Flexible Logistics Systems

Several organisations are expanding beyond their national bor­ders as a strategy to improve competitiveness and their ability to of­fer diverse products to an expanded market. Many companies have become very proficient at supplying products throughout the world. The task requires not only the ability to recognize opportunities, but also an information system to co-ordinate the supply of goods

and materials to places where they are needed throughout the world.

Logistics is supply, distribution and replacement of materials, goods and personnel. It is a problem for all organisations, both public and private. For instance, there were tremendous logistics challenges of moving the US military — army, navy, and air force — to carry out the military operations called «Desert Storm», prob­lems which were even more complex when other nations belonging to the United Nations assisted with the operations. Large logistical problems are faced by relief agencies which are trying to give public assistance to people during emergencies.

In a small warehouse, improvements can be obtained from better information systems, productivity improvements, inventory (инвентаризация) savings, reductions in returns (возврат, обо­рот, прибыль), space saving (10-30 per cent), and extra customer service profit. That is, for a warehouse of 80,000 sq. ft, 50 staff, and $100 million sales per annum, and inventory of $40 million, it is possible to save over $2 million per annum from improved meth­ods. The costs of such improvements can be retrievedafter just three months.

The logistics aspects of the distribution chain (цепочка) in any organisation relate to the use of information to manage more effec­tively the functions of transportation, storage,warehousing, and freight forwarding (пересылка груза). The information system has to co-ordinate a distribution network which consists of transporta­tion services between suppliers to factories, factories to storage fa­cilities, ports and warehouses, storage services in the warehouses, transportation services between the warehouses and buyers and linkages between countries. As a result of implementing an efficient information system and computer network, McDonald's restau­rants are able to receive food products from various suppliers, re­package them to meet McDonald's specifications, and then deliver them to their restaurants throughout the world, and still maintain consistent (соответствующие) standards.

Some companies perform logistics services themselves, but many are contractingthese services to specialists who have infor­mation systems to offer a package of services— from simple stor­age and warehousing to a total package or complete service which might include consolidation (объединение) of cargo, transporta­tion, storage and inventory management. Companies within the lo­gistics sector distinguish themselves by the totalityof the services they offer. Generally, smaller firms may have less sophisticated

information systems and may only provide services such as ware­housing and transportation. Large firms have the resources and economies of larger scale to develop more sophisticated informa­tion and computer systems. However, developing a sophisticated and centralized information and mechanized warehouse may not necessary lead to a success.

Certain larger companies choose to rely on more flexible sys­tems, which allow for learning and adaptation.