Global Logistics And Distribution Planning

Effective logistics and distribution is essential to the long-term success of a company and is an area of constant innovation. Taking an international perspective, this book outlines the current situation and provides useful ideas and practical information on trends. This edition has been updated to cover: the strategic development of logistics and the supply chains; the design and implementation of logistics strategies; the continuing integration of the supply chain; the developments in e-commerce; the effects of lean and agile operations; measuring and improving performance; environmental issues; and international views on logistics.

The fully revised new edition of this well known and respected book is characterized by the more international perspective it has taken on through contributions from internationally known authors and a final section on international logistics which examines in turn strategies for West and East Europe, the Far East and North America. Logistics has a key strategic role to play in the long-term plans of major companies, and is recognized as a vital part of every organization. To a large extent this crucial new role is due to an expanded view of logistics, which now includes all the activities related to the supply chain from initial suppliers through to final customers. This book provides a wealth of useful ideas and practical information on all the current and future trends in logistics and distribution. Written by a host of contributors drawn from industry, constancy and education, this book provides new insights into the most significant aspects of logistics, including: developments in logistics supply chain strategies lean logistics efficient customer response logistics in different countries partnering and strategic alliances re-engineering the logistics function From logistics professionals, consultants, professors and students to managers from different backgrounds who want an appreciation of current trends in the subject, this book is essential reading. About the author: Donald Waters, a past member if the Institute of Logistics and currently a member of the Canadian Association of Logistics Management, has lectured weekly on logistics, operational research and management science, and has brought his academic career to fruition as Professor of Operations Management at the University Calgary, Canada. He is also the author of Operations Management in the Kogan Page Fast Track MBA Series. Features

This revised edition takes account of recent changes that have resulted from companies realizing that distribution requires a high level of efficiency. It provides a variety of information on all current and future trends in logistics and distribution. The most significant aspects of the subject are covered, including warehouse location and operation, customer service, global and European expansion, 24-hour distribution, changing buyer-supplier relationships and performance evaluation.

The fully revised new edition of this well known and respected book is characterized by the more international perspective it has taken on through contributions from internationally known authors and a final section on international logistics which examines in turn strategies for West and East Europe, the Far East and North America. Logistics has a key strategic role to play in the long-term plans of major companies, and is recognized as a vital part of every organization. To a large extent this crucial new role is due to an expanded view of logistics, which now includes all the activities related to the supply chain from initial suppliers through to final customers. This book provides a wealth of useful ideas and practical information on all the current and future trends in logistics and distribution. Written by a host of contributors drawn from industry, constancy and education, this book provides new insights into the most significant aspects of logistics, including: developments in logistics supply chain strategies lean logistics efficient customer response logistics in different countries partnering and strategic alliances re-engineering the logistics function From logistics professionals, consultants, professors and students to managers from different backgrounds who want an appreciation of current trends in the subject, this book is essential reading. About the author: Donald Waters, a past member if the Institute of Logistics and currently a member of the Canadian Association of Logistics Management, has lectured weekly on logistics, operational research and management science, and has brought his academic career to fruition as Professor of Operations Management at the University Calgary, Canada. He is also the author of Operations Management in the Kogan Page Fast Track MBA Series. Features

Taking a truly international perspective, this book outlines the current situation, and provides a wealth of useful ideas and practical information on all the current and future trends in logistics and distribution. This new edition contains new sections including logistics in China, central and eastern Europe.

An understanding of logistics is of primary importance in the modern business world and this text allows students and businesspeople alike to become comfortable with the fundamentals of this discipline. In its explanation of logistics—the process of moving a commodity or service from customer order to consumption—this guide provides insight into every step of the process, from order processing and purchasing to packaging and warehousing. Tips are included for integrated logistics, customer service, materials flow, and strategic logistics plans.

When work began on the first volume ofthis text in 1992, the science of dis tribution management was still very much a backwater of general manage ment and academic thought. While most of the body of knowledge associated with calculating EOQs, fair-shares inventory deployment, productivity curves, and other operations management techniques had long been solidly established, new thinking about distribution management had taken a definite back-seat to the then dominant interest in Lean thinking, quality management, and business process reengineering and their impact on manufacturing and service organizations. For the most part, discussion relating to the distri bution function centered on a fairly recent concept called Logistics Manage ment. But, despite talk of how logistics could be used to integrate internal and external business functions and even be considered a source of com petitive advantage on its own, most of the focus remained on how companies could utilize operations management techniques to optimize the traditional day-to-day shipping and receiving functions in order to achieve cost contain ment and customer fulfillment objectives. In the end, distribution manage ment was, for the most part, still considered a dreary science, concerned with oftransportation rates and cost trade-offs. expediting and the tedious calculus Today, the science of distribution has become perhaps one of the most im portant and exciting disciplines in the management of business.

It has been said that every generation of historians seeks to rewrite what a previous generation had established as the standard interpretations of the motives and circumstances shaping the fabric of historical events. It is not that the facts of history have changed. No one will dispute that the battle of Waterloo occurred on June 11, 1815 or that the allied invasion of Europe began on June 6, 1944. What each new age of historians are attempting to do is to reinterpret the motives of men and the force of circumstance impacting the direction of past events based on the factual, social, intellectual, and cultural milieu of their own generation. By examining the facts of history from a new perspective, today's historians hope to reveal some new truth that will not only illuminate the course of history but also validate contempo rary values and societal ideals. Although it is true that tackling the task of developing a new text on logistics and distribution channel management focuses less on schools of philosophical and social analysis and more on the calculus of managing sales campaigns, inventory replenishment, and income statements, the goal of the management scientist, like the historian, is to merge the facts and figures of the discipline with today's organizational, cultural, and economic realities. Hopefully, the result will be a new synthesis, where a whole new perspective will break forth, exposing new directions and opportunities.