able to prevent all accidents it requires shared practice if only because of the logistical and physical demands of the site. Yet under Brand Zero, this shared focus can be easily affected by others, and so responsibility for success resides within the shared workplace, which in turn can lead to individual disassociation with health and safety management at a personal level. Just one incident can therefore ruin the figures and potentially disenchant those who should still be focused on safety management in practice. 

In the first two steps, the academic literature currently available is reviewed and also explored practical experience firom the author, who has more than 17 years of practical experience in leading and developing logistics and supply chain management projects worldwide to identify and define the components of a Demand Driven Supply Chain. 

Materials management. Familiar with all aspects of procurement, including suppliers, pricing, lead times, and logistics. 

Logistics is NOT supply chain management. Like every functional area within SCM, logistics sees itself as the focal point, viewing other players as extending out from itself. But this geo-centric view will only lead to trouble. 

I Reverse logistics application provider [List of six companies] and other leading global companies turn to [Company] to reduce cost, increase revenue, and secure customer loyalty through our proven service parts management supply chain solutions. Sample results include 53% reduction in inventory 67% reduction in cycle time 60% decrease in forecast error 40% increase in revenue 30% decrease in transportation cost... 

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