Logistics and Fulfillment Services

The warehousing function must determine the number of distribution centers (DC) to own and their location. The optimal location of the DCs would clearly be a function of the locations of customers, sources of material, and the locations of manufacturing plants. To be responsive to customers, the DCs must store a mix of products that would vary by location, and therefore the product-mix must be chosen carefully. Material handling equipment enable efficient stacking and retrieval of items in a warehouse. They include trucks, forklifts, side loaders, platform trucks, conveyor systems, automatic guided vehicles (AGV), and robotic delivery systems. 

The packaging function is driven by multiple objectives such as protection of the product, visual effect, environmental sustainability, and minimization of weight and volume. Packaging should be considered as an integrated approach, where packaging and logistics complement and adapt to each other. 

Chakravarty, Supply Chain Transformation, Springer Texts in Business and Economics, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-41911-9 5, 

Managing inventory in the warehouses is a critical function, as the investment in inventoried items does not earn any return. In addition, the inventory items must be accounted for with visual inspection or using advanced technology such as RFID. To match customer s changing needs, inventory items transported and stocked in pallet loads may need to be re-palletized. Special storage must be provided for hazardous material, and perishable products. 

The strategy for logistics services, whether owned or outsourced, needs to include the above concerns associated with ecmiomic and business turbulences. It could take various forms such as increased transshipment between distribution centers rapidly switching the mode of transportation and rerouting using air-drops for humanitarian relief linking the informal and formal components of 

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It is notable that the CSCMP includes goods and services, plus related information, in its definition. It also takes note of customers requirements and the need to fulfill these. As noted in Chapter 1, some practitioners view logistics and supply chain as equivalent entities. 

The subject for observation and reflection are the actions—operating processes occurring inside the elements of the logistics system which are in the logistics and distributions companies. To the research adopted the concept of system in which it is treated as the internally correlated arrangement of the elements, which have a specific structure of the actions, a collection of methods of operation and rules of the organization, which fulfill a specific function and which are isolated from the environment for a specific purpose (Nowakowski 2011). As well to the research was adopted the main standard for company s services according to Mr. Christopher s definition— the main standard of service, what should be pursued in the company, is one hundred percent compliance with customer expectations. 

The business models of e-fulfillment are shaped by two factors customer preferences (home delivery, store pick up), and supply sources (warehouse, stores, 3rd party, consolidators). As shown in Fig. 5.12, home delivery can be fulfilled from all the four sources of supply, whereas, store pick up would rule out the warehouse and the 3rd party service provider. The suppher stmctures the fulfillment system by creating a new logistics infrastructure, or by adapting the existing processes. 

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