Why Project Managers Must Focus on Last Mile Connectivity to Ensure Success
How Projects Fail Due to Poor Implementation and Last Mile Connectivity Most projects are planned properly and conceived rightly. However, they often fail because of poor implementation as well as flawed execution on the ground. Indeed, the last mile connectivity or closing the loop from planning to execution is what determines the success of projects. […]
Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery – Important For Every Business and Organisation
Managing Business operations in current times is a big challenge. Apart from having to keep looking at the bottom lines and market shares, the managements have another major are to be concerned about which is to continually keep assessing the risk to the business from all quarters and build Disaster Recovery plan in place. It […]
Export Marketing Channels
For any Business Organization which is eyeing a foreign market as a part of its Exports strategy, getting its Marketing and Supply chain in place forms a critical part of the initial process which will determine his initial foray into the markets. While doing business in foreign markets is very lucrative, the initial cost of […]
Spare Parts Supply Chain
When you buy any Computer or Electronics Hardware or equipment, normally one of the questions asked to the sales person is “What is the Service Support” provided by the company. Today the brand image or market demand rides not only the quality of the product but on the quality of service support too. Service support […]
What is a Project Schedule ?
What is a Project Schedule ? A Project schedule is a document that contains vital information about the beginning and ending of the each of the five phases of the DMIAC Six Sigma methodology. The project schedule is an important document because it contains information about the project team, risks that have been identified and […]
Supply Chain Management encompasses, planning, design, control and implementation of all business processes related to procurement, manufacturing, distribution and sales order fulfillment functions of a business.
All these activities involve multiple networks of vendors and service providers which are integrated and co-coordinated by the Supply Chain Experts of the organization to move raw materials and finished goods from and to all distant locations across the globe.
Logistics is the backbone on which Supply Chains are driven. Logistics refers to the management of the flow of goods and supplies involving information, data and documentation between two entities or points.
Logistics plays important role in post procurement function of delivery of raw material from the supplier to the point of production and Finished Goods Supply chain management from the point of dispatch from factory to the point of delivery to the customer.
The flow of goods flows through a network of transportation by road, rail, air or ship and intermediary warehouses to hold inventories before moving to the forward locations. The entire activity involves multi-tier suppliers, agents, and agencies including freight forwarders, packers, customs department, distributors and Logistics service providers, etc.
Logistics therefore is an integral component of Supply Chain Management.
Origin of Logistics as a recognized discipline is attributed to military and defense organizations. Defense departments make use of detailed and extensive planning to gather supplies and move men and materials to various locations and bases. The success of any military exercise depends upon the ability of the establishment to be able to gather information, analyze, assimilate and take appropriate logistical measures to support their units continuously.
Similarly in any business organization, the successful operations depend upon visibility and control over the logistics process managed through and with excellent logistics service provider backbone and network.
In many cases Supply chain is often referred to as Logistics and vice e versa. Though logistics and supply chain are intricately linked, both do not mean the same. Logistics is a sub-component and extension of Supply Chain.
Supply chain design in an organization would detail, plan and strategize the procurement strategy, manufacturing location selection, design and develop distribution network and strategy for finished goods, etc. While logistics planning would deal with the details of procurement logistics, finished goods distribution, sales order fulfillment, and inventory management, etc. Logistics planning drives the strategic direction and framework for its design planning from SCM Strategy.
Take the case of production procurement, SCM strategy will define the process, selection of vendors, procurement strategy and the mode of order fulfillment coupled with cycle time and lead time to supply to the production floor. Logistics in this case details out the mode of transportation from the vendor, the consignment planning, process for order trigger, consolidation of shipments, detailing transportation modes and vendors, defines transit times, documentation process and implements the plan, controls and monitors the flow of goods from point of origin up to the point of delivery to the plant for production.
In the case of Finished Goods distribution, SCM strategy will define overall network design for stock holding and other channels of distribution. Logistics deals with the entire gamut of designing transportation network, partnering with 3rd party logistics providers to establish distribution centers and warehouses, planning inventory management and operations process including packing, promotional bundling, etc., primary, secondary distribution network and vendors and at the end the complete documentation and information process for the entire chain of activities.
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