Logistics Management

Logistics Management is a supply chain management component that is used to meet customer demands through the planning, control and implementation of the effective movement and storage of related information, goods and services from origin to destination. Logistics management helps companies reduce expenses and enhance customer service. The logistics management process begins with raw material accumulation to the final stage of delivering goods to the destination. By adhering to customer needs and industry standards, logistics management facilitates process strategy, planning and implementation.

Types of Logistics Management
There are four main types of logistics management, each emphasizing a different aspect of the supply process.

1. Supply Management and Logistics This involves the planning, procuring and coordinating materials which are needed at a certain time at a particular place for the production of a task. This includes transportation of the materials as well as a place to store them. Additionally, evaluating the level of supply at the different stages of the process is required to make sure the needs of the customer are met, for example delivering materials to a construction site or parts for a manufacturing plant.

2. Distribution and Material Movement This takes stored materials and transports them to where they need to go. The issues in this involve moving materials; including loading, unloading and transportation, as well as keeping track of the stock and how it is used. This type of management controls the movement of supplies from a central warehouse to the stores that sell the product to the public.

3. Production Logistics and Management This manages the stages of combining distributed supplies into a product, such as coordinating what is needed to make or put together something. This involves the staging of materials at the right time to work with the building of a product. This stype of logistics management falls in the realm of product management.

4. Reverse Logistics and Product Return This is about the management of reclaiming materials and supplies from production. For example, on a construction site it involves the removal of excess material and returning those materials to one’s stock. It can also refer to the return of unwanted or unused products from the end customer seeking a refund.