Introduction to Logistics Management

Logistics management may be defined as “the art and science of obtaining, producing, and distributing material and product in the proper place and in proper quantities.”

It is a rapidly evolving business discipline that involves management of order processing, warehousing, transportation, materials handling, and packaging—all of which should be integrated throughout a network of facilities. Great ideas remain beautiful hypotheticals if there isn’t a way to implement them.

Think of the idea as the inspiration, and the organization of that idea as the work required to actualize it. But that work isn’t a one-time activity, of course: it’s a process that flows from one task to the next. There are many points along that journey, from the idea to the execution to the customer. Managing that work process is called logistics management.

It considers everything from information to materials, production and more. Without logistics management, the many phases of any product will quickly fall into a chaotic mess.

Logistics management plays a significant role in the success of any company’s operations and has a direct impact on its bottom line. More importantly, logistics processes play a big part in customer satisfaction, which is more important than low product costs. Logistics professionals should think of themselves as a customer-facing portion of the company and strive every day to add value for their customers.

The Council of Supply Chain Management defines logistics management as: “… that part of supply chain management that plans, implements and controls the efficient, effective forward and reverse flow and storage of goods, services and related information between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet customers’ requirements.”

Logistics management is often confused with supply chain management. Supply chain management has broader objectives and actually encompasses logistics management. Supply chain management (SCM) includes inter-enterprise, multi-functional processes that target everything from the supplier’s inbound freight to the end consumer.

Logistics management (LM) is the more practical, hands-on part of the supply chain where goods are transported into a facility, properly stored, handled and transported out. LM focuses on short-term procedures and SCM is focused on the long-term.

In this course, you will learn about the development and focal points of logistics management, difficulties companies have within these focal points and the best practices to achieve optimized logistics, which leads to superior customer service.

Upon Completion of this course, student will be able to:

• Define the term Logistics management.
• Describe how Logistics networks operate.
• List key benefits of Logistics chains.
• Describe best practices in Logistics management

Course Curriculum