物流行业现状与发展趋势-英文原文

物流行业现状与发展趋势-英文原文

No other area of business operations involves the complexity or

spans the geography of logistics. All around the globe, 24 hours of

every day, 7 days a week, during 52 weeks a year, logistics is concerned

with getting products and rvices where they are needed at the preci

time desired. It is difficult to visualize accomplishing any marketing,

manufacturing, or international commerce without logistics. Most

consumers in highly developed industrial nations take a high level of

logistical competency for granted. When they purcha goods—at a retail

store, over the

telephone, or via the Internet—they expect product delivery will be

performed as promid. In fact, expectation is for timely, error-

free logistics every time they order. They have little or no tolerance

for failure to perform.

Although logistics have been performed since the beginning白带过多 of

stcivilization, implementing 21 –century best practices is one of

the most

exciting and challenging operational areas of supply chain

management. Becau logistics is both old and new, we choo to

characterize them rapid change taking place in best practice as a

renaissance.

Logistics involves the management of order processing, inventory,

transportation, and the combination of warehousing, materials handing,

and packaging, all integrated throughout a network of facilities. The

goal of logistics is to support procurement, manufacturing, and customer

accommodation operational requirements. Within a firm the challenge is

to coordinate functional competency into an integrated operation focud

on rvicing customers. In the broader supply chain context, operational

synchronization is esntial with customers as well as material and

rvice suppliers to link internal and external operations as one

integrate process.

Logistics refers to the responsibili佛珠108 ty to design and administer

systems

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to control movement and geographical positioning of raw materials,

work-in-process, and finished inventories, at the lowest total cost. To

achieve lowest total cost means that financial and human asts

committed to logistics must be held to an absolute minimum. It is also

necessary to hold operational expenditures as low as possible. The

combinations of resources, skills, and systems required to achieve lean

logistics are challenging to integrate, but once achieved, such

integrated competency is difficult for competitors to replicate.

This chapter focus on the contribution of logistics to integrated

supply chain management. First, cost and rvice are emphasized. Next,

the logistics value proposition is developed. Then traditional business

functions that combine to create the logistical process are reviewed.

Finally, the importance of logistical synchronization to supply chain

integration is highlighted in terms of performance cycle structure and

dynamics.

The Logistics of Business Is Big and Important.

It is through the logistics process that material flow into the

manufacturing capacity of an industrial nation and finished products are

distributed to consumers. The recent growth in global commerce has

expended the size and complexity of logistical operations.

Logistics adds value to the supply chain process when inventory is

strategically positioned to achieve sales. Creating logistics value is

costly. Although difficult to measure, most experts agree that the

annual expenditure to perform logistics in the United States in 2004 was

approximately 8.6 percent of the $11.74 billion Gross National Product,

or $1015 billion. Expenditure for transportation in 2004 was $644

billion, which reprented 63.3 percent of total logistics cost. As

further illustrated in Table 2.1, the logistics of business is truly big

business!

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Despite the sheer size of logistical expenditure, the excitement

about logistics is not cost containment or reduction. The excitement

generates from understanding how lect firms u logistical competency

to help achieve competitive advantage. Firms having world-class

logistical competency enjoy competitive advantage as a result of

providing their most important consumers superior rvice. Leading

performers typically utilized information technology capable of

monitoring global logistical activity on a real time basis. Such

technology identifies potential operational breakdowns and facilities

corrective action prior to delivery rvice failure. In situations where

timely corrective actions is not possible, consumers can be provided

advance notification of developing problems, thereby eliminating the

surpri of an unavoidable rvice failure. In many situ战国版图 ations, working

in collaboration with consumers and suppliers, corrective action can be

taken to prevent operational shutdowns or costly consumer rvice

failures. By performing at above industry average with respect to

inventory availability, speed and consistency of delivery, and

operational efficiencies, logistically sophisticated firms are ideal

supply chain partners.

The Logistical Value Proposition.

Thus far it has been established that logistics should be managed as

an integrated effort to achieve customer satisfaction at the lowest

total cost. Logistics performed in this manner creates value. In this

ction, the elements of the logistical value proposition—rvice and

cost

minimization—are discusd in greater detail.

Service Benefits.

Almost any level of logistical rvice can be achieved if a firm is

willing to commit the required resources. In today’s operating

environment, the limiting factor is economics, not technology. For

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example, a dedicated inventory can be maintained in clo

geographical proximity to a major customer. A fleet of trucks can be

held in a constant state of delivery readiness. To facilitate order

processing, dedicated communications can be maintained on a real time

basis between a consumer and supplier’s logistical operation. Giving

this high state of

logistical readiness, a product or component could be delivered

within minutes of identifying a customer requirement. Availability is

even faster when a supplier agrees to consign inventory on site at a

customer’s facility, eliminating the need to perform logistical

operations when a product is needed. The logistics to support

consignment are completed in advanced of the customer’s need for the

product. While such extreme rvice commitment might constitute a sales

manager’s dream, it is costly

and typically not necessary to support most customer expectations

and manufacturing operations.

The key strategic issue is how to outperform competitors in a cost-

effective manner. If a specific material is not available when required

for manufacturing, it may force a major shutdown resulting in

significant cost, potential lost sales, and even the loss of a major

customer’s business. The profit impact of such failures can be

significant. In contrast, the profit impact of an unexpected 1- or 2-

day delay in delivering products to replenish warehou inventory could

be minimal or even insignificant in terms of impact on overall

operational performance. In most situations, the cost/benefit impact of

logistical failure is directly related to the importance of rvice to

the customer. The more significant the rvice failure impact upon a

customer’s business, the greater is the priority placed on c狐 error-free

logistical performance.

Creation and basic logistical performance is measured in terms of

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inventory availability, operational performance, and rvice

reliability. The term basic logistics rvice describes the level of

rvice a firm provides all established customers.

Availability involves having inventory to consistently meet customer

material or product requirements. The traditional paradigm has been the

greater the desired availability, the larger the required inventory

amount and cost. Information technology that facilitates system

flexibility is providing new ways to achieve high availability for

customers without correspondingly high capital investment in inventory.

Information that facilitates flexibility with respect to inventory

availability is critical to achieving high-level logistics performance.

Operational performance deals with the time required to deliver a

customer’s order. Operational performance involves delivery speed and

consistency. Naturally, most customers want fast delivery. However, fast

delivery limited value if inconsistent from one order to the next. A

customer gains little benefit when a supplier promis next-day delivery

but frequently delivers late. To achieve smooth operations, firms

typically focus on delivery consistency first and then ek to improve

delivery speed. Other aspects of operational performance are also

important. A firm’s operational performance can be viewed in terms of

its flexibility to accommodate unusual and unexpected customer requests.

Another aspect of operational performance is frequency of malfunction

and, when such malfunction occurs, the typical recovery time. Few firms

can perform perfectly all the time. It is important to estimate the

likelihood of something going wrong. Malfunction is concerned with the

probability of logistical performance failure, such as damaged products,

incorrect assortment, or inaccurate documentation. When such malfunction

occurs, a firm’s logistical competency can be measured in

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terms of recovery time. Operational performance is concerned with

how a firm handles all aspects of customer requirements, including

rvice failure, on a day-in and day-out basis.

Service reliability involves the quality attributes of logistics.

The key to quality is accurate measurement of availability and

operational performance. Only through comprehensive performance

measurement is it possible to determine if overall logistical operation

are achieving desired rvice goals. To achieve rvice reliability, it

is esntial to identify and implement inventory availability and

operational performance measurements. For logistics performance to

continuously meet customer expectations, it is esntial that management

be committed to continuous improvement. Logistical quality does not come

easy; it’s the product of careful planning supported by employee

training, operational dedication, comprehensive measurement, and

continuous improvement. To improve rvice performance, goals need to be

established on a lective basis. Some products are more critical than

others becau of heir importance to the customer and their relative

profit contribution.

The level of basic logistical rvice should be realistic in terms

of customer expectations and requirements. In most cas, firms confront

situations wherein customers have significantly different purcha

potential. Some customers require unique or special value-added rvices.

Thus, managers must realize that customers are different and that

rvices provided must be matched to accommodate unique requirements and

purcha potential. In general, firms tend to be overly optimistic when

committing to basic customer rvice performance. Inability to

consistently to meet an unrealistically high basic rvice target might

result in more operating and customer relationship problems than if less

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ambitious goals had been attempted from the outt. Unrealistic

across-the-board rvice commitme柠檬怎么挑 nts can also dilute a firm’s

capability to satisfy special requirements of high-potential customers.

The focus of logistics can be traced to relatively recent

developments of total costing theory and practice. In 1956, a classic

monograph describing potential airfreight economics provided a new

perspective concerning logistical total cost. In an effort explain

conditions under which high-cost air transport could be justified, Lewis,

Cull属鼠的性格 iton, and Steele conceptualized necessary to perform logistical

requirements.

This concept of total cost had not previously been applied to

logistical operations. Probably becau the economic climate of the

times and the radical departure to traditional practice, the total cost

proposition generate a great deal of debate. The prevailing managerial

practice, reinforced by accounting and financial control, was to focus

attention on achieving the lowest possible cost for each individual

function of logistics with little or no attention to integrated total

cost trade-offs. Managers had traditionally focud on minimizing

functional cost, such as transportation, with the expectation that such

effort would achieve the lowest combined cost. Development of the total

cost concept opened the door to examining how functional costs

interrelate and impact each other. Subquent refinements provided a

more comprehensive understanding of logistical cost components and

identified the critical need for developing functional cost analysis and

activity-bad costing capabilities. However, the implementation of

effective logistical process

stcosting remains a 21-centoury challenge. Many long-standing

practices

of accounting continue to rve as barriers to fully implementing

total cost logistical solutions.

Logistics Value Generation

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The key to achieving logistical leadership is to master the art of

matching operating competency and commitment to key customer

expectations. The customer commitment, in an exciting cost framework, is

the logistics value generation. It is a unique commitment of a firm to

an individual or lected customer groups.

The typical enterpri eks to develop and implement an overall

logistical competency that satisfies customer expectations at realistic

total cost expenditure. Very ldom will either the lowest total cost or

the highest attainable customer rvice constitute the appropriate

logistics strategy. Likewi, the desired combination will be different

for different customers. A well-designed logistical effort must provide

high customer impact while controlling operational variance and

minimizing inventory commitment. And, most of all, it must have

relevancy to specific customers.

Significant advance have been made in the development of tools to

aid management in the measurement of cost/rvice trade-offs.

Formulation of a sound strategy requires a capability to estimate

operating cost required to achieve alternative rvice level. Likewi,

alternative levels of system performance are meaningless unless viewed

in terms of overall business unit customer accommodation, manufacturing,

and procurement strategies. Supply chain design is the focus of Part

Three.

Leading firms realize that a well-designed logistical system can

help achieve com矫健的什么 petitive advantage. In fact, as a general rule, firms

that obtain a strategy advantage bad on logistical competency

establish the nature of their industry’s competition.

In the context of supply chain management, logistics exists to move

and position inventory to achieve desired time, place, and posssion

benefits at the lowest total cost. Inventory has limited value until it

is

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positioned at the right time and the right location to support

ownership transfer or value-added creation. If a firm do not

consistently satisfies time and location requirements, it has nothing to

ll. For a supply c上海名牌大学 hain to realize the maximum strategic benefic from

logistics, the full range of functional work must be integrated.

Decisions in one functional area will impact cost of all others. It is

this interrelation of functions that challenges the successful

implementation of integrated logistical management. Figure 2.1 provides

a visual reprentation of the interrelated nature of the five areas of

logistical work: (1) order processing; (2) inventory; (3) transportation;

(4) warehousing, materials handling, and packaging; and (5) facility

network. Integrated work relate to the functional areas created the

capabilities needed to achieve logistical value.

Order Processing

The importance of accurate information to achieving superior

logistical performance has historically been underappreciated. While

many aspects of information are critical to logistics operations, the

processing of order is of primary importance. Failure to fully

comprehend this importance resulted from not fully understanding how

distortion and operational failures in order processing impact

logistical operations.

Current information technology is capable of handling the most

demanding customer requirements. When desired, order information can be

exchanged between trading partners.

The benefit of fast information flow is directly related to work

balancing. It makes little n for a firm to accumulate orders at a

local sales office for a week, mail them to a regional office, process

the order in a batch, and assign them to distribution warehou, and

then ship them

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via air to achieve fast delivery. In contrast, Internet

communication of orders direct from the customer, combined with slower,

less costly surface transportation, may achieve even faster and more

constant delivery rvice at a lower total cost. The key objective is to

balance components of the logistical system.

Forecasting and communication of customer requirements are the two

areas of logistical work driven by information. The relative importance

of each facet of operational information is directly related to the

degree to which the supply chain is positioned to function on a

responsive or anticipatory basis. This balance between responsiveness

and anticipatory driven operations constitutes the basic paradigm shift

taking place in st21-century supply chain design. The more responsive

the supply chain design, the greater the importance is of accurate and

timely information regarding customer purcha behavior.

In most supply chain, customer requirements are transmitted in the

form of orders. The processing of the orders involves all aspects of

managing customer requirements, including initial order receipt,

delivery, invoicing, and collection. The logistics capabilities of a

firm can only be as good as its order processing competency.

Inventory

The inventory requirements of a firm are directly linked to the

facility network and the desired level of customer rvice.

Theoretically, a firm could stock every item sold in every facility

dedicated to rvicing each customer. Few business operations can afford

such a luxurious inventory strategy becau the risk and total cost are

prohibitive. The objective of an inventory strategy is to achieve

desired customer rvice with the minimum inventory commitment.

Excessive inventories may compensate for deficiencies in basic design of

a logistics system but will ultimately

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result in higher-than-necessary total logistical cost.

Logistical strategies should be designed to maintain the lowest

possible financial investment in inventory. The basic goal is to achieve

maximum inventory turn while satisfying rvice commitments. A sound

inventory strategy is bad on a combination of five aspects of

lective deployment: (1) core customer gmentation, (2) product

profitability, (3) transportation integration, (4) time-bad

performance, and (5) competitive performance.

Storage is a process in which goods are stored, protected and

managed. Every manufacturer and wholesaler need that are

stored in warehous for distribution and sales are called inventory.

Warehou rental reprent a very significant proportion of total

warehou cost. Goods handling may account for only 50% of the direct

labor cost in warehou and 70% in distribution size of

warehous are determined by the needs of the customer groups, such as

their inventory level stock is the maximum inventory

bad on the maximum needs. Safe stock refers to minimum inventory level

given the forecasted market demand. The average time when the goods is

moved in and out of warehou is inventory cycle time. Inventory control

is the method to keep the best inventory level and position with the

minimum cost to satisfy the demand. When the inventory is reduced to a

specific level, purcha for new parts and material will start. It is

called the Order Point System. Zero stock is the best way for inventory

control. Zero stock is means zero inventory.

The 21st century is the era of information ,and e-commerce will

become a development trend of commercial activity in this period . Our

country , as a developing chuntry , is just at theearly-stage in the e-

business field .The e-business has wide development space and huge

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market potential . Logistics delivery in E-Business can not only

reduce industrial storage, accelerate funds revolvling, increa

logistics efficiency, decrea logistics cost, but also it can stimulate

social demand. It is propitious to whole social macroscopical control

and it can gain whole social economical benefits, hasten the development

of E-Business in under the rapid development there are also

some problems exsit ,including the Internet technology, online payment,

policies and regulations, logistics and so on .and logistics is a

'bottleneck' problem that immediately restricted the development of the

e-business in our country .

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